Good afternoon all!!
I'm not a DIY'er but I do appreciate achieving excellent affordable sound quality for reasonable $$$. Due to living circumstances and economics I have not enjoyed a full system in many years. However, I've had a desktop system for several years; laptop>>>Dragonfly Black>>> Audioengine A2's or V-Moda M80. Gave the V-Modas to my son and got AKG-M220's (Drop). After 12 years the A2's died and were replaced with a pair of Dayton Audio MK402BTX. I also use JRiver software and stream from Tidal and Spotify. Long time subscriber to Stereophile, Absolute Sound, Sound&Vision and before their demise, Audio and Sensible Sound. My last system was a Dynaco SCA-80Q>>>Dual 1215/Shure>>>Dynaco A-25's, then Sieffert Model 3's (a long time ago). Music: Jazz, R&B, Fusion, House, EDM, '70's rock, Progressive Metal.
Hopefully, this coming year I'll be able to set up a living room (19'x12'x9') system based on either active speakers + sub or integrated amp/receiver/dac + floor standers. I also have a Sony Blue Ray/CD player (USB, SPDIF outs). The budget cap is $1K - $1.5K. Goals are maximum sound quality, ease of operation/simplicity, reliability/dependability for the $$ invested. Systems I've actually listened to extensively and been impressed by; active: KEF LSX, Vanatoo T0 & T1 Encore, Kanto YU6; traditional: Yamaha s-301/KEF 150/350.
So that's where I am.