I started hell bent on spending a healthy budget but found that the less expensive the gear the more I seemed to enjoyed it. Or maybe better said I didn’t enjoy the expensive stuff any more than the inexpensive.
A $500 close out 20 WPC Schiit Aegir 1, which does a lovely job driving my Sapphire M4’s, sits on the shelf formerly occupied by $5K 1200W mono blocks. After 2+ years of searching in vain for a tube pre that tripped my trigger I gave up and paired it with a new Freya+ that I’m happier with than I expected to be. An eventual tube upgrade may not improve the sound significantly, but it will make me feel better - an inexpensive upgrade in my book. Add a Schiit Lyr+ to satisfy a resurgent headphone interest and a Lokius to spice it all up some and I’m reasonably content.
Less is more, a rack full of Schiit, and dropping coin to simply feel better about the system may not be all that unconventional but it’s certainly not where I was expecting to take this.
