Thought Experiment: Inexpensive/Great System

[drtrey3]

So here is the hypothetical situation. Let's say I am setting up a stereo system that will be set up and taken down once a week. The emphasis in on really good sound at a low price and simplicity of set up with the fewest parts but that still allows audiophile reproduction to please a listening audience. What would you go for?

Here is my idea. An Oppo 105, a pair of Stealth 8s, decent stands, and decent balanced cables. This could be taken down and set up quickly, it gives good enough bass for music with no need of a sub, and using the balanced cables means I would have lots of flexibility in terms of speaker/source placement.

So what do you think, no need to be gentle, this is a thought experiment at this point, and what would your ideas be?

Trey

[Andrew Robinson]

I like your thinking, but without knowing your source or source material, the Oppo may be overkill. You could use a simple HDMI to analog audio converter (monoprice sells one for $40 I think) that when mated to a Chromcast ($35) would set you back far less than an Oppo and still give you audio and video capability. Just a thought.

[repeetavx]

I like it.

[sct]

Yeah, but with the ChromeCast you still need a source unless you're talking about streaming 320k from the internet, hardly hi-fi. I like DrTrey's setup but would maybe go with an Oppo 103 or even one of the Pioneer universal units to shave the cost. Otherwise I like his thinking, simple and good sounding...

SCT

[paintedklown]

I love doing stuff like this myself. I am constatntly "designing" systems for specific budgets/concerns, just for fun.

If budget + quality + ease of setup are your thing ,my thoughts are as follows.

Source: Sony BDP-S6200

It's a 3D Blu-ray player with 4K upscaling and Wi-Fi and will also play SACD. $150

Receiver: Denon AVR-E400

It does all the BD codecs, 7.1 channel, has Apple Air play plus Audyssey Room Correction. $350

Speakers: Pioneer SP-PK52FS 5.1 HT package that was designed by Andrew Jones and received a lot of positive press for a budget system. $355 + an additional pair of the SP-BS22-LR BSbookshelves for the additional back surropunds (if desired). $91

Total for speakers $446

Total system cost is $946 for a 7.1 setup that will play a multitude of spinning discs, has some streaming capabilities (netflix, etc.), has room correction, and will be able to reproduce all current digital physical formats natively. Not too shabby IMO.

[garbulky]

The oppo 105 is a good sounding unit....but If you're thinking inexpensive, the Oppo 105 costs as much as a nice set of speakers. But I would go DC-1. Cheaper. Sounds great (to me). It's pre-amp section is also reasonably robust. And It has the added benefit that it is PORTABLE. It can literally be carried with two fingers.
Other than that I think you are set.
To get even less pricey. You could go for the 6's. If you want to take a cut in sound quality but still sound pretty "okay", you could go for a behringer UCA 202 but....you would need a computer in the chain which may be inconvenient. But like I said at this point you do sacrifice sound quality on the DAC unit.

[drtrey3]

Good thoughts! I would be spinning silver discs and occasional files. Great sound is a priority. No need for video. Think Sunday Afternoon Classic Album club, but digital.

I am thinking two channel is enough, ease of setup and take down would be important. How much would be lost by going with a cheaper universal disc spinner?

The DC-1 is great, but it involves another box, and more cables. The Stealth 6s do not bring enough bass I think.

But interesting and great ideas!

Trey

[Andrew Robinson]

Aug 28, 2014 13:08:18 GMT -5 drtrey3 said:

Good thoughts! I would be spinning silver discs and occasional files. Great sound is a priority. No need for video. Think Sunday Afternoon Classic Album club, but digital.

I am thinking two channel is enough, ease of setup and take down would be important. How much would be lost by going with a cheaper universal disc spinner?

The DC-1 is great, but it involves another box, and more cables. The Stealth 6s do not bring enough bass I think.

But interesting and great ideas!

Trey

You wouldn't lose that much by going with another, less expensive, universal player, but you may lose variable output control. Stealth 6 brings bass plenty, don't discount them. 

[audiobill]

Skip the discs, and stream Qobuz at 16/44.

[jlafrenz]

Aug 28, 2014 18:58:12 GMT -5 audiobill said:

Skip the discs, and stream Qobuz at 16/44.

You could do this by using the Stealth 8's and a Bluesound Node. This would keep it simple and the cost would be less than the Oppo 105.

[audiobill]

Or just get an airport express, a DC-1 and Stealth 6's (on sale) and be done.

Stream from iPhone, iPad or android.

For $1,200 or less , best Bang for Buck available.

[drtrey3]

Part of the point of the exercise is having fantastic sound. And if I choose between the blu-day audio of Quadraphenia and Qobuzz, the choice is obvious. I appreciate what you are suggesting from a financial perspective though. But this system would need great sound. And since I have lots of SACDs and DVD-As and a growing collection of Blu-ray audio discs and high res downloads, those would be the preferred software. So 16 bit sound need not apply. 8(

Thanks though! Keep the ideas coming!


Trey

[Davecski65]

Aug 28, 2014 13:08:18 GMT -5 drtrey3 said:

Good thoughts! I would be spinning silver discs and occasional files. Great sound is a priority. No need for video. Think Sunday Afternoon Classic Album club, but digital.

I am thinking two channel is enough, ease of setup and take down would be important. How much would be lost by going with a cheaper universal disc spinner?

The DC-1 is great, but it involves another box, and more cables. The Stealth 6s do not bring enough bass I think.

But interesting and great ideas!

Trey

I belive you will luv the Stealth 6s
as I just bopught a pair and luv them,i think the bass is just fine>I have to very large PSA subs that I could hook to them,but with most music I find I don't really need it.I think you will be pleasantly surprised with the Stealth 6s

[drtrey3]

Well, if this ever moves from the thought experiment to the gonna do it stage, I would HAVE to make the comparison. I am pleased and informed to hear the great reports of the Stealth 6s bass. That is news to me, and great to hear!

Trey

[Davecski65]

But if you really like the bass heavy then yea you could hook subs up to DC-1 easily.

I was listening to Hi res music last eve,I had some stevie ray vaugh on,and the bass from some of the material would hit me in the chest.Now don't forget these are NEAR field moniters,so I only have them 6 ft from my sitting position.They dig a lot deeper then I thought,and I had just listened to Stealth 8s the week before.I am glad I went with this choice.For what I paid! They Are Awesome.too bad your not in my area,would gladly give you a listen,as I have already had a couple lounge memebers listen to them.All loved them and couldn't belive how they sounded.The dip switchs really make a different and there is a lot of ways to set these up ,sound wise,I like them almost the way they come out of box.
I have about 20 hrs on them now,and they keep getting better sounding.

[vneal]

I would get a set of headphones $300(Grado) and an Apple IPod $200