Page 1 of 3
Budget audiophile gear recommendations
Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2019 7:35 am
by Bradystraps
Hey guys,
Just picked up the Onkyo A-9110 Integrated Amplifier ($259.00 Amazon) and paired it with a new set of Audioengine HDP5 speakers ($299.00 on Drop) and the sound is nothing short of superb! Playing Masters from TIDAL through my Musical Fidelity V90-DAC makes for some extremely enjoyable listening.
If you are looking for an amp with built-in DAC, Onkyo also offer the A-9150 for an additional $100 or so.
For any of you looking for a great budget set-up, you would be quite impressed with this amp and speaker set!
https://www.themasterswitch.com/onkyo-a-9110-review
https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articl ... udspeaker/
Best,
Todd
Re: Budget audiophile gear recommendations
Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2019 8:42 am
by matt.wu
Nice! I know nothing about sound systems, but was thinking about getting something in place soon. This will be a good starting point.
Re: Budget audiophile gear recommendations
Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2019 9:26 am
by toxicavenger
i have been thinking about one of these
Re: Budget audiophile gear recommendations
Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2019 9:46 am
by Selym
The Audioengines are great, aren't they? My brother-in-law works in the industry, so we often end up with his hand-me-downs. We currently have a pair of KEF X300A on our desktop. They sound great. The only downside is they go into a low-power mode when they don't detect a signal, emitting a loud pop. It's pretty annoying
Re: Budget audiophile gear recommendations
Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2019 1:37 pm
by Joeprez
I've had Audioengine speakers and they are really good. Congrats on the setup!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Re: Budget audiophile gear recommendations
Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2019 5:21 pm
by Bradystraps
toxicavenger wrote: ↑Sat Sep 21, 2019 9:26 am
i have been thinking about one of these
It seems with many of these budget tube amps, you will need to upgrade the tubes from the OOTB ones. That’s a deal breaker for me which is why I’m staying SS.
Re: Budget audiophile gear recommendations
Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2019 5:22 pm
by Bradystraps
matt.wu wrote: ↑Sat Sep 21, 2019 8:42 am
Nice! I know nothing about sound systems, but was thinking about getting something in place soon. This will be a good starting point.
Add a turntable too so you can get your vintage vinyl vibe going. That’s a fun hobby too!
Re: Budget audiophile gear recommendations
Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2019 6:28 pm
by dukerules
Anyone have a suggestion on a budget amp with Wi-Fi/BT connectivity?
Re: Budget audiophile gear recommendations
Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2019 6:35 pm
by toxicavenger
dukerules wrote: ↑Sat Sep 21, 2019 6:28 pm
Anyone have a suggestion on a budget amp with Wi-Fi/BT connectivity?
I think the one I posted above has all of those features
Re: Budget audiophile gear recommendations
Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2019 6:37 pm
by 59yukon01
I've had this THX certified Onkyo probably about 20 years now. They are built well and you can't go wrong with the brand imo.
Re: Budget audiophile gear recommendations
Posted: Sun Sep 22, 2019 12:56 pm
by dukerules
OK, this thread just cost me about $600. But I'm excited.
Re: Budget audiophile gear recommendations
Posted: Sun Sep 22, 2019 2:47 pm
by gonzomantis
Raspberry Pi!
My budget listening system is based on a Raspberry Pi, and some deals I got on Craigslist.
Raspberry Pi, and Pi DAC+ from IQAudio.co.uk, with case was about $80
NAD C370 integrated amp (Craigslist) for $75. Yup, it was a steal.
DIY Tritrix speakers that a dude overbuilt with 1" CNC cut MDF. These are MTM transmission line speakers, and sound fantastic. Got them for $75 bucks too.
Sony C601ES CD changer (Craigslist) $25, for when I want to listen to CDs.
Grand total, $255.
I run OSMC, on the Pi, and stream of my NAS drive. The drive is loaded with most of my CD collection, in lossless format. I then use Kodi on my iPad to control it. This gives me the bulk of the functionality of Sonos, at a lower cost, and better sound.
If you have an A/V receiver with HDMI, you can plug the Pi in directly, and skip the cost of the DAC. I did that on our living room system.
Re: Budget audiophile gear recommendations
Posted: Sun Sep 22, 2019 3:28 pm
by toxicavenger
gonzomantis wrote: ↑Sun Sep 22, 2019 2:47 pm
Raspberry Pi!
My budget listening system is based on a Raspberry Pi, and some deals I got on Craigslist.
Raspberry Pi, and Pi DAC+ from IQAudio.co.uk, with case was about $80
NAD C370 integrated amp (Craigslist) for $75. Yup, it was a steal.
DIY Tritrix speakers that a dude overbuilt with 1" CNC cut MDF. These are MTM transmission line speakers, and sound fantastic. Got them for $75 bucks too.
Sony C601ES CD changer (Craigslist) $25, for when I want to listen to CDs.
Grand total, $255.
I run OSMC, on the Pi, and stream of my NAS drive. The drive is loaded with most of my CD collection, in lossless format. I then use Kodi on my iPad to control it. This gives me the bulk of the functionality of Sonos, at a lower cost, and better sound.
If you have an A/V receiver with HDMI, you can plug the Pi in directly, and skip the cost of the DAC. I did that on our living room system.
Hahaha nice. I use a Pi for my work computer. I want to use one for a Bluetooth amp in the Bug
Re: Budget audiophile gear recommendations
Posted: Mon Sep 23, 2019 10:18 am
by Bradystraps
dukerules wrote: ↑Sun Sep 22, 2019 12:56 pm
OK, this thread just cost me about $600. But I'm excited.
Nice! What did you order?
Re: Budget audiophile gear recommendations
Posted: Mon Sep 23, 2019 10:59 am
by unsub073
matt.wu wrote: ↑Sat Sep 21, 2019 8:42 am
Nice! I know nothing about sound systems, but was thinking about getting something in place soon. This will be a good starting point.
I used to have a decent one many years ago, and sold it all when we moved into a condo (limited on space). We moved into a house and I went with a soundbar set up in my office/tv room for me, and that hasn't worked the way I wanted it to. I am now in the process of figuring out what I want next.
This site is information overkill, but it's at least decent to get some idea's from.
https://www.avsforum.com/forum/index.php
Re: Budget audiophile gear recommendations
Posted: Mon Sep 23, 2019 12:23 pm
by dukerules
Bradystraps wrote: ↑Mon Sep 23, 2019 10:18 am
dukerules wrote: ↑Sun Sep 22, 2019 12:56 pm
OK, this thread just cost me about $600. But I'm excited.
Nice! What did you order?
Same setup as you. An A-9110 and a pair of the HDP6s (the Drop deal was incredible on those). Bought a BT receiver as well, and am going to see how streaming high bitrate music over BT works out. Will probably need to get a DAC later.
Re: Budget audiophile gear recommendations
Posted: Wed Sep 25, 2019 3:47 am
by Bradystraps
dukerules wrote: ↑Mon Sep 23, 2019 12:23 pm
Bradystraps wrote: ↑Mon Sep 23, 2019 10:18 am
dukerules wrote: ↑Sun Sep 22, 2019 12:56 pm
OK, this thread just cost me about $600. But I'm excited.
Nice! What did you order?
Same setup as you. An A-9110 and a pair of the HDP6s (the Drop deal was incredible on those). Bought a BT receiver as well, and am going to see how streaming high bitrate music over BT works out. Will probably need to get a DAC later.
Great!
A BT mini amp is great for an office setup but I think you will be best with a pure DAC for home setup. There are some good deals on Drop.
Let us know how things sound once you’ve listened for a while.
Re: Budget audiophile gear recommendations
Posted: Sat Sep 28, 2019 5:36 pm
by Bradystraps
Here are some recommended albums to listen to:
Donald Fagen - The Nightfly
Dire Straits - Love Over Gold ( or anything by them)
Beck - Sea Change (All his stuff is masterfully produced)
Fleetwood Mac - Rumours (vinyl is best)
Jack Johnson - In Between Dreams
Norah Jones - Come Away With Me
Pink Floyd - DSOTM and Wish You Were Here
REM - Automatic For The People
Roxy Music - Avalon
Steely Dan - Aja (all their albums are well produced)
The Doors - Morrison Hotel
The War on Drugs - A Deeper Understanding
Tom Petty - Wildflowers
Re: Budget audiophile gear recommendations
Posted: Sat Sep 28, 2019 9:54 pm
by dukerules
OK, decided after doing some more research to go with Elac B6.2s instead of the HDP6s. Also bought a Modi 3 DAC. Will start by streaming from my MacBook, and also bought a couple of cables to see how my iPhone 7 works as a streamer. Excited to try the new Amazon Music HD service that was just released--if it works out, high quality music for slightly more than I'm paying for Spotify Premium right now is a no-brainier.
Re: Budget audiophile gear recommendations
Posted: Sun Sep 29, 2019 10:22 am
by BlueSky
dukerules wrote: ↑Sat Sep 28, 2019 9:54 pm
OK, decided after doing some more research to go with Elac B6.2s instead of the HDP6s. Also bought a Modi 3 DAC. Will start by streaming from my MacBook, and also bought a couple of cables to see how my iPhone 7 works as a streamer. Excited to try the new Amazon Music HD service that was just released--if it works out, high quality music for slightly more than I'm paying for Spotify Premium right now is a no-brainier.
I posted about the Amazon service in another thread and forgot to sign up for a free 90 day trial. I think it's 7.99/90 days now for Prime members. Haven't had time to follow up and there seems to be variances in what people are actually getting regarding the lossless stream.
https://www.avsforum.com/forum/286-late ... today.html
Re: Budget audiophile gear recommendations
Posted: Sun Sep 29, 2019 1:39 pm
by Bradystraps
I just signed up for the Amazon HD and plan on comparing to Tidal this week. I will post my findings.
The service is $14.99/mo vs. $19.99 for Tidal.
Re: Budget audiophile gear recommendations
Posted: Sun Sep 29, 2019 5:38 pm
by Bradystraps
dukerules wrote: ↑Sat Sep 28, 2019 9:54 pm
OK, decided after doing some more research to go with Elac B6.2s instead of the HDP6s. Also bought a Modi 3 DAC. Will start by streaming from my MacBook, and also bought a couple of cables to see how my iPhone 7 works as a streamer. Excited to try the new Amazon Music HD service that was just released--if it works out, high quality music for slightly more than I'm paying for Spotify Premium right now is a no-brainier.
Those were actually my first choice too! But when the Drop deal hit, I just pressed “Buy”.
Let me know how the Elac’s sound.
Re: Budget audiophile gear recommendations
Posted: Fri Oct 04, 2019 8:07 am
by unsub073
dukerules wrote: ↑Sat Sep 28, 2019 9:54 pm
OK, decided after doing some more research to go with Elac B6.2s instead of the HDP6s. Also bought a Modi 3 DAC. Will start by streaming from my MacBook, and also bought a couple of cables to see how my iPhone 7 works as a streamer. Excited to try the new Amazon Music HD service that was just released--if it works out, high quality music for slightly more than I'm paying for Spotify Premium right now is a no-brainier.
Thoughts on the Elac's yet? How big of room did you put them in?
Re: Budget audiophile gear recommendations
Posted: Fri Oct 04, 2019 9:33 am
by dukerules
Ugh I’ve been super busy. Just unboxed them today. Will set everything up this weekend. They are going in a medium-sized living room with an open floor plan.
Any feedback from anyone on Amazon Music HD?
Re: Budget audiophile gear recommendations
Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2019 8:48 am
by dukerules
Ok. The Elacs sound wonderful. I don’t have much to compare them to, but they are warm and yet clear. Love the Modi 3, too. I can stream hi res Amazon music from my iPhone with a $40 cable, and bypass the need for a dedicated streamer or a laptop. Amazon HD seems great thus far as well.
