Being an audiophile can be very perplexing. Lots of false impressions are easily created and the exitement attached to the hobby can make common sense impossible at times.
Having 10+ auditions on 4 different hi-fi stores (I live in a European capital) on different speakers and amps is what has guided me to buy a super bugdet system consisting of Klipsch 4'' woofer speakers and a cheap hybrid amp and 2 years later upgrade to Dali Oberon 3 with Cambridge Audio CXA80. It was evident to me from the beginning that the "decent setup" required a ~500€ pair of speakers with a 1000€+ amplifier. DAC quality is super important too. I am sorry to say it, but the most you can get from youtubers is benign noise. Magazine reviews are more honest than most people believe. There is no replacement for auditions however. And this is probably the reason why people go through so many gear changes. The missing variable from the auditions was the DAC and I have bought 6 different DACs so far in addition to 2 soundcards.
Having 10+ auditions on 4 different hi-fi stores (I live in a European capital) on different speakers and amps is what has guided me to buy a super bugdet system consisting of Klipsch 4'' woofer speakers and a cheap hybrid amp and 2 years later upgrade to Dali Oberon 3 with Cambridge Audio CXA80. It was evident to me from the beginning that the "decent setup" required a ~500€ pair of speakers with a 1000€+ amplifier. DAC quality is super important too. I am sorry to say it, but the most you can get from youtubers is benign noise. Magazine reviews are more honest than most people believe. There is no replacement for auditions however. And this is probably the reason why people go through so many gear changes. The missing variable from the auditions was the DAC and I have bought 6 different DACs so far in addition to 2 soundcards.
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