Hifi on a budget

[gasolin]

Only expensive hifi unit,product i have is my Marantz PM8005, other than that everything i have is budget,value for money,bang for the money, so i have to make hifi on a budget thread

HIFIME SABRE 9018 I think is great for the money replaced my M2tech hiface 2 usb to spdif and my t c electronic bmc-2, wider more deeper soundstage,doesn't sound agressive and the bass is good, not as boomy,fullbodied than im used to,it's claener less bommy

http://hifimediy.com/Sabre-9018-DAC

I wanted to upgrade my speaker cable and try som thick speaker cable, was already using supra interconnect's, found this thread about supra classic 6.0 (6.0 mm), i feel with this cable im not noticing any cons, it just works really good, the bass sounds to me cleaner more controlled.les muddy, boomy,fullbodied

This thread made my buy some, i even use it with my cheap Q Acoustics 2010i http://www.whathifi.com/q-acoustics/2010i/review

My last hifi on a budget,value for money,bang for the buck is another speaker.

Mission LX-2, the speaker with the upside down twetter for time alignment, it has great bass and is not at all thin and bright as many speakers can be and there for many speakers doesn't sound good when playing loud music........ it's just so nice not to have a bright sounding speaker and to have a good bass, makes them fantastic to listen to for hours, absolutely no fattigue sound, i do prefer them to Q Acoustics 3020 do to more bass and a less bright tweeter

http://www.whathifi.com/mission/lx-2/review

https://www.avforums.com/review/mission-lx2-standmount-speaker-review.13229

What is you're best hifi on a budget,value for money,bang for the buck?

 

[drummerman]

Glad you like your system. You obviously carefully considered every step rather than throwing money at it ... and still not getting it right.

You have the advantage of having a good amplifier to make the best of the speakers you have. Most use cheap amplifiers with budget speakers, not making full use of what some of those can do.

My budget favorites ... similar to yours. The Hifime 9018k2m is cheap and good.

Chromecast Audio is another budget bargain. Incredible for the money.

I am tempted to try the Raspberry streamer/DAC route to satisfy my curiosity. A lot of praise for it over at PFM.

As to amplifiers, Speakers ... I have been out of the fold a while so couldn't say what bargains there are. However, I would recommend to go for the best amplifier you can afford, even (or especially) with cheap speakers.

 

[muljao]

All my setup is budget to start but i got a deal on most of it. I picked the the monitor audio airstream 100 amp for 179 pounds, this was a whathifi five star amp @ 400 pounds. I agree the Chromecast is amazing value.

However, the more i listen the more i think how did I get such a good pair of speakers in the Q acoustics 2020i for just over 100 pounds

 

[MajorFubar]

Best hifi on a budget is used hifi. Second hand can get you amazing bargains of a quality that you just can't equal new for the price. And by and large, second hand hifi remains a buyers' market with more good products out there than there are enthusiasts wanting to buy.

 

[macdiddy]

second hand hifi, a couple of years ago I brought from a dealer on ebay a nearly ten year old Naim CD5 in mint condition (and I mean mint, not a mark or scratch on it) together with its original box and receipt showing that it had been purchased from a uk dealer and then shipped over to France where it stayed until the seller (dealer) took it as part exchange.

*music2*

 

[gasolin]

Let's say hifi on a budget is the best hifi on a budget you can get, that is so good that it's almost doesn't make sense to buy used hifi

Did try to buy the HIFIME SABRE 9018 used, never got a respond back from the seller, bought it new still great value for money,bang for the buck

 

[seemorebtts]

If I had the chance to make a cheap hifi for myself I would buy a denon m40 with some wharfedale diamond 10.1. Really miss my wharfedales

 

[gasolin]

If I had the chance to make a cheap hifi for myself I would buy a denon m40 with some wharfedale diamond 10.1. Really miss my wharfedales

Have always wondered why denon's small mini hifi system is voted best "budget" hifi system year after year

 

[seemorebtts]

If I had the chance to make a cheap hifi for myself I would buy a denon m40 with some wharfedale diamond 10.1. Really miss my wharfedales

 

Have always wondered why denon's small mini hifi system is voted best "budget" hifi system year after year

they sound great.i loved my denon m39.i had a Arcam alpha amp and the Arcam alpha 7 CD player and I think the denon sounded alot better an absolute bargain

 

[nopiano]

Not quite what you asked, but the great thing about budget gear in my past experience is that it responds well to careful settting up, and you can get 100% from it. Conversely, "better" systems, typically with wider bandwidth are harder to optimise in the room, and often be mismatched or fail to give its best. You only have to go to any hifi show to see the evidence for that

Back in the day, I had far more fun with the original NAD3020 amplifier, Dual turntables and Acoustic Research speakers than I had any right to.

I'd also second the ridiculous value of the Chromecast Audio device.

 

[knaithrover]

2nd hand and ex demo are a real no brainer for me. My current systems cost at least 50% less than rrp and for me give a real bang for my dollar. You are buying blind mostly but when I have made an error I rarely lose money selling on - I usually make a profit!!

One of the most fun and best sounding systems I've had was Nad C320bee with MA BX2 and a Marantz CD63KI sig which came to a grand total of £350 ex fleabay. The speakers and cdp were sold on eventually at a hefty profit. I've gradually traded up to 2 half decent systems and it's hardly cost me a thing..