master Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 Slightly over but close if you find a dealer that will discount a little. KEF R500.............................$2600 Marantz PM5005.....................$499. (Alternative Marantz NR1506 $499) Sonos Connect.......................$349 Total....................................$3448 Don't laugh till you hear it. I'm not entirely in agreement with it, having used KEF R300 with Marantz PM5004 in the past. Now my KEF's perform way much better with the addition of the Roksan. I have seen this time and again for some speaker families, especially the B&W 800 series. They only come into their own with powerful amplification, nothing the medium 40W to 60W per channel integrated amplifiers can provide. Obviously your experience is your own, and I'm certainly not disputing that, however, my personal experience with my KEF R300 has been different. Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world - Martin Luther Link to comment
master Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 My $3000 setup… KEF LS50 - $1,499.99 Schiit Bifrost Multibit - $599 Arcam A19 - $900 While I haven't heard this particular combination, I have heard all 3 components in different setups with extremely pleasing results. If anything does not add up/is not a good match, then I would be looking to change the amplification first of all. For source, I would add an external HDD and a PC with a Chromecast Audio. Budgeting only $35 for the CA as I am assuming everybody has a PC and internal/external HDDs. Either way, if there is no PC, I would throw in a budget set up with the Raspberry Pi ($35), 1TB portable hard drive ($50), and power adapter and cables ($20). Chromecast Audio is optional, depending on personal preference for interface in terms of USB, Toslink, or Coaxial. I'm extremely pleased with its addition, especially in terms of the portability and wireless capabilities it brings to the picture for only $35. PS: While I use an i7 rig that cost in excess of $2000, the Pi is certainly no slouch for streaming duties and music playback, especially with all the Linux audiophile distro's available for free. For $35 and for all the goodness one cannot complain. tmtomh 1 Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world - Martin Luther Link to comment
master Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 A19 doesn't have enough juice for the Kef Ls50's , Thought so myself, but I've not heard the LS50s with anything budget so the Arcam was a good starting point... or at least I thought so. Obviously I stand corrected! Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world - Martin Luther Link to comment
master Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 Which NAS is that? R BeagleBone. Edit: Needs an external HDD. Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world - Martin Luther Link to comment
master Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 Interesting discussion, but I have heard both the absolute best as well as subjectively the best at various price points. The ELAC speakers are an excellent example for something budget range equalling or even bettering more expensive components. Likewise I have heard budget amps across many price points that perform better than their more expensive counterparts. A Topping amplifier comes to mind, it pretty much killed every amplifier up to a certain volume level. I have heard several NAS and SBC/SOC setups that will leave behind more expensive music streamers/servers. Another point to consider is that while source is extremely important, not all speakers play well with every source and amplification. Magnepan speakers are an example in this regard, extremely hard to place and match. On the polar extreme, we have also heard speakers that play nice with pretty much everything and right out of the box. Harbeth is an excellent example here, they sound their optimum best right out of the box and with most equipment. In fact very little can be done to improve them (comparatively speaking with other speakers that undergo a sea change in terms of performance with change in amplifier or source). So the question that needs to be asked is do we go with a Linn source or a Harbeth speaker? From my personal experience I would go with something like the Harbeth speakers simply because they're so easy to place and match. And of course, all of the Linn's I have heard while sounding excellent are way beyond my present budget. Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world - Martin Luther Link to comment
master Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Being short of time' date=' quoting[/quote'] How is this even relevant to this thread? Share something on building a complete system for $3K as that's what this thread is about. PS: Great you are sold on Marantz. Just don't think you need to keep posting it on unrelated threads... Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world - Martin Luther Link to comment
master Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 To an entity calling itself master' date=' your antipathy is clouding your logic, see [/size']#2 I still don't understand you and I'm tired. I'll be hitting that ignore button to save me from more madness. Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world - Martin Luther Link to comment
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