Like for instance, I made a thread on what experienced members would buy if they had to start all over in their audio journey, with all the knowledge of gear they have now, but this would be just a killer beginner setup thread
For me, I would say go used all the way, get an OG BF2/B*imby 1 (yes, the 2/64 is better but not betterer if you know what I mean, and it will never be a mini LiM) and mod it (the BF1, search here for opamp details) yourself for 300-600, beg Christian to build you a Piety or buy one in the off unicorn-chance someone sells, buy it up to 250, seriously, it’s f'ing worth it…
then buy a used—a black screen if you can—HD600 for 300, then contact @ext1 at his website to mod it to a JAR600B for an extra 375. Trust me, this setup is endgame worthy. The source DOES matter, please don’t skimp out on it, and Schiit R2R DACs are the darlings of their lineups…
Better than their mainline amps imo. Don’t f'ing buy JDS Labs, Topping, or anything like that bc it’s cheap. Don’t follow any audiophile math, don’t believe that distortion graphs can tell you even a large percentage of how an amp of DAC sounds—trust yourself and your ears.
The BF2>price-gouged Piety>JAR600B (the B is cheaper than v1 by more than a couple hundred dollars, and sounds BETTER) setup would cost you $1525. Can’t manage that? Get a Modi Multibit new gen in Dec, that’s 250, then again, beg for a production-price Piety for 150, get a 600 new on Amazon for 275 right now and wait for more funds to get it modded by Jupiter. That’s $675.
Once you get your JAR600B, you can decide to upgrade your source at your leisure, but the Piety is endgame for the JAR 6X0s, unless you want to spend $4K on a Wernher von Braun rocket amp, then you can go from a strong, muscular f'ing 89 to 100. Think EC, DNA with tubes that cost as much as many great mid-tier tube amps themselves.
This is all just my opinion, I’d love to hear other opinions as well, like this comment if you think I should make a thread on great beginner setups that actually get near endgame.
I think it'd be a nice thread to have and like your suggestions @caute However, I'd be inclined toward easier to get choices. Maybe not to forum tastes, but easy to get anywhere in the world... WiiM streamer / SMSL SU-9 DAC / SH-9 amp / Focal Elex or LCD-2C or Hifiman Ananda or Edition XS. You'd be in around $1000-1200. Maybe not the ultimate, but very listenable.
@wbass yesss this is exactly what I’m talking about, clever and experienced forum members breaking down gear from a budget perspective! Lemme create it, if @purrin thinks it’s a good idea, then who am I to not spend my time making it an inviting thread for members and lurkers alike!
So long as it's pitched to lower budgets rather than any specific group of outsiders. A thread on good, cheap systems SBAF-style is fine. We had one at CS.
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