Use of SuperBAF Funds

Throwing some ideas out here.

What do you guys think of funds being spent on two channel gear? I guess DACs count, but I figure we can start with some affordable two channel gear with amps, preamps, small speakers. Maybe used stuff with a good reputation or value gear from Emotiva, NAD, etc. There is a lot of stuff out there, but I would like to concentrate on stuff that is available brand new for obvious reasons. It seems like a lot of you guys are moving in this direction, and the two channel world seems grossly under-served.

Also, it has been our custom to sell gear at super-low below used market prices to Friends and Contributors. I am thinking of ending this practice. We take way too much of a hit if the gear turns out to be mediocre; or even if the gear is good: what happens is that most of you guys can't wait and go out and buy it. This has happened way too many times. I would like us to more effectively use the donations.

 

@Marvey - in principle I'm with you on both counts. Shipping speakers though, that can be tricky. Some Friends have already grumbled to me about how much shipping costs on normal, small gear. That's something to think about.

Preamps, a good idea but there's a lot of trash out there. Personally, I'm most interested in DIY preamps, AMB delta 1 (or whatever it's called), Bottlehead Quickie. On the amplifier end, I personally have a bad taste in my mouth from Emotiva-type gear, but if you guys think it's worth everyone's while, let's do it. I think if we're going to do 2-channel, we should try to hit a goal. And that goal (no surprise what I'm about to say here, lol, since I've said it in at least 2 other threads), is come up with a good starter 2-channel recommendation. HD650 + Valhalla 2 equivalents on the speaker end. About the same price point too, $500. Most of the personal audio guys, besides not knowing where to start on 2-channel, probably feel like the investment necessary is steep. In a way, doing this is going for the low hanging fruit since we've already identified the OSMT and SYS as excellent cheap performers.

When you need a cheap speaker amp, which of the myriad directions do you choose? New-cheap? (Emotiva, etc.) Pro audio? (Crown, etc.) Decade old Hifi? (Parasound, etc.) DIY? (Gainclone, etc.) Vintage? (Sansui, etc.)

On the other point, in terms of trying to more efficiently use funds. Let's try to leverage the 2nd hand market more. Let's hifishark loaners. 2-channel gear in particular takes a big hit 2nd hand. Today I was looking up an amplifier (still in production) that goes for 35% used what it does retail.

 

I bought a used modi multibit, new crown X1000 and the affordable accuracy monitors for around $500. That's my budget epic setup.

 

Unless we want to change the name to SuperBestHeadphoneFriends I would certainly like to see a little more two channel love.

If for no other reason, I already know what you guys like and dislike compared to what I like... so when you make comparisons it's easy for me to interpolate what it will mean to me. That's not always easy when I surf some rando 2-channel site.

No doubt shipping will be a bitch for some of this stuff...

 

• On international loaner programs - @MoatsArt: I'm up for it and the governing board would be up for it. What this takes is some person to take initiative and organize. For example: "Hi Marv, I've got 9 people on this continent interested in X. Can we have $600 of SBAF funds for it?". In such a situation, I don't think anyone here would turn the request down. The only thing is that I am not going to be the one to do it - to organize something on another continent. Ask not what your Captain can do for you, but what you can do for your Captain. That is, make it easy for me to give you money.
• Emotiva or other value gear - @sphinxvc: Yeah, I too am concerned about how great (or mediocre) Emotiva gear can be. We should purchase used gear just to check it out really quickly. Sometimes we need to get burned for everyone to learn a lesson. It wouldn't be money badly spent if it saved a lot of people a lot of money. I'd avoid decades old gear no longer in production unless it's easily obtainable. I'm not opposed to pro gear if it sounds good. Speakers are tough to ship, but I think even basic FR measurements can tell us a lot. Right now, we're just shooting in the dark.
• Meets - @thegunner100 : This is the only way to go. Setup more meets and invite a lot of people, especially for big pieces of heavy gear.