Soooooo, it's new system shopping time! ($2k or less please)

BadassBob

Digitally rendered
Out with the old, and in with the new, as they say. I've decided to sell off my SET system in my sig and use the money towards a new system with a maximum price of $2000. I'd like this to consist of new components, nothing used going into this one. My requirements: stand mount monitors, integrated amp, and DAC. I'm looking for something with punchy bass, an involving midrange, and smooth treble. I recently fell in love with the British sound (Wharfedale 10.1's/Cambridge 351A) at a coworkers house and I've decided I want to go British. I'd prefer standmount as the rooms in my new house are smaller than the townhouse I was renting, so versatility in placement is a must. So, whatchy'all got? A turntable and phono pre can be included in this as well, as I plan on acquiring that stuff someday, and will now if I can fit it into the budget.
 
If I were to build a new British system, I would likely base it around a Rega Brio-R. However, that wouldn't leave much in the budget for your monitors and DAC, if you're buying all new equipment. I suppose a good, less expensive, solution would be to power it with an NAD C 356BEE DAC.
 
I did look at the Brio-R, but it does seem a little outside of my total budget. The main things I want out of the way are the speakers, integrated amp, DAC,, and stands for the monitors. The turntable and phono pre will probably have to wait, no biggie on that. I figured I'd throw that out there if there were some good deals about.
 
I was just going to add that it's almost a toss-up with the NAD and the Rega price-wise, because the NAD has the built-in DAC and no phono section, but the Rega has a phono section and no DAC... But, since you're willing to consider the phono section outside of your initial $2K budget, I suppose that puts the NAD back in consideration.
 
Might want to look into:
Arcam FMJ A19-$1000 (Built-in phono stage, headphone amp)
Aracm rDAC-$700
Wharfdale Diamond 10.1-$350
Sanus BF-24-$40 (Amazon)

Comes in at just under $2100 but should be able to get it all with reasonable discounts for less than $2k. Good luck.

Cheers,

Scott
 
I really enjoyed the B&M CM5's and would encourage an audition if you must go British.
 
Would you consider powered speakers? For $2k you could get very nice ones and then run a reasonably priced DAC. Here are some that are highly regarded in the studio world:

1. Neumann KH-120s. These run around $1500 new. They are quite small but have more bass than you would expect.

2. Equator D8. These are what I ended up getting after selling my integrated amps and floor mount speakers. They are a two-way but are coaxial. Can only be ordered direct and cost $750 or so.

3. Presonus Sceptre S6. These are also coaxial, but have a horn. I had these for a while and really liked them, but the Equators were a few hundred cheaper.
 
KEF R300 or KEF LS50, both would fall into your budget (Both could be had for around $1200 mark).
 
NAD 356BEE $799
Peachtree Dac-itx $299
Monitor Audio BX-2 $358
Pangea Audio - DS300 24" Stands $169

Total - $1625 and still money left over for "reasonable cables" like the digital cable from BJC for about $35 and the speaker cables of your choice.

All of the above can be bought from Audio Advisor with Free Shipping. The speakers, DAC and stands are on significant sales at the moment. I have been tempted for some time to try the BX-2's though I need more speakers like the "hole in the head", but with the raves about them in the press and the price I may just break down and try them. If the Peachtree is not something you want to try you could still do the Schitt Uber and be under your goal.
 
No shortage of budget USB DACs out there - plenty of raves on the 'Uber analog' Bifrost - so the challenge looks like finding amplification/speakers within your remaining budget. I'm going to sell my speaker rig to concentrate on 'phones but I believe you could do a lot worse than the PM6005 and you'll still have over 1K left for speakers, assuming you go with a DAC in the Bifrost ballpark. Note that the Marantz does have an onboard DAC but I find it merely adequate compared to my SA-14S1 - I guess you get what you pay for.

http://www.audioholics.com/amplifier-reviews/marantz-pm6005-integrated-amplifier
 
Bob, what turned you off toward SET/High Efficiency?

Nothing turned me off to it, just time to try something different :yes:. I do this sort of thing from time to time, the last time was 5 years ago when I went SET/HE :smoke:
 
That Brio-R sounds quite tube-ish. You'd find it pleasant enough.
A secondhand example should be within your budget.
 
I know I said all British beforehand, but now I realize I'm narrowing down my choices a little too far. That said, what's the general consensus on the Music Hall a15.3 integrated? Does anybody here have any experience with that one?
 
Rega Brio-R integrated - I haven't written my thoughts on it yet officially (I'm overdue for an update to my journey thread) but I'm coming from an integrated 6x the price of the Brio-R and I'm pleasantly surprised at just how good the Brio-R is! And it has a solid phono stage as a bonus. You can get a gently used one for around $600

Canton Vento 820.2 monitors - you said you like some punch? You've simply gotta hear these! Oh, and the ceramic tweeter is the best I've heard! It is a trickle down from their reference line which includes speakers in the $20K range. I know a guy that could get you a pair of demos for around $900 (I think :D). I personally had the slightly larger 830.2 monitors and they were the best speaker I've owned! You don't hear much about Canton here because they're aren't many dealers - I think you'd LOVE them. As a bonus, they're beautiful and incredibly well made.

iFi iDAC - $300 new

That leaves you with $200 to spare and I think you'd be very happy.
 
Last edited:
I know I said all British beforehand, but now I realize I'm narrowing down my choices a little too far. That said, what's the general consensus on the Music Hall a15.3 integrated? Does anybody here have any experience with that one?

I have the previous model (a15.2) in my second system with some old Polk L50's. It's a nice little amp.
 
Back
Top Bottom