Quote Originally Posted by harley .guy07
I have as well seen several times that my good mid prices gear outperforms some of the multi thousand dollar gear some of my friends have or I have worked with in the past. I believe there are components out there that do have a higher price tag because they have the best parts available and they do outperform all mid priced stuff but that is only in certain cases and I have seen this go completely the opposite direction many times. It's funny to watch this take place and I always root for the underdog since I am a person that believes in more for the money. I put in mind the Odyssey Audio Khardago amplifier, this amp is a killer amp and I have heard it several times over the years and the damn thing to me has sounded better than so many amps in the multi thousand dollar range that it is kind of unbelievable. But Odyssey audio sells it for 750 bucks in stock form and just right under 1000 bucks for the modified version and this thing will make speakers sing like some amps with 10,000 dollar price tags on them. In fact when I do upgrade from my Adcom I will be looking very close at the Khardago. At least the Khardago has a price tag that is affordable and real world and I believe that is one thing that is going to help keep this hobby alive for people just getting into it because the economy is not that great in today's world and I don't think its over yet.
The Khartago is on my list of potential amps as well... It's pretty much either that or the Naim Nait 5i... both have strong reputations as exceptionally good despite the relatively low prices...

The trick for the budget conscious audiophile is to read as many reviews (and measurements) as possible and then audition keenly... there are so many great products available for reasonable money, that you can easily assemble something that sounds genuinely high-end, just without the high-end price tag... NOTE: that does not mean that there are not still better products available for a lot more money...

Experts like Sir T, can buy good affordable gear and have them altered to spec (which is one of the best ways to ensure you don't get ripped off)... Since I have no such expertise, I instead check out numerous professional and user reviews and keenly audition to get the best value for my money... I also have a policy that gear has to both sound good to me and measure well....

The reason measurement matters to me is because I want to be sure that I'm getting a real improvement for my money and not just a different sound (for an elevated price tag)... For example, some persons might audition a $1K Benchmark DAC1 and decide that they prefer the sound of some high-end company's $3K DAC... However, how do they know that the $3K DAC is really better and not just that it provides a sound they prefer? Further, how do they know that there is not another $1K DAC that measures and sounds like the $3K one?