Quote Originally Posted by Ajani
Let's assume you were building a 2 channel HiFi with a normal (middle class) audiophile budget, so essentially anywhere from $1,500 to $15,000 for the whole setup (source, amplification, speakers and cables), what compromises would you accept?
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The type of music you listen to, how loud you listen to it, and the room that you listen in are the biggest factors, IMO.

If you listen to chamber music, (I'm guilty! ), and/or maybe jazz or vocals, bass doesn't need to be loud, nor macro dynamics all that impressive. Mid-range is paramount, but extended treble is also important for accurate instrument timbres.

For large scale choral and orchestral music and , (I'm guilty again), resolution is essential to separate voices and instruments from each other. Additionally one must add more macro- and micro-dynamics and loudness for crescendos, and deeper bass, to the chamber music attributes, above.

It's a totally different matter if you listen to Trance at disco levels, in which case loudness and punchy dynamics, (PRaT), are vital but extended highs might actually be disadvantageous, (unless you filter your music through the vinyl medium and/or mellow tubes). Really deep bass, (vs. loud bass), is unimportant.

... So you choose your equipment accordingly.

IMO, my current stereo system is well-selected in a $5-8 k range for the wide range of classical music that I mostly listen too in a mid-size rooms; see below for the details.