What is your hifi system worth ? (retail price, and NOT what you paid for)

[Ajani]

I just visited another dealer, who has the Cambridge Audio, which I have auditioned
elsewhere a year ago. It's pretty good, but will have to get some prices.

The 840 A and C for starters. Hmmm they're not bad, would need to probably pay
much more for not too much better.

I haven't tried the 840A/C combo, but with the amount of stellar reviews for that pair I'd say it's well worth auditioning (or re-auditioning).... and I believe the 840A has HT pass through mode so you can still keep your Yamaha and HT setup.

[Jim Clark]

Hey Jim.

Ok, apologies for the misunderstanding.

No worries, we're good. We all have different approaches, experiences, and opinions. I've seen some things on this thread that make me scratch my head and wonder and I've also seen more than a couple of pieces that I kinda wish I had. An automatic record cleaner would actually be near the top of that list. My little KAB EV-1 is a total PITA.

jc

[JohnMichael]

Hey Jim.

Ok, apologies for the misunderstanding.

I just visited another dealer, who has the Cambridge Audio, which I have auditioned
elsewhere a year ago. It's pretty good, but will have to get some prices.

The 840 A and C for starters. Hmmm they're not bad, would need to probably pay
much more for not too much better.

It is clear a lot of you folks have paid some serious dollars, and/or managed to get
some very nice components/systems.

I have just spent 4 hours moving furniture around, and reorganising my CD, DVD, and
video collections :P I still need to disassemble my current cabinet so I can install
the new one that's being delivered tomorrow with my new LCD screen

Grrrr, would of been nice to have a day off for that.

I believe after today, all of my visual needs will be taken care of, apart from a Blue Ray
recorder with 1 TB hard drive (that will take probably about 2 years to be released).

Cambridge Audio is coming out with the 840A v2 very soon. The new and improved model. If you buy the first 840A I would expect some good discounts. Back when I bought my 640A I was surprised that they came out soon after with an improved version. Oh well.

[Ajani]

Cambridge Audio is coming out with the 840A v2 very soon. The new and improved model. If you buy the first 840A I would ecpect some good discounts. Back when I bought my 640A I was surprised that they came out soon after with an improved version. Oh well.

Hopefully he'll get the same kind of discounts on the 840A v1 in Australia as the ones on AudioAdvisor. They've got it discounted to $1K (from $1.5K) - the same price as the 740A!

[oaqm]

Old angry dude, how do you like that McCormack?

The only way I could improve on the McCormack would be to go to the CJ MET-1, which is basically a tube version of the MAP-1.

McCormack states that the MAP needs a minimum 100 hour break in, but it was immediately more "audibly transparent" than the Rotel 1068 I was using at the time. I would liken it to removing a couple of invisible bed sheets that had been on my speakers.

The build quality is what you would expect from CJ (McC stuff is built by CJ in Fairfax). Be advised that this is a 6 channel pure analog pre-amp, and not a processor in any way, shape, or form. You need a CD/DVD spinner that has its own DACs/decoders/Dolbyfiers/DTSificationers/FruitSqueezers/etc if you want to hear Luke's light saber swinging all around the room.

If you have been bitten by the multichannel bug and want to really concentrate on music first, something along these lines is indispensable. You can use an A/V receiver, but you are squeezing the music through an extra set of ICs via the volume control on your receiver, and it is unbelievably audible.

Sorry, I have run off at the mouth. In answer to your question, I like it. I like it a whole lot.

[Ajani]

Be advised that this is a 6 channel pure analog pre-amp, and not a processor in any way, shape, or form. You need a CD/DVD spinner that has its own DACs/decoders/Dolbyfiers/DTSificationers/FruitSqueezers/etc if you want to hear Luke's light saber swinging all around the room.

I wonder why there aren't more multi-channel preamps? The only other one I can remember off-hand is the soon to be released (I think) Parasound Halo P7. A multi-channel pre seems like a great way to get high quality multi-channel sound for a decent price.

[oaqm]

Home Theater is KING. The vast majority of folks that own A/V receivers watch their movies and listen to the radio or an occasional CD and are perfectly content.

Straight-up serious audio heads are a niche group, multi-channel audio heads are a splinter group within that niche. There isn't a big enough market to justify someone with huge manufacturing capability to even bother getting their feet wet.

Other than the Pink Floyd 35th Anniversary DSOTM SACD (and maybe the Beatles LOVE DVD-A), how many folks here even own a multi-channel disk?

[filecat13]

Okay, I thought about NOT doing this, then thought it might teach me something about myself. I'll consider it therapy, and note that my collection burgeoned immediately after my wife of 28 years left and went back to Michigan, taking way more than half of everything with her.

That was a very liberating experience, and little by little the accumulation grew. Interestingly, I enjoy every one of these systems and listen to all of them in a week's time. I left out a number of smaller systems in bedrooms, other offices, etc., and didn't bother with all the spare drivers, voice coils, components, etc., that are not in current use.

This needs to be broken into several posts, I think.

Nostalgia Vinyl System

Two JBL L100 Century speakers: $546
Kenwood KA-801 integrated amp: $700
Kenwood KT-815 tuner: $400
Technics SL-QD33 turntable with Shure M91: $290
Various cables and connectors: $30

Total: $1,966

Los Angeles Office System

Two JBL L7 speakers: $2000
Two Soundcraftsmen A400 amps: $1160
Soundcraftsmen DX4200 preamp: $699
Belkin iPod dock: $79
Niles IPC-8: $350
Various cables and connectors: $40

Total: $4,328

Wilmington Office System

Two JBL 4430 studio monitors: $3198
JBL B380 sub: $899
JBL BX63A crossover/bridge: $249
Two Soundcraftsmen A200 amps: $940
Technics SLPG300 CD player: $240
Belkin iPod dock: $79
Various cables and connectors: $44

Total: $5,649

[shokhead]

Denon 3808-$1100
Denon 2930-$515
Panasonic TH-46PZ85U Plasma $1900
SVS -PB12–Plus $1050
BDI plasma cabinet $1600

[O'Shag]

KEF's ultimate statement Reference 109, project codename: The Maidstone Sold for $22,000usd in 2002. I was offered $35,000 for them by an Asian collector two weeks ago. Never really intended as a consumer product, just produced a few to show the world what they could do. Bespoke-built from the ground up with no off the shelf parts to be the best in the world. Definitely on a very short list of the best.

MFA MC Reference Prototype - The production version was $15,000usd new, but the prototype is much more valuable and delivers much better performance. I've been offered $20,000 for it, its worth more but it doesn't matter because I could never part with it anyway, its too good.

Monitor Audio Gold Reference 60 - $4,000 (what a bargain!) Its embarrassed some much more expensive speakers I've heard. But it cannot scale the sonic heights of the Maidstone.

Mission 767 flagship speakers - $7000usd when new LFA unit another $500

KEF Reference 107/2 - $7,500 - Great speaker which I still love. Very organic sound, superb for Jazz, Classical.

Polk Audio RT5000p (sold the RT3000 but still have the CS1000p center and FX/1000 surrounds), The CS1000p and F/X1000 come to around $3,800 when new
Audio Research Classic 150 monoblocks balanced version - $13,000usd - Awesome sound thats gets too close to the Reference300 and 600 for comfort. Thats probably why ARC discontinued the Classic 150 production.
Audio Research Classic 120 monoblocks balanced verion - $7,500usd
Mark Levinson No 27 x 2 at $3,500 each - $7,000 (good luck trying to get solid state amps of this quality new at anything close to that price, especially Levinsons. I think the Marsh A400S are best solid state bang for the buck amps available for the present)
Spectron Model 10 preamp SN# 1 (first ever made by John Ulrich) - $6000
Spectron 1KW amp SN# 2 (second made by John Ulrich, father of commercial digital amp technology) - $3,000
Audio Research SP6E - $3,700 when new
Musical Fidelity M1 turntable / SME M212 tonearm / Nordost Valhalla oem cable $7,500
Musical Fidelity Trivista DAC 21 - Level 2 mod by Chris Johnson (Sonic Frontiers) $4,200
Purist Audio Dominus digital cable - $800
Alphason HR100MCS pure titanium tonearm with pure mono crystal silver wire - $2,500 when new
Dynavector Karat 17D2 cartridge - best cartridge for the price at $895
Stanton 881s cartridge - $125.00 thought this was good until I heard the dynavector which totally blew it away.
California Audio Labs Tempest II tube Analogue CD Player - $5,000
California Audio Labs Delta transport - 1,100

Mostly Transparent MusicWave Ultra Cabling - don't know, but easily over $7k
QED Genesis Silver Spiral bi-wire cables - $800
QED Silver Anniversary (for surrounds) -$200 or so
Yamaha RX-Z9 Processor /Receiver $4,500
anchor Bay Tech/DVDO HD+ scaler - $1,300
Denon DVD-3910 - $1,600
Sony DVP-NS9000ES DVD player - very nice well made player - $1,300
Denon DVD5000 - antique thats made like a brickhouse but doesn't sound as good either standalone or as transport as its baby brother the 3910
Tice PowerBlock and Titan power conditioning and energy Storage system have four units
altogether close to $7,000 new
Cinepro power conditioner - $3,500
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70"SXRD TV - $7,000
Loewe Aconda 40" CRT Tube TV - $5,800
Racks/Stands; Bello, BDI, Custom - $3000
Hard Drives for DVR storage - $300
Accessories - quite a bit
Power cords - about $300
Carver C4000T preamp - $1,500
Carver TFM45 amp - $950
Carver CD-390T - tube reference CD player (bloody great cd player that kick the pants of a lot of modern ones, I'm not kidding)
CarverTDR100 - tape deck
Alesis ML9600 - CD-R
lots of extra bits
My Missus - priceless

[Luvin Da Blues]

Impressive list O'Shag. I assume that you are only using some of that gear on your list at one time or do you have that many systems hooked up?

BTW, total for all of your gear listed = $167,675 nice.

[O'Shag]

$167k??? wow, By the way, I'm a little short today, can you lend me 5 dollars?

Don't use all at once. swich things out to get different sound. Don't use the MFA all the time as it utilizes tubes in its operation. Ditto much of the other stuff. Got other systems setup in the bedrooms.

[Mr Peabody]

We might need a recount, I think he added a zero on the end of that Yamaha receiver

Nice collection though. I'd like to hear the KEF, no one around this area carry them.

[O'Shag]

[QUOTE=Mr Peabody]We might need a recount, I think he added a zero on the end of that Yamaha receiver

Well, if it was a Levinson No.40 media processor I'd have to add a zero, and that wouldn't even include the amps

Making this list has given me pause for thought.. I need to trim down the system a little..

[OzzieAudiophile]

Mr Peabody, how are the Dynaudio t2.5, t2.1 s treating you ?

Happy with the imaging ?

As to the rest of you guys ? Nice impressive lists, nice to know you're not
so fussy lol.

O'Shag, I could only dream that my area in Australia could stock 1/10th of the
range of brands that you have

[Mr Peabody]

O'Shag I can take a hint, I'll be glad to accept your donations. Why don't you trim off a set of those monoblocks, heck, your choice.

[thepogue]

ML # 27 - 2,700
Musical Fidelity 308cr 2,400
ML Prodigy's 11,000
Rega Planet 1,000
CJ Premier 9 DAC 3,000
LP-12 3,000
Straightwire Cabling 2,000

25k ish

[bfalls]

Emotiva UMC1 700.00
Emotiva XPA-5 800.00
Oppo BDP-93 514.00
Yamaha M-65 500.00
Legacy Focus 6500.00
Silver Screen 1495.00
T&A P-30 2100.00
Klipsch RS3 500.00
Sony KDL-52XBR5 5000.00
Monster 3500MKII 400.00
PS3 600.00
Audioquest cables 600.00
BelloLCD/audio stand400.00
Power Cords 150.00
20259.00

[dingus]

i'm in at just under $10k (prices approximate; esp. the wire)

AR MGC-1 ...............$3600
M&K V-1b .................$900
Pioneer VSX-47TX ....$3000
Oppo BDP 83.............$600
Squeezebox ..............$300
Vortexbox Appliance ..$350
Panamax Max 5300 ...$400
various wire ...............$350
...............................$9500

[Poultrygeist]

Price is not indicative of sound quality. Less expensive DIY options can compete with and exceed the highest priced gear.

[thekid]

Hmmmm 3 yr-old thread- Anyone calculated for the depreciation or appreciation of their gear since then???

Can't really calculate what my main system is worth. It depends too much on what the local Salvation Army is charging for it these days........

[pixelthis]

Hmmmm 3 yr-old thread- Anyone calculated for the depreciation or appreciation of their gear since then???

Can't really calculate what my main system is worth. It depends too much on what the local Salvation Army is charging for it these days........

depreciation is not important, nor price.
APPRECIATION is all, if you appreciate it you have done
well my lad.

[Mash]

Maybe this deserves a redo with the professions & approximate incomes of the systems' owners also included. Some people may have professional systems because they make their living in the audiophile equipment business. Others may simply prefer to enjoy life while they may. Some may simply be very cautious with a buck. Today's economy would seem to prove that the latter have the right idea.

My daughter was negotiating a buy-sell with another doctor some years ago where she would be the junior doctor for 3 years and then the other doctor would [supposedly] retire after that 3 years at 65. Somehow she learned that that doctor, who really lived the big life, had only saved $500,000 toward his pending retirement. She broke off the negoiations and opened her own offices because she figured she would be the junior doctor in that practice for a long time. She & her banker husband still live in a modest mortgage-free house.

I have about $20,000 spread over 4 systems with about $10,000 of that in one main system, and I feel guilty about that.

I am also retired but we are better off than most. This economy has led to cutbacks in non-essential spending, like on the State Police & Sheriff's department, so I just hope I have enough guns & ammo...... the situation seems to be worsening for the working classes and now the middle class, and not counting our constipated Congress there are still a lot of people who do not think very far ahead. So... let's put some music on....

[TK88]

Hello fellow audio-phreaks.

My other poll gave you the opportunity to express your passion to what kind(s) of
hifi systems you have set up in your home. Sorry I published ppl's choices, I will NOT do
that for this poll. You will be able to see the number result only, not who voted.

This one concentrates on how much pain, passion, dollars, you have paid in order to
take you to that journey you need to make. This is the TOTAL cost (retail price), of ALL
of the hifi systems in your home, as many as you actually have at home. Vote on what
your system(s) are worth shop retail price, NOT what you paid for.

Make sure you also add up all of your speaker cables, interconnects, speaker end plugs,
power surge protectors, UPSs, current regulator systems, sound dampeners, hifi/component
cabinets, LCD/Plasma, TVs, VCRs, BluRay players, HD boxes, DVR's, PVR's, surround
speakers, Subwoofers.

DO NOT add the value of your CD/DVD disc collections. I'm not interested in music media in
this poll.

Any set up over 5K, I'd be interested to know what it is, if it's in your profile, let me know,
to save space

This is NOT a contest, it's not a 'most expensive' wins. I'm purely curious as what it took
to make your listening experiences as pleasurable as possible.

My theory is you cannot put a number/price on audio happiness. However we do tend
to live in life, the same way as we journey through our audio listening experienced lives.
We upgrade once in a while, some more often than others. Technology demands some of
us to upgrade more often than we would of 10 years ago.

I'm willing to take a guess that the majority of folks would have a system worth about
5K. I would be interested to find how if that ends up being the case, or am I so totally
wrong ?

Any systems 10K or more, msg me personally. I want to understand which components
are your most expensive ones, why you made those choices, what would you also say
is the weakness in your system (if you have found any).

NOTE : If you found this poll a most useful "getting to know our other hifi breatherin"
excercise, your positive feedback is welcome.


Thankyou again.

Well..I have prity cheap tube electronic from China but sounds great...with german boxes Magnat Sigma 1000 ....30 years old but the sound is terrific

[Xytech]

Er... 800? I feel so insignificant!