Best value-proposition audio purchases

[nicoff]

Originally Posted by Weirdcuba

Anything from herbies.

I just returned my Herbies. That was part of my experiment. I used cheap furniture sliders under the amp stands to move my speakers around.

[W9TR]

The Hafler DH-500 amplifier I built from a kit.

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by nicoff

I am not sure if this counts, but BY FAR the best value in my system is a set of repurposed wooden amp stands that I got for free when I bought a set of mono amps years ago (the folk I bought the amps from called me later to tell me he will give them to me for free if I pay shipping!), my luck!

The amps stands can be loaded with sand to make them really heavy. They sit very close to the floor which means a very low center of gravity.

Btw, I never heard any benefit when using the the stands with the amps (the amps were being used for my surround speakers). Maybe that’s why he gave them to me for free!

Then recently I was looking for ways to provide better support for my main speakers (they were a bit wobbly to the touch because the speakers are on a carpeted room). The speaker manufacturer recommended spikes. Spiking the carpet was a no-go with my wife.

So I thought, why not repurpose those amp stands and set my speakers atop them? Then I could spike the speakers to the amp stands and nobody will care.

I went ahead with my “experiment” and lo and behold, it works beautifully. The system improvements are such that I can say that this is the best AND cheapest improvement I have made in my system in a LONG while (well since buying new speakers but that does not count for this thread).

If you have wood floors or carpeted floor and are hesitating spiking them, I suggest you try something like this. It worked for me.

Sure it counts, why wouldn't it?

Great story, thanks.

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by Weirdcuba

Anything from herbies.

Agreed. I forgot to add these, now that I think about it.

I'm using Tenderfeet under my Uptone Audio LPS-1.2 and Keces P3 power supplies, and under the Gold Note phono stage I'm evaluating for TAS.

Also, I'm using Baby Booties under the Sonore Optical Module.

All of these made noticeable improvements in the presentation: improved clarity, definition and focus.

[Antonmb]

For $699, the Woo Audio WA6 headphone amplifier is an excellent value and great starting point for a dedicated headphone system. Also the WA7, which for $999 has a very good internal DAC.
https://wooaudio.com/amplifiers/wa6
https://wooaudio.com/amplifiers/wa7

MrSpeakers Aeon Flow C, exceptional sound in a closed headphone for $799. https://www.mrspeakers.com/headphones-22/aeon.html

Shunyata PS8 ($799 msrp) and Venom Defender ($200 msrp) combination is an excellent way to start your power conditioning journey.
https://shunyata.com/products/power-...enom-defender/

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by Antonmb

For $699, the Woo Audio WA6 headphone amplifier is an excellent value and great starting point for a dedicated headphone system. Also the WA7, which for $999 has a very good internal DAC.
https://wooaudio.com/amplifiers/wa6
https://wooaudio.com/amplifiers/wa7

MrSpeakers Aeon Flow C, exceptional sound in a closed headphone for $799. https://www.mrspeakers.com/headphones-22/aeon.html

Shunyata PS8 ($799 msrp) and Venom Defender ($200 msrp) combination is an excellent way to start your power conditioning journey.
https://shunyata.com/products/power-...enom-defender/

[cleeds]

Harmony 650 universal remote, cost $50. I think it's been replaced by the 665, which is comparable.

[bart]

Our Yamaha R-N803D amplifier.
It got an EISA award for best Stereo Receiver 2018-2019.

New, it costs 800€, we bought a less than one year old demo model for 500€.

2x140W into 8 Ohm.
Streams Qobuz and Tidal (ethernet or wifi), does Airplay and Bluetooth, has a DAB+ and (very good) FM tuner. Room correction.




It even served a couple of months in our main system while we were waiting on our new Hegel, and did a remarkable job.
It's providing the music in our kitchen now.

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by bart

Our Yamaha R-N803D amplifier.
It got an EISA award for best Stereo Receiver 2018-2019.

New, it costs 800€, we bought a less than one year old demo model for 500€.

2x140W into 8 Ohm.
Streams Qobuz and Tidal (ethernet or wifi), does Airplay and Bluetooth, has a DAB+ and (very good) FM tuner. Room correction.




It even served a couple of months in our main system while we were waiting on our new Hegel, and did a remarkable job.
It's providing the music in our kitchen now.

Very cool, Bart!

How's it sound?

[bart]

Originally Posted by Puma Cat

Very cool, Bart!

How's it sound?

Stephen, much much better than it should for 800€, let alone 500€...


The Hegel is of course better, but not 20 times.


(Of the record, the FM tuner was so good I immediately sold our Burmester tuner, which was no slouch, but worse than the tuner in this Yamaha. Go figure...)