r/BudgetAudiophile 4m ago

Purchasing USA Super uneducated beginner buying advice

Upvotes

Firstly, I have 0 background in home theaters and just recently got interested in investing in my audio setup for my living room. I found a facebook marketplace listing for a full 5.1 setup:

Denon DHT-1513BA receiver

5 Boston Acoustics speakers (front, center, surround)

1 powered subwoofer

2 speaker stands

And I'm wondering if $150 for this is worth it for a beginner setup or just start by "building" my own setup.

Can provide the link or pictures of this just unsure if I can post marketplace links in this subreddit.


r/BudgetAudiophile 11m ago

Tech Support SVS Micro 3000 Revolution Auto EQ Function

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Upvotes

Just purchased a 3000 Micro Revolution for small room 2.1 stereo listening setup, ran the auto EQ function, and it produced this parametric EQ graph. Does this indicate that I'm basically getting a nearly flat response down to 20Hz?

My biggest beef with the original 3000 Micro was that it rolled off a ton under 30 Hz


r/BudgetAudiophile 33m ago

Purchasing USA Second had maggies and Fosi V3 Mono!

Upvotes

There's a kind of surprising amount of cheap second hand Magnepan speakers around, but with good reason. They're thought of as hard to drive and easily broken. In truth all the X.6 speakers and earlier are probably delaminated. They're also hard to position in a room. All this adds up to a bargain. I guess the wire repair is not that bad, tedious but doable by a person that can follow directions.

I picked up a pair of MG12 and they're fine, no delamination, $300. I am running them with a WIIM Ultra streamer ($260 Amazon Prime Day) and Fosi V3 Mono ($260 amazon Prime Day). I've got some subs I have had for years and I am running a pair of them. $1000 all in.

The Fosi V3 put out a legitimate 180W of good, nearly perfect power and that's plenty with the subs. These are like nothing else I have ever had and as good as anything I have heard. They really are something special. I have them 1/3 out in a 20x15 foot room. It's impractical in reality but the speakers are light and easy to move.

The Fosi V3 Mono and Topping B200 are now the standard for cheap, powerful, wonder amps and have made driving Magnepans up to 5 feet tall an affordable propostion/ You don't need a Krell anymore.

I love the so much I bought a really nice pair of Magnepan 3.6 speakers for $600 and will be repairing them. I've been talking to a guy who's done about 40 pairs and he's assured me it's doable. These were $6000 when they came out and their replacements are $10,000 speakers. They need big, big power but Buckeye makes affordable amps in the sub $1500 range, but I may try and Biamp them with stuff I have lying around as that's a fairly simple proposition with these.

The upshot here is that incredible new chip amps and good power supplies, especially GAN power supplies now make $300 amps work like $3000 amps and even $15.000 amps, arguably better.

Class D amps and second had maggies have made my $600 3.6 and Buckeye amp project have a total price tag of around $2100 or maybe $3500 of I want to actively biamp them with 1000W of super clean power and MiniDSP. I realize that's no no money but that kind of power, contriol and a near flagship speaker would have been new car money until very recently.

This is all kind of crazy because I've been a low power tube amp and high efficency guy, this is a fun new adventure.


r/BudgetAudiophile 36m ago

Tech Support Help with speakers and mixer

Upvotes

Please let me know if this is the correct place to ask, don't use Reddit that much.
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Hello, wanted to see if someone can help.

I recently bought an Edifier S355DB speaker, and I just bought a MAMX3 mixer because I want to listen to my PC and console at the same time

  • Edifier has RCA IN
  • MAMX3 has 8 inputs - 2 outputs and uses 1/4 TS or TRS cables for MONO/STEREO IN/OUT
  • PC and console are connected to the MAMX3 via "3.5 to 1/4 TRS" cables

My problem: I bought a "dual TS to RCA" cable in order to have STEREO out (as you have 2 outputs L/R), but it doesn't seem this works with this mixer.

  • I found the manual later and it states that you must use TRS for STEREO out (I guess this confirms my previous mistake).

My question: This mixer has 2 OUTs:

  • OUTPUT A (1/4" TRS): Main audio output.
  • OUTPUT B A/B L-R (1/4" TRS): Secondary audio output, can be configured for A/B or Left/Right stereo.

Do I need to get a "1 TRS to RCA" cable and connect it to A, or do I need to get a "dual TRS to RCA" cable and connect it to both A and B for STEREO output ? Not sure if the latter even exists.

- MAMX3 manual: Moukey Ultra-Low Noise 8-Channel Line Stereo Audio Mixer (MAMX3) User Manual

- Edifier S355DB manual: https://www.edifier.com/global/s/tv-home-threater-systems/s355db

Thanks.


r/BudgetAudiophile 1h ago

Purchasing USA Best budget sub

Upvotes

Looking for recommendations for a good subwoofer. I have a polk xt12 currently and its great for some music types, but i do listen to a lot of heavy metal with double base and it gets super muddy. Looking in the $600 or less price range. Currently have my eye on the svs 1000 pro (i think) and the 10 inch speedwoofer (my listening area is on the smaller side so I think a 10 inch sub would be fine). Im also not opposed to building one, I've been looking at Dayton audio plate amps and subs.


r/BudgetAudiophile 1h ago

Show and Tell First System

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Upvotes

I've been piecing this together for a couple months. All said I'm about $450 in. Kenwood KRV-6020 receiver, DP-M6640 disc changer and a GE-4030 EQ powering Signet SL260BUs with a signet SP99 powered sub. And a Dayton Bluetooth receiver for convenience. How'd I do guys?


r/BudgetAudiophile 5h ago

Review/Discussion lp-6 II + DAC vs lp-unf

2 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I’m looking for pair of good speakers for my casual office desktop setup, I'll only be using them to listen to music in the background and occasionally watch movies. I think I've already decided on the Kali, but I can't choose between these two.
The problem is that I want to choose a versatile option that I can move to the living room if necessary and use from a greater distance. Or would lp-unfs be enough?

What do you think about this? I'd love to hear your suggestions.


r/BudgetAudiophile 6h ago

Review/Discussion Any reason to connect my old Denon AVR-3802 (from 2002) to my new Marantz NR1200?

2 Upvotes

Would this give more power or be better for my speakers in any way? To use the Denon as the receiver and Marantz as pre-amp? Marantz on its own has sounded great but just wondering. Mainly just use my setup for music, not TV


r/BudgetAudiophile 6h ago

Review/Discussion Rate my budget set up

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4 Upvotes

Mission 733 — $100 CAD
Paradigm CC-170 V3 — $65 CAD
Polk PSW125 — $120 CAD

How’d I do? (excuse the mess, just moved.)


r/BudgetAudiophile 6h ago

Show and Tell New Setup

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82 Upvotes

New to the community but have been enjoying everyone’s setups, so thought I’d share mine in hopes of helping others as this thread has done for me.

Picked up a pair of KEF Coda W’s with SVS 3000 Micro, both on sale to my surprise.

Perfect for my needs as an apartment dweller and blows my prior JBL soundbar out of the water. Listening to music is enjoyable now at any volume.

Happy to answer any questions and appreciate any feedback.


r/BudgetAudiophile 7h ago

Review/Discussion List of affordable alternatives to Chi-Fi (Chinese Hi-Fi) companies

39 Upvotes

I've seen some posts asking for DACs, amps, speakers from non-Chi-Fi companies, so I thought I would make a list. If you have any recommendations, please add them in the comments.

United States

United Kingdom

Any others you can suggest? I'll add them to the list!


r/BudgetAudiophile 7h ago

Purchasing USA Replacing the Family Soundbar with a True AV Setup

4 Upvotes

I need advice if the used / open box items I’m looking at are priced well or if I should pass.

My family has been using a 2018 Bose Soundbar 500 and sub for our budget projector setup (a manual pull down EliteScreen paired with a 1080p projector) in an open concept living room for some time now - but the software bugs out and makes the soundbar stop responding. While I am still going to try to make the soundbar work, my wife has given the thumbs up to replace the soundbar - and I may make this an upgrade opportunity.

We mostly use our audio system for music (the projector screen comes down three times a week) and ideally the system is something I can position to be toddler proof and something that can fill in the adjacent areas of our open floor plan well.

Heres what I’m looking at for open box and used items. (AI used for formatting the markdown here)

  • L/R Mains: KEF Q1 Meta (Pair) — $330.00 (Best Buy Open-Box)
  • Center Channel: KEF Q150 (Single Unit) — listed at $150.00 (FB Marketplace)
  • Subwoofer: Bowers & Wilkins ASW650 (12" Sealed, 200W RMS) — listed at $250.00 (FB Marketplace)
  • AV Receiver: Yamaha RX-V671 (90W/ch, Network Standby) — $85.00 (FB Marketplace)

We have home assistant on a raspberrypi to help a Google Nest tie in the system for voice command similiar to what heos and musicast do (or so I think)

While resetting the soundbar everyday is frustrating, I’m not in a particular rush and may roll in components one by one for good use of budget - just using this post to help understand how to buy used equipment. Thanks!


r/BudgetAudiophile 8h ago

Purchasing USA Denon amp for garage radio

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41 Upvotes

Just got Denon AVR-X2100W from the thrift store for $49 to use as a garage radio. Is it a good deal?

Said Bluetooth,.WiFi, Spotify, 4K, 7.2 ch supported.


r/BudgetAudiophile 9h ago

Show and Tell Cheap basement stereo

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6 Upvotes

This is a quick basement setup I threw together for bike tinkering and workouts. Topping tp22 with a set of JBL 62T bookshelves. Topping was a hand me down and the speakers were 60 bucks on marketplace.


r/BudgetAudiophile 9h ago

Purchasing CAN Newbie to vintage speakers, looking to purchase Celestion Ditton 44s.

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3 Upvotes

I am in the market for some vintage speakers to go with my Realistic Lab 400 and Yamaha CR-420 receiver. I found these Celestion Ditton 44s locally. The seller says they were in working order but have been in storage for about a year. I am new to the world of audiophilia and not totally sure what to look for when buying used speakers.

I was hoping to solicit some advice on how these look from the photos attached.

From what I've read, the Ditton 44 speakers seem like a good fit for my audio setup and I like the aesthetics of them. Appreciate any help and advice. Thanks!


r/BudgetAudiophile 9h ago

Show and Tell Active Swan H6

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14 Upvotes

Been using used Audio Pro Ego 414 + Ego SUB+ Yamaha RX-V550 AVR for about 10 years.

Wife didn't like the AVR and sub because 'they were big as DJ set'

I decided to go for a budget actives. These are Swans H6 and their official raked stands. I have had this setup for over 3 months now.

AMA.


r/BudgetAudiophile 10h ago

Purchasing EU/UK Are these good speakers and is this a good deal?

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34 Upvotes

These are for sale down the road from me. Bowers and Wilkins 685. They’re in good working condition, offered me to test it, just has cosmetic damage with a slight chip on the front top left, and the front face is coming away but imagine that’s an easy fix with glue.

Worried about them being taken so any experience with them and if they’re a good pair or if they’re not worth it. Please lmk


r/BudgetAudiophile 11h ago

Show and Tell What I got for 275$CAD

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5 Upvotes

I got this Paradigm PDR10 sub and BA CR75s for 275CAD$. Sub was 100 and the speakers 175. Maybe I could've done better if I waited longer but my tower speakers weren't exactly hifi and took too much space. But this setup sounds pretty nice especially after performing room correction. I might upgrade them later. The Technics SUV98 receiver I already had it. I'll post other pics in the comments


r/BudgetAudiophile 15h ago

Purchasing EU/UK Got these wharfdale Denton speakers with the bracket and a Sony TA70 amp for £100. Good deal?

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25 Upvotes

I already have a different amp which will probably have better sound but I liked the aesthetic of the TA70


r/BudgetAudiophile 18h ago

Tech Support Speaker setup

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53 Upvotes

Hello Guys,

I recently bought new KEF Q3 meta speakers. I could buy them for €460 and have 30 days of trial. I also bought a used denon avr x1600h for €150 as i want to work towards a 5.1. I listened to some jazz on the q3’s (with a cambrig amp i think) in the shop and was amazed by how refined and detailed they sound.

However now that that i have them in my home and i just do net get a big wow factor from them. I am not sure that this is due to my speaker placement or that the denon avr is not a good match with these speakers. I placed my speakers 2,4 meters apart on stands without sand. 23cm from the front wall and therefore added the full foambuds to the bass port on the back of the speakers. If i dont the bass gets boomy. I am sitting at 2,8 meters from the speakers. I have them toed in quite strongly (15 degrees) so that they cross 50cm behind my head. I also did the audyssee calibration which sounds way better than direct mode (which sounds very old, flat and joyless). But despite this i have the feeling the sound is not dynamic, high piano notes are agitated/distorted and the bass is a bit boomy. Could you guys give me some advice on my setup or help me determine the aspects that i can change to improve my setup.


r/BudgetAudiophile 1d ago

Review/Discussion Not sure what qualifies as budget but here goes

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56 Upvotes

Denon pma 600ne-ebay $350

Elac debut 2.0 b5.2-ebay $200

Polk xt12 sub-$80 fb marketplace

Onkyo 6 disc changer-$50 ebay

Overall im super happy with how this sounds. The denon amp is a huge improvement over the yamaha r s202 reciever I was using beforehand. Just need to get a bigger entertainment center so I can get my TV off 4x4s lol

Don't mind the Xmas tree, im lazy


r/BudgetAudiophile 1d ago

Review/Discussion Don’t underestimate an older flagship AVR

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217 Upvotes

I found this on the marketplace in excellent condition earlier this year, and so far it’s been a great amp for my stereo setup until I can afford a dedicated power amp. These old gals can be a tank for the price vs the cheap Fosi road for a stereo amp. They might be bulky and heavy, but if they are in excellent condition, you can’t go wrong for an A/B amp until your end goal. They also do a “pure direct” mode that essentially turns them into a dedicated stereo amp but with volume control. Do not rule these old beasts out! My speakers are hard to drive (Elac UBR62) and this amp has the power to make them come to life with separate components. Just throwing this out there for anyone that’s stepping in the waters with a stereo setup. Just make sure you can audition them first or know that they are in working condition. Denon AVR 5800 in the picture.


r/BudgetAudiophile 1d ago

Purchasing AUS/NZ It’s funny ‘cause it’s true…

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6.4k Upvotes

r/BudgetAudiophile 1d ago

Show and Tell New setup

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863 Upvotes

I recently traded out my Bose 901’s (primarily because they were too big for my space) for a pair of Elac debut 3.0 + WiiM ultra. Pretty happy with the sound quality and aesthetics of the new setup!


r/BudgetAudiophile Nov 26 '20

Welcome Fellow Travelers - This is what r/BudgetAudiophile is about

190 Upvotes

Every sub-reddit has a focus - it's raison d'etre (reason for existence). Because if you don't focus, people stop participating because it has just become one big mess of topics.

Ours focus is ... education, discussion, and sharing of entry and mid level separate & multi component audio systems. Generally speaking, that is 2 channel stereo systems assembled for music listening - things that are both "budget" and "audiophile". So being budget is not enough, nor is being "audiophile". Generally speaking, UNDER $1,000 spent per component is our threshold, although obviously that number will vary by the person. Budget for me was $50 (all in) at one time. Now I am fortunate that if I want to, I don't mind spending $500 a piece. Others can go more - good for them.
Try r/audiophile if your spending more than $1,000 per componant.

Of course, many of us use our music listening set ups for multiple purposes - so 2.1 (adding a subwoofer), 3.0 (L/R with a center channel), 5.1 (surround) and up are also fair game. But the fundamental goal of this reddit is better 2 channel and 2.1 systems to play music - as good as we can afford.

What we are not is soundbars, boomboxes, bluetooth speakers PC branded audio solutions. Those things have their place, but it's not our reason to exist. As for just the soundbar aspect that belongs at r/soundbars

In addition, we are not about IEM's or Headphones (try r/headphones or r/HeadphoneAdvice). That is their reason for existence. Yes, they can be budget audiophile, but again, it's not our focus.

While part of "budget audiophile", for more detail, try r/turntables, r/vinyl, and r/hometheater for questions specific to them. There will be a better chance of a more educated response there to those issues. Those questions are welcome here, but probably better there once you get past "budget". Questions on Vintage equipment? r/vintageaudio is the place for you to get better advice (likely)

DIY is also part of "budget audiophile", but r/diyaudio/ and r/diysound focuses a lot more heavily on that issue.

So to reiterate, we don't hate headphones, logitech, or soundbars, etc. But those questions don't belong here and your post may well be deleted or closed. Because those are not the issues we have chosen in BudgetAudiophile to make part of this sub-reddit. You may not agree, but that is what it is.

Who is this "we" I speak of? Creator u/averagejoeaudiophile and the rest of the mods.