I remember in the 1970s that audio progressed by pretty rational, objectivist, advances in design and technology. Later, in the 90s, I was shocked by the idea that cables and exotic materials were supposed to somehow impart magical qualities to the sound. This seemed like some sort of simple 'superstition' that had literally never occurred to me before. But I became slightly infected with it, and came to believe that I had to spend a decent amount of money on equipment, and even cables, to sanctify the sound - or at least to prevent my irrational side from constantly whispering in my ear that there was something unquantifiably wrong with the sound. It took some shaking off, but since experimenting with DSP and active crossovers, I now realise that you can have the best hi fi you've ever heard for a very, very small outlay.
My version of frugal is to attempt to ignore fads and cults, and to make the following fairly rational assumptions:
- digital audio is very good
- DSP is 'perfect' and much preferred to analogue processing
- audio DSP power of a PC is huge
- passive crossovers in the speakers ruin the sound far more than a medium-priced amplifier
- expensive cables, exotic materials etc. contribute virtually nothing to the sound
- secondhand = very cheap
In my ultra-frugal system, the main components are:
I've had pretty decent hi fi in the past, but this system is, I think, the best I have ever heard. In terms of real, perceptible factors such as 'imaging', clarity, and the ability to kick you in the chest with very loud dynamics that don't pull their punches or in some way deviate as the volume increases, it is amazing. Listening fatigue is, I believe, much lower because the image is so solid and the linearity so good.
The vital thing, of course is getting rid of the passive crossover, but secondary advantages are:
To a 'superstitious' person it looks terrible on paper: digital waveforms are all artificial and sharp edges aren't they? the PC doesn't have any sort of exotic materials in it, and it's light; the CD drive is made of plastic and bits of springy metal and the power supply is switched mode; the sound card uses op amps of a type doesn't even have a cult following (we can ignore the measurements because they don't tell you anything about 'musicality'); the amplifiers and speakers are mass market items in audio terms. With this in their mind, they don't really have to listen to it to know it's going to sound terrible. Indeed, I had all this in my mind before I actually tried it, but forced myself to go ahead anyway. But almost the first time I tried it I knew that this really was something amazing.
The components were just thrown together as a cheap and cheerful experiment, but I have very little urge to change them. I honestly don't think better amplifiers would make much difference, nor an expensive sound card - diminishing returns anyway. The speakers are far better than I ever expected they could be (they sounded pretty mediocre with the passive crossovers), so I am taking my time in trying anything different.
I commend the <GBP 150 system to you as an example of frugality that really is something approaching the best, regardless of cost.
My version of frugal is to attempt to ignore fads and cults, and to make the following fairly rational assumptions:
- digital audio is very good
- DSP is 'perfect' and much preferred to analogue processing
- audio DSP power of a PC is huge
- passive crossovers in the speakers ruin the sound far more than a medium-priced amplifier
- expensive cables, exotic materials etc. contribute virtually nothing to the sound
- secondhand = very cheap
In my ultra-frugal system, the main components are:
- 2 x integrated amplifier (Denon PMA355UK now available for about 30 GBP each)
- Speakers modified for active crossover (Mission 702e 2 way floorstanders, capable of high volume, good bass. Available for about 20 GBP per pair, then remove a couple of components, add a couple of components plus wire links.)
- Desktop PC with quiet cooling (Dell minitower that can be purchased for about 35 GBP secondhand)
- Sound card (Creative X-Fi for about 30 GBP secondhand)
- Active crossover software that allows complete control of crossover frequency, filter characteristics (including linear phase), slopes. (0 GBP) (won't go into the technical details here)
- Literally the cables that come free with pieces of equipment, or cost 1 GBP from eBay.
I've had pretty decent hi fi in the past, but this system is, I think, the best I have ever heard. In terms of real, perceptible factors such as 'imaging', clarity, and the ability to kick you in the chest with very loud dynamics that don't pull their punches or in some way deviate as the volume increases, it is amazing. Listening fatigue is, I believe, much lower because the image is so solid and the linearity so good.
The vital thing, of course is getting rid of the passive crossover, but secondary advantages are:
- ability to select numerous digital and software-based audio sources without any additional jitter (above the sound card's playback jitter - and it measures excellently) or need to re-sample
- fine tuning of the crossover filter characteristics, slope, crossover frequency
- possibility to add speaker and/or room correction if desired
- sheer convenience of controlling all audio sources from a single versatile interface
To a 'superstitious' person it looks terrible on paper: digital waveforms are all artificial and sharp edges aren't they? the PC doesn't have any sort of exotic materials in it, and it's light; the CD drive is made of plastic and bits of springy metal and the power supply is switched mode; the sound card uses op amps of a type doesn't even have a cult following (we can ignore the measurements because they don't tell you anything about 'musicality'); the amplifiers and speakers are mass market items in audio terms. With this in their mind, they don't really have to listen to it to know it's going to sound terrible. Indeed, I had all this in my mind before I actually tried it, but forced myself to go ahead anyway. But almost the first time I tried it I knew that this really was something amazing.
The components were just thrown together as a cheap and cheerful experiment, but I have very little urge to change them. I honestly don't think better amplifiers would make much difference, nor an expensive sound card - diminishing returns anyway. The speakers are far better than I ever expected they could be (they sounded pretty mediocre with the passive crossovers), so I am taking my time in trying anything different.
I commend the <GBP 150 system to you as an example of frugality that really is something approaching the best, regardless of cost.