I’ve got two systems at home and really enjoy both for different reasons.
One is a more “grown-up” setup — ND5 XS2 used as a transport into a Qutest (with SBooster), into a 282/Hicap DR/250 DR, feeding Sonus Faber Sonetto V speakers. It’s wonderfully composed and detailed, with great clarity and a wide, open soundstage. It does all the hi-fi things right — texture, space, precision — and can sound quite stunning when everything clicks.
The other system is much simpler: NAC 152 XS / NAP 155 XS with an nDAC, NACA5 cable and a pair of little Neat Motive 2s. It doesn’t have the same scale or resolution, but it’s just so engaging. The music has real flow, punch, and natural warmth. You stop thinking about the sound and just find yourself listening and smiling. It’s pure fun — the kind of setup that makes you forget about hi-fi completely.
So in the end, I don’t think there’s a set amount you “have” to spend for good hi-fi. It’s really about finding a system that connects you to the music. Sometimes, the more modest one can be the most enjoyable of all.
Reflecting on your post, I feel my system achieved really good sound (as opposed to just very enjoyable) when I moved from my original Sinclair amp iterations to a Radford to power the IMF speakers I’d bought a 2 or 3 years previously in 1975, fed by a Thorens TT I’d had since 1971. Total system cost corrected for rpi/cpi would be in the region of £6-7k in todays money, half that the speakers, though given hifi’s greater than rpi/cpi inflation would be more likely to cost over £10k if made today.
Had I stopped a that point I would not have been unhappy with the sound, but, hifi being a key hobby supporting my love of playing music, it did not stop there, and my system gradually evolved from a good sounding one to the amazing sounding one it is now, with my being unable to imagine it being able to sound any better, all thought of improvement now ceased,
I have often been asked the question ‘How much do I need to spend on a hi-fi system?’ and I always offer the same answer … No more than you need to to enjoy music.
I always feel disappointed when I read posts from members who have spent many tens of thousand of pounds on their systems and are still asking for advice about their next upgrade.
If you are enjoying music on your system, stop and spend your money on software rather than more hardware. Those who adopt a spend, spend, spend approach to maintaining their system will most probably, never be satisfied.
My main passion in life is photography, and there are people who are constantly changing gear, usually very expensive gear, in a constant upgrade churn. I guess other hobbies like cycling are much the same. I find the cure for the itch to upgrade, is cured by actually going out and doing some photography, or with my HiFi actually listening to some music.
I have tended to slowly change my HiFi gear, over the years. I was sad to lose my Quad Pre/Power amp when the pre amp could no longer be repaired. My Celestion Dittons, went after 40 years. My XS3 with my PMC speakers was a whimsical upgrade, and it sounds fine to my ears. Better than the theoretically better gear I traded in.
I listen to a lot of music on headphones. My wife does not appreciate the more extreme boundaries of Jazz. A SPL Phoniotor SE with cross-feed solved a big problem with headphone listening. Namely the extreme stereo effects in some old recordings, which place certain instruments in one earcup, which kills sound quality. (Black Saint and the Sinner Lady by Mingus). With this €2000 HP amp, and my €2000 Heddphone GT2 cans, I cannot honestly immagine how I can improve anything.
I will just add that the sound quality we hear at the concerts we go to is usually far worse than even a modest Hi Fi setup. The exception is Classical Orchestral music that is not amplified. I also feel the recording and mastering quality of many albums is also very limiting.
A big Hi Fi trap I feel is that one is in danger of listening to the system, rather than the music.
We all have a personal threshold for “good enough”. Mine is lower than most and higher than some.
I can think of speakers in the £1000 range I could live with for my final speakers. The speakers on my Luxman system were about £2k but I expect if there was a distributor and a dealer and a more well known brand name slapped on them they would be closer to £4k.
I think you really benefit from choosing speakers first as they set the tone (pun not intended) for the whole system and design around that. Though I typically spend far less on speakers than anything else despite choosing them first.
Those photographers will mostly focus on gear rather than what they want to achieve with their photos. I’ve stopped chasing photography gear a long time ago and I don’t regret it at all to be honest. It doesn’t mean that gear does not matter (as in the Hi-Fi world), but things need to be put in the right context.
I usually prefer listening to music with my system too. I go to concerts for the whole experience and with a different approach in mind.
True story, even though a good Hi-Fi is an essential part for the enjoynment of music, at least for me. But if the system is good, then I’ll focus on the music itself.
I went to listen at the dealer to a NC 222/250 combi with identical speakers that I have at home ( SF Olympica Nova 3). With some discount i was looking at 11k €. But the sound was dissapointing. An extra NPX 300 solved that. And replacing the 250 and the NPx300 with mono 350’s gave even better improvement. But then i was turning into 18k territory without fraim and cables. Plus the knowledge that the 222 is the weak link and would require a future 332/333 upgrade. Thats another 19k…
Would that be better then my current hifi setup? Yes, but at almost 3 times the cost.
So I enjoy my current system and while I know that there are noticable improvements possible, i dont feel the need. The balance between the extra sound vs the extra € is for me no longer enjoyable.
I can only agree indeed for me, personally, the 222/250/300 works well only as a whole. Without the NPX300 the midrange and soundstage are just lacking too much for my taste.
Please do not get hung up on how much a piece of equipment costs. It is not a good way to approach or buy HiFi, and probably a lot of other things.
What something sounds good to you and whether you enjoy it is all that matters. Trust in your ears. If they say your system is at a good level, then believe them. A Lot of people on forums will only be too glad to encourage you to buy beyond your means, but I doubt doing so will make you any more happy, at least in the long run. Amongst us of course are those where money is not much of an object to what they can buy, but (to be a little more philosophical) worrying about what other people can afford instead of you is not a way to contentment, being happy with what you have is.
There are many ways to get a system you will enjoy and it need not cost the price of a small house.
Among some friends a couple of years back we had a bet who could put the best sounding system together for £500 that included TT ampilifier and speakers. Most of us went down a used equipment path but that’s fine. I slightly went off piste by making my own speakers from a set of Castle Severn 2 tweeters and drivers and bought a pair of crossovers on ebay for the same and made some rudementory boxes.
The result was a draw between me and another chaps. So along with the speakers I had a Technics amp and the old and trusted Dual cs505mk2 as a TT, with my only new purchase of an ortofon cartridge. It sounded remarkably good, the speakers a revelation. I use the system still in my study. It could of course be improved but heck, it sounds very nice and gets the feet tapping. Total spend in the end was roughly £200.
Getting a well-matched system in the mid-tier can give most of what matters (clarity, enjoyment) without spending tens of thousands, <= $5,000 should be good to start with.
I sold recently some lps in a vinyl shop. The guy had some vintage bookshelves, a vintage nad integrated, and a technics 1200 with a Shure cart. He paid 400 euros for all, in a street market.
I was astonished by how well all sounded. Get me questioning I confess.
Not that I don’t enjoy my system, not at all. But for 400 euros, I was very surprised by the sound in his shop.
