There is a major misconception that price is a barrier to entry for high end sound. Money does not always dictate the performance of a piece of gear, and nowadays there are a lot of affordable components out there that sound excellent for the money. Will you get a world class sound system for 500 dollars? Of course not. Just like you wouldn’t get a world class sports car for 10,000 dollars. However, you can get most of the way there if you spend your money wisely. So how do you get good sound on a budget? There are several ways:
- Buy used.
Do your research, understand to the best of your ability what you like and don’t like, and try and demo whenever possible. Your ears are the best judge when it comes to a good sounding product. Some vintage speakers, although warranty and repairs may be issue, are fantastic and don’t become bad because they are old. If they were great, they are still great. As always, do your due diligence and make sure you are buying a functioning product that can be repaired if need be.
- Understand where to spend your money
There are lots of components in an audio chain, such as speakers, an amplifier, a pre-amplifier, a digital to analog converter (A.K.A a DAC), a streaming source, cables, and room treatment. This might sound like way too much stuff to buy. The truth is, you don’t have to buy the best of everything, since some things are more important than others. There are conflicting opinions on what is more important, source or speakers, but the speakers are objectively the most variable and imperfect component in the audio chain, so spend your money on the speakers. Let’s say you have a budget of $500. I would recommend spending at least 60% of your money on speakers. This leaves $200 dollars left over for the amplifier, preamp, DAC, cables, and streamer. What to spend your money on next? The amplifier has the most interaction with the speakers, and is essentially the engine driving the speakers, so you want to make sure your amplifier is the best it can be with your leftover money. This leaves very little money left over for the pre-amp, DAC, cables, and streamer. This is okay. The rest of the components in the chain will improve the sound with better quality, but considering the money spent on speakers, it will be only a slight improvement in perceived sound quality. Most DAC’s come built in with a preamp, and there are some very high-quality entry-level DAC’s that will get you started for very little money. Believe it or not, the Apple lighting-3.5mm dongle is a DAC and amp all in one! The amp is not powerful enough for speakers or high impedance headphones, but the product is an example of a good quality DAC in a cheap package. With regards to cables, you can use any zip cord wire and terminate them yourself (more on this below) or buy a completed cable for cheap. The most important factor in a cable at this price is durability. You want something that won’t oxidize or break. It will transmit the signal more than adequately. Lastly, you can simply stream from your phone from any service such as Apple Music (lossless), Qobuz, Amazon Music HD, Tidal, and others, and you will have a great entry level streamer that costs nothing extra, bar perhaps a subscription fee.
- Recognize the power of integration
With all the components I just mentioned, wouldn’t it be nice to have a system that cuts down on the amount you need to buy? This is where powered and active speakers come into play. Many consumer speakers are built specifically in this way in order to be a plug and play solution. Companies such as Sonos and Bluesound, and others make products that have an amplifier, pre-amp, and DAC built into the speaker, so you avoid the need for additional cables, and you have fewer extra components. These kinds of speakers tend to be far more affordable when it comes to building a system because it is an all-in-one solution. You spend up to your budget on the speaker, and you are ready to play music. I should preface by saying that separate component products that have been made specifically to perform one function are going to ultimately be much better than an all-in-one system, but then you must spend more money on the extra components, and if you spend more money, it will obviously be a higher quality system (with exceptions). However, these all-in-one systems are a perfect introduction to an excellent stereo sound on a budget.
- Understand the setup process
Your listening position in relation to the speakers, the toe-in of the speakers (angle of the speaker in relation to your ears) and the distance between the speakers and to the walls can have a profound effect on the sound of any system. The great thing about this part of audio is that it’s totally free! To read more about speaker setup, click here.