$4,000 Two-Channel Stereo Recommended System

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admin

Audioholics Robot
Staff member
If your first impression after reading our $10,000 two channel system recommendations was "maybe when I hit the lotto", never fear, the Audioholics have you covered. This time around, we drop the price down to the $4,000 mark, with an aim to retain as much performance as possible. Needless to say, there are a few compromises; niceties like dual SB13-Ultras and $1,200 CD/SACD players aren't happening on this budget. However, no apologies need to made for the end performance of the resulting system.


Read our $4k Two-Channel Stereo System Recommendation Article

Own any of these components? Please share your experiences.
 
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3db

3db

Audioholic Slumlord
Nice choices :) I would either bump the budget by another $500 or get the next level down of Onkyo so that I could slide in a ProJect Xpression III turntable. I have a rather sizeable record collection that needs playing too. Other than that, this system rocks :)
 
T

TheHills44060

Junior Audioholic
I like this system 10x better than the 10k recommended system!
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
For my hard earned $4K, I would get a great deal on the Denon X4000 and a pair of RBH SX-8300 towers and stream my 2Ch music from my iPad to the X4000. :D

For those who can't find a great deal, then the RBH SX-6300 & Denon X4000 would be my choice of alternative.
 
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
It's really hard to pick on these choices. Just here to offer one alternative:
speakers:
Philharmonic Audio - old cab - 3.3k
Unfortunately HK3490 were discontinued :( - it would have been a perfect fit here - next best thing - http://www.amazon.com/Harman-Kardon-HK-3390-Receiver/dp/B00198BOAM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389580090&sr=8-1
It's rated at 100W very low THD 20-20 at 4ohm - $350

BD player $100 - I know Gene is skeptical about slow loading CDs in inexpensive BD players, but I'd just gamble with it and return to amazon ones which don't work right
Same power surge and cables
 
zieglj01

zieglj01

Audioholic Spartan
So after 4 years of going to shows, doing reviews and previews - there is nothing
out there that can compete with the likes of the Aperion Verus?:)
 
S

shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
My $4k system:
Mackie HR824 THX certified powered monitors
Hsu ULS-15 dual drive
and for a source I would go for something like that Oppo BD 103 player.

I think that would have maximal sound quality for the cash.
 
gene

gene

Audioholics Master Chief
Administrator
So after 4 years of going to shows, doing reviews and previews - there is nothing
out there that can compete with the likes of the Aperion Verus?:)
Nobody said that. It was a good choice for the money based on reviewers experience here. NHT and SVS offer very good alternatives with more bass output. WE want to mix stuff up and not just promote one brand all the time in these systems. I'd love to promote the new Monitor Audio speaker line but without one of us hearing it in person, we simply can't do it.
 
T

TheHills44060

Junior Audioholic
What if the $10K system had the Revel F208 + Denon X4000 + ATI or Parasound 200WPC amp, instead of any Emotiva stuff? :D
Haha fair enough. Sorry if I sound like a broken record all the time but yes I'd prefer the Denon, Parasound or Onkyo. The KEF's are nice though.
 
zieglj01

zieglj01

Audioholic Spartan
On a $4000 budget - it would be nice to see an alternative to tower speakers - some people will
not desire, or would be restricted (placement and/or WAF) to bookshelf speakers and a sub. >>
Also some may not desire towers with built-in subwoofers.

Also on that type of budget, some people may find it difficult to spend/justify $1200 on a Amp.
Something like the Outlaw receiver with built-in bass management, would be a good option.
RR2150 Stereo Receiver
 
ematthews

ematthews

Audioholic General
On a $4000 budget - it would be nice to see an alternative to tower speakers - some people will
not desire, or would be restricted (placement and/or WAF) to bookshelf speakers and a sub. >>
Also some may not desire towers with built-in subwoofers.

Also on that type of budget, some people may find it difficult to spend/justify $1200 on a Amp.
Something like the Outlaw receiver with built-in bass management, would be a good option.
RR2150 Stereo Receiver
I like that idea too. You could get the Rythmik/SVS sub and Ascend Sierra 1 speakers
 

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