What do you consider to be a minimal audiophile grade system?

[rollo]

Arghaaaa Arghaaa the ol Cambridge trick eh. Years ago while at the Sterophile show I asked a big time, well respected vendor what he thought of Cambridge gear his answer, " trouble" as an over achiever. Interesting eh. Then he said " Thank God my clients consider bargin price gear as junk, hope they never hear one". Well at least he was honest. Says a lot makes one think.


charles

[djdube525]

Another neat little product on the inexpensive...

Have you checked out the Dared MP-5 (I've seen them sell around $300 or so from time to time)?
http://www.6moons.com/industryfeatures/dared/dared.html

You might still be able to find one somewhere.

[Bob in St. Louis]

I do know quite a few folks that take great pride in their music system, but if I see speakers on shelves, or shoved in the corners, or in the walls or ceiling, I don't think of them as audiophiles.  Music lovers, yes, but they have successfully avoided the nervosa often associated with this hobby.

Now, if I see a system that has a clearly defined 'listening seat', regardless of the quality of their components, I know that an audiophile lives there.

One of the best posts of 2009. Especially the highlighted part.

What could I do for $1,000?

$250 (used) Planars found on classified ad. See lots of Maggies for that price)
$300 (used) Entry level turntable, or a SqueezeBox (that's my choice)
$300 (used) integrated entry level tube amp
$100 (used) worth of music from ebay, fleamarket, record store, etc.....
$20 (new) two cheap folding chairs from Walmart. This is for the sweetspot and S.O. to sit in.
$30 for cocktails for the two folks sitting in the sweet spot.

There's a grand.
How's that?
Bob

[mdconnelly]

...
$20 (new) two cheap folding chairs from Walmart. This is for the sweetspot and S.O. to sit in.
$30 for cocktails for the two folks sitting in the sweet spot.

Bob, I like your priorities!   

[JLM]

Thanks for the suggestions.

Its fun to peak at the mega buck stuff, but I struggle to keep it real (plausible) for the straights (potential audiophiles) too.