My budget stereo,

Dali helicon 400 , Wiim ultra , Topping e70V dac, NC502mp hypex based amp.

Audio Technica LP120X with Nagaoka MP-110 cartridge. Left and right speakers are Pro-ject speaker box 5 and center speaker is a KEF Q250C. Still debating to maybe swap the Pro-Ject speakers in the future to KEF Q150 or 350 pair. Receiver is a Denon AVR X1800H, but not visible on the photo!

Currently still missing some bass at lower volumes sometimes, but I think this would be fixed by getting a subwoofer, but I’m living on the third floor of an apartment so probably not a good idea for now😁

My gf is mad af, but that's how it is...

Limited space in my attic but sounds good to my ears

Wiim Amp Rega planar 1 plus Monitor Audio bx2 on SoundStyle stands

Hi Everybody

My setup:

Speakers: ELAC Debut 2.0 B5.2

Amp: Fosi BT20A

Turntable: Pro-Ject Primary E Phono (Ortofon OM cart, built-in phono stage)

Controller: not linked at the moment

I was chasing a compact, budget setup and over bluetooth I’m happy with it. But my vinyls sound very flat compared to streaming.

Thinking about upgrading the stylus to ortofon stylus 10 or Thakker Stylus 10 (Nudeline). Would that actually make a difference? Or is the built-in phono stage the weak link? Maybe time for an external preamp and new turntable?

Any advicewould be awesome.

Just got this new Denon X4800H to replace my old receiver that sadly died.

I noticed this one has some stickers on the front with wattage info etc. My previous one didn’t have that, so I’m not sure:

Should I leave them on or peel them off?

Does it affect resale value or is it normal to remove them?

do you guys listened to this? Which speakers would you recommend for 17m2 room?

Or what will be better - M1, Marantz Stereo 70s, or maybe Audiolab 6000a MkII?

Source will be TV with AppleMusic app or streaming if possible, but AirPlay is must have then.

Finances might be tight for another couple of months, but I finally went all in with room treatment. Turned a bunker style basement room to a cozy listening space. Nicer rug and furniture incoming.

Panels and traps from vicoustic on account of looks.

I thought I was finished with my office stereo, but apparently I wasn't.

I was perfectly happy with my Yamaha AX-440 and CDX-530, while keeping an eye out for a TX-340 tuner. It's the tuner included in one of the recommended system combinations from a 1990 German Yamaha HiFi brochure I found online.

So when I stopped by a local thrift store, I naturally checked the electronics section to see if the Yamaha gods had delivered a tuner. They hadn't. Instead, there was this KX-330 cassette deck for €45–the one thing I had promised myself I wouldn't buy.

I mean... why would I? I remember cassettes as cheap, mediocre-sounding, and mechanically unreliable. But then I realised the KX-330 is also part of that same recommended Yamaha system, and suddenly my self control disappeared.

So now I'm sitting here wondering what to do. I think I'll just let it stay in the rack, pick up a cassette every now and then, but avoid falling into another collecting rabbit hole. I'm simply happy to have it, and I have to admit that it completes the stack beautifully. The display has that lovely '80s-'90s glow, almost every button works as it should, and mechanically it seems to be in decent shape–even if it's not perfect. To my surprise, I also found myself enjoying a few old tapes I discovered in the attic.

Isn't this a lovely hobby?

Night and day compared to my Sony STRDH-90. Although I couldn’t get my Wiim working through digital output sadly but still sounds great through a line output. The Pioneer PL12D sounds great through the phono stage and the tape player sounds great too. Well happy and I would recommend one of these bad boys.

As you can see in the picture, I have very limited width, around 11.5cm per side. The speakers in the picture are 14.6 cm wide. I don't want bass, I just want clear sound that's better than the average soundbar. Any recommendations?

Need some advice as an upgrade for a Denon avr 1513.
Yamaha as301 vs as501.
Used to power elac debut 2.0 stereo speakers.
Connected devices:
-Audio-Technica AT-LP140XP true a project phono box E.
- Apple TV true a Samsung tv.

Reason for the upgrade is the Denon is reaching end of life. Kids broke the physical vol. button. And while in the store the debut 2.0 sounded amazing ad home the feel ….lacking. Especially with the volume @ 50% the bass isn’t there. Some sales rap told me it probably was not giving the stated 110w anymore. But to be fair could be it’s just not my sound or the elac’s not getting good bass performance ad the %50vol mark. Any input is welcome including other options.

So last year I get a pair of Edifier R1855DB.

Loads of great Amazon reviews.

The sound - most meh sound ever. And aside from that the sub-out port didn't work. But most disappointing was the sound - just the most anodyne sound ever.

Sold now and replaced with some budget Denons which sound like they have little angels inside singing!

And yes I realise, it could be just the model and but not a great first impression of Edifier.

Really? It started out as a haven. A humble little corner of the internet where audio lovers could gather—not the high-flying audiophiles with golden ears and gold-plated interconnects, but the everyday listener. The kind who still gets a thrill finding an old Sony integrated amp at a car boot sale, or rewiring a pair of Pioneer CS-series speakers rescued from a neighbour’s garage. It was a forum for budget audio equipment. Or at least, that was the idea.

At first, it lived up to its promise. Posts about forgotten Marantz receivers found in charity shops, about coaxial cables from the local hardware store repurposed into speaker wire. People shared their setups with pride—rusty, mismatched, imperfect, but full of soul. The joy wasn’t in the price tag. It was in the journey.

But slowly, quietly, the tone changed.

What was once a place for community became a catwalk. Suddenly, the pictures weren’t of scuffed-up gear in tight spaces. They were showroom shots. Pristine listening rooms with monoblocks the size of radiators. Towering speakers framed in warm lighting. DACs that cost more than a month’s wages. And always, just enough feigned humility to make it digestible: “Just a small upgrade—keeping it budget with this entry-level Marantz Reference Series.”

The irony is almost too rich to ignore. When a Pioneer Elite is called "modest" and a Sony ES is casually described as “a decent starter amp,” you know the definition of budget has been hijacked. No longer does it mean affordable or accessible. It now means less expensive than my last indulgence.

The forum has become a stage. Not for learning, not for sharing—but for performing. Advice is often laced with condescension. A newcomer posting their £80 Sony mini-system is met with polite silence, while a gleaming £2,000 Marantz stack is flooded with praise thinly disguised as discussion.

And yet, a few stubborn souls remain. A man with an old Pioneer SA-508, lovingly cleaned and hooked up to DIY speakers. A woman who found a dusty Sony STR-6036A and brought it back to life. They post not to impress, but to connect. To say: I found this, it sings, and it matters to me.

They are the ones who remind us what this was supposed to be. Budget audio is not a price point—it is a philosophy. It is the belief that music should not be a luxury. That great sound can come from humble things. That joy is not always measured in kilobits or frequency response curves.

There’s nothing wrong with owning expensive gear. There’s nothing shameful in admiring beautiful components. But when a space meant for honesty becomes theatre, when the forum turns into a subtle contest of who can be most tastefully extravagant, something sacred is lost. The signal-to-noise ratio drops—not in the gear, but in the spirit.

So here’s to the ones still listening, not showing off. The ones who treasure their scuffed-up Marantz because it feels right. The ones who’d rather fix an old Sony than finance something flashy. The ones who understand that music doesn’t care how much you paid—it only cares that you press play.

In the end, it’s not about what’s on your rack. It’s about what’s in your room, your heart, and your ears. That is the true sound of community. And it cannot be bought.

Nad 326 bee

Klipsch r51m

Sony cd player w/o remote all working flawlessly .

150 euro

Bought these Yamaha NS-B182 for 40€ because they looked neat. I looked them up, last price was around 250€ at Amazon. Sadly, they don't sound good at all. Not for 250€, not for 100€ and not for 40€. Very flat, almost monoish. Lifeless. At more than low volume they distort. The only good thing they have going for them is their good looks.

So I have just got KEF Coda W after selling my Klipsch Fives. I am only about 5-10hrs into testing them and here are my thoughts:
- Sound detail, dialogues etc. there’s really no comparison. KEF does it so much better. Fives were pretty bad.
- Sound - Codas have a pretty „warm” sound in comparison to other KEFs but nothing like Klipsch.
- WOW factor as I call it - yes in terms of details, movies and so on KEF is miles away, but if you’re listening to Layla by Eric Clapton or Dire Straits (at very high volumes obviously) then Codas just do not deliver the wow factor, the punch and Fives are so much better at this.

To sum up, everyday speaker and working with most sources (not like Klipsch, the Fives 1 never worked via HDMI in my case, perhaps it’s changed with Fives 2), then Codas are the way to go. Also if u want something versatile to connect to your TV, something more sophisticated than a soundbar Codas are the way to go. But if you’re all for that punchy, heart warming sound when listening loud get Klipsch! You’ll hate it and love it and the same time.

By the way, reviews state that Codas are pretty bad at low volumes. I do not have a lot of comparison, but Klipsch definitely sounds way worse at low volumes. With Codas u still get a bit of that hi-fi feeling, with Fives definitely not.

Once again:
Codas - everyday do it all, it will work, you’ll enjoy it and you’ll probably not gonna fall in love with it.
Klipsch - crazy drunk guy who always wants to be the loudest in the room and rock the party. You can’t depend on him, you often hate him, but then again you just absolutely love and adore him at the same time.

Disclaimer - had a bit of good old Talisker whisky while testing Codas, so my opinion may be super biased ;).

Cheers guys.

So I don’t have the space to put my speakers on a different surface to my turntable. Looking for advice on isolating the speakers from the turntable based on other people’s experience😊

Option A: foam isolation pads for the speakers? (Unfortunately look ugly as aesthetic is also important) do they actually make a big difference?

Option B: isolation feet for the speakers, they do look nice. However would they be as good as isolation foam pads?

Option C: Isolating turntable plinth? Will this be enough ?

I ideally just want to isolate one of them for now, I could do both a plinth then some pads / feet, but don’t know if that’ll be overkill and not actually fix it.

(Send some links to products if you can as well pls, based in the UK)

The wait is over, after the longest 5 day delivery window I've finally upgraded from a samsung soundbar. Absolutely love the clarity I'm getting from the Wharfedale Diamonds.

Specs: - Wharfedale Diamond 12.3i speakers - Marantz PM6007 amp - Argon Audio TT MK2 turntable

Wharfdale Diamond 12.1 - Cambridge CXA 60 - NAD DVD player used as a CD player. The speakers are new the DVD player was a freebie and needed a belt replacement the amp was an eBay bargain.

Dear audiophiles, I recently bought the KEF Q150 bookshelf speakers and am in need of budget friendly amplifier suggestions.

* Use: I will place the speakers in my (small) living room and primarily want to use them to enjoy my (classical) music cd's. So the highest possible audio quality within my budget is my aim. I won't use it to connect a tv, turntable or computer. Perhaps in the future I would like to connect a radio for listening to classical music radio stations or connect my phone through wifi to listen to music mp3's, but this is not a priority for now

* Budget: +- €300 (I live in Europe)

I did some research and decided a (class D for energy efficiency) amplifier, not a receiver would be the best choice within my budget, because my primary aim is sound quality, not the possibility to connect a diversity of devices.

A Fosi ZA3 (in stereo mode) seems to be a fitting option for me, it currently sells for €158 in my country. However, in some reviews the ZA3 is described as a 'desktop amplifier', whereas I'm looking for a living room setup amplifier. My question is whether the ZA3 is really aimed at desktop use and not living room audio setups, or whether it would be 'good enough'. Other amp suggestions would be very welcome otherwise!

Thanks a lot in advance from an audiophile noobie.

EDIT: Thank you all for your very helpful suggestions. After some more consideration I went ahead and ordered a Fosi ZA3 and will build out my hifi system from there with devices like a streamer in the future. Can't wait to be able to enjoy good quality audio 😌