What would YOU do with (guilt free) $15,000? - Page 2

I'd upgrade my phono stage and my cart with about...6k of that and the rest would go straight to LPs. 

 

I'd hit up my local shop and buy literally everything I wanted, then hit up TTVJ and buy everything I wanted there, and then my Elusive Disc wishlist. 

 

Get all these rare imports that I keep turning down due to high shipping and the dollar being worthless.

I would get the Stax 009 and either the Liquid Lightning or Blue Hawaii. and somehow sneak in a MSB Analog DAC..............bummer I'm over!  Maybe just add the MSB to a Liquid Fire+LCD3 rig.

Why not try a speaker rig?

 

KP

Overdrive SE>Simaudio I600>HE-6 recabled

15k gets you a NAS, Sonos, Lavry DA11, Marantz stack of SA-11s1 (SACD), SC-11s1 (preamp), SM-11s1 (stereo amp), and a set of Quad ESL speakers.  I can't imagine doing anything else with it ;) 

In that case I am with posters above: get the best source you can. My bias it to Audio Note DAC's but there is more than one road to the mythical land of your choice.

 

You could also throw some into 'infrastructure.' Room treatments for speaker setup and power (dedicated lines, high current balanced transformers). At the level of the shelves you are shopping at, the latter is something to take into account.

 

KP

Unless it's an analog source, spending over $2k does not net any returns, period. 

 

However, most people - even those with $500k speaker setups - ignore the room in which their rig is situated, which is the stupidest thing anyone can do.  Indeed, the speakers and the room form a system together.  I would definitely suggest, if youve spent a ton on a speaker setup, seriously considering getting a listening room consultant in there to help you set up the speaker positioning, and helping you select and situate room treatment (absorbers, diffusers, etc.).  It really does make a world of difference, more than any change in source or cable (or even amplifier) ever could! 

 

OK, I am glad that has been settled.

 

KP

Or say F it and go balls to the wall http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sennheiser-Orpheus-HE-90-and-HEV-90-the-set-/300860946172?pt=UK_AudioVisualElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_Headphones&hash=item460cb5b6fc

 

Best headphones in the world bar none. 

Buy LCD2's. Buy a car. 

HD800 (rabid dawg 3 modded) or get Hifiman to make me a 1-off Jade (Purrin modded), add a custom 1-off amp by Eddie Current (maybe 1 ss and one tube), add a reasonable DAC ($1000-2500) and put the rest towards upgrading to the latest-greatest DAC every year or two. Digital technology changes far too quickly to invest more than that, IMO.

Marketing claims to the contrary, audio technology recycles rather than advances.

 

Promise the world, but count on customer dissatisfaction.

 

The newest is always more detailed, smoother, quieter deeper, blacker. Better.

 

After a few fears of these quantum and not subtle changes. Changes? nay, improvements. Improvements so dramatic they often require the renaming of an entire product line. Merely adding a counter after the name just does not cut it.

 

After the last few decades of these amazing achievements, we are now basking in the glory of blacker background than outer space, deeper bass than the Marianas trench, and musicians so palpable they can be called forth in court to testify against whatever transmigration may have taken place during their performance before you.

 

KP

Edited by TheKillerPiglet - 2/18/13 at 5:25am