best $500 system I've ever heard

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fr 125's in a small ported box with a pair of my Gram's knitted winter socks pushed tightly in the ports sitting on stands built from a 2x4 and deck screws in under 15 minutes in an unheated garage and hooked up to a Panasonic SA XR-55 bought as a discontinued model at Future Shop using woven cat 5 speaker cables and a 24" long broadband coax cable for a digital interconnect.

Last night I stuffed the socks in the ports and played Eric Clapton's Unplugged and was just stunned with what I heard. I think I'll go buy a real interconnect tomorrow :)
 
Budget systems can sound pretty good and be nicely rewarding sometimes. I built some voight pipes and powered them with a modded sonic impact-t amp (for a grand total of <$100 invested minus source) and it sounds pretty damn amazing for the money.

Any pics of the system?

The FR125's (and wr's for that matter) are pretty cool little drivers.
 
Best Under $100 System I've ever had

Jamite's pipes are pretty impressive, IMHO, having heard them at the recent RAW Fest in Surry, Canada. Really articulate sound and well built cabinets. Very nice indeed.

I'll lay claim to the best "Under $100 System" title, although I know that there are a several challengers of stature out there.

System:

Toshiba 3950 DVD player ($55.00 /new, on sale)
Sansui AU 7900 integrated amp ($15.00 /St. Vinnies)
Radio Shack 1197 "Hi-Tweek" Black Box PR speakers ($27.00 /RS closeout drivers plus Planet 10 phase plugs)

Total: $97.00

Small budget, small room, small mind, but major enjoyment!

Best Regards,
TerryO
:D
 
There were several pairs of black speakers at the meet, here's mine:


Post #125
I felt that there was something a bit awry with the MTM using the new 6", so i switched to the little bass reflex using a single modded RS 40-1197 that Terry O is so proud of (and rightly so). These creamed the prototypes in the MTM in the critical midrange. (at least a couple others coroborated this opinion).

I remember back to the RAWfest where the 1st WR125 proto was heard and it elicited similar comments and turned out really well in the end, so i have high hopes for the 6 too.

planet10 has attached this image:
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I'm not sure how to get images to work so you not get to see them.
Best Regards,
TerryO
 
To further derail the thread :dodgy:

Yes, those are the ones I'm talking about. I loved those on tubes in the main room. Some pretty amazing midrange and vocals from those. I personally thought they lost a little depth and imagery when they got moved to the ss gear in the smaller room, but then again we're talking about two totally different levels of gear when comparing the two rooms.
 
music soothes the savage beast
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if i think about it, my big open baffle experiment clasify as budget system too
it has four 15" magnavox woofers (appr $15 each), two of each 8" and 10" magnavox midranges (don't remember $5-15?), one magnavox tweeted per side ($10), powered with restored maganavox tube amp ($50 at most) with nec as cd (free) and dcc as da converter ($40)
all together around $200 at most
must be heard to believe! / beats $2000 system in local hifi store/
ed
 
Pretty funny. When I saw the thread title I of course started thinking about what I'd do if I had a hard $500 budget, and your system is pretty much exactly where I'd go. I've used the Panny receivers for quite a while, and IMHO they are unmatched in value at the low end. A DAC/Pre/Amp combo for less than many folks spend on cables. And while I haven't actually heard the FR125's, it would be my #1 choice based on what I've read for a simple/nearfield system. It wouldn't surprise me that if you listened to primarily acoustic/folky etc material this system would be extremely satisfying as a long-term solution.

If I had to pick the best cheapie system that I've actually owned, it would be the Panny with the RatShack Linaeum monopole speakers. I have 3 pairs of these as my generic 'music around the house' speakers, and they're pretty decent at their sale price ($100/pr on sale I think), but I don't doubt that the FR125's would be far better.

I do have to say that I'm very intrigued by the HiVi B3N/TB Neo/Dayton DA175 system idea that Pete Schumacher posted to the PE board. You just might be able to squeeze a pair out for $200 all-in, which would make them a contender in the $500 system space - the B3N/Neo combo shouldn't give up much refinement to the FR125, and the DA175's provide a dynamic capability that is obviously missing. Cabinets might push you over the limit, though.
 
yep, I'd have to agree about the panasonics.

I read threads all over the internet raving about them but remained very skeptical right to the end. A truly great little reciever for the money. I'm going to pick up another off EBay, maybe a 25 as I have heard so much about them although the 70 with the HDMI input would probably be a smarter buy.

Part of the key to these amps seems to be feeding them a digital signal. It is quite plain sounding when it get an analog.

I beleive that the CSS 125's and the Panny combo are going to produce an amazingly cost effective home theater system. I have the money for better but I'd rather spend it on my vehicles.
 
My "el cheapo system" (really)..

Free (as in gifted ) Oxford full range guitar/organ speakers. salvaged Seas tweeters. Salvaged 2 way cross over. ($0 total investment)
$40 for a sheet of plywood, free cutting for JE Labs baffles, ttl $40
Sony PS1 used as a cd player---$15, $55 ttl
Yamaha B2 amp, a great find at an even greater price $40, ttl $95
Technics tuner S3s (?), $12, ttl $107
cat 5 cable, $10, ttl $117
DIY turntable /arm $50, ttl $157
generic el cheapo interconnects, $10, ttl$167

big, ugly, but beautiful sounding.

If any are dismayed at the rising cost of HiFi, listen to some of these types of systems (all those mentioned previously). Real HiFi for little more than the price of some "ghetto blaster" things or "executive " type microcomponents. (Is "ghetto blasters" a politically incorrect or offensive phrase? If so, it is not intended to offend anyone in any way shape or form).
 
b2 4 $40..

elsewhere I've told the story, but maybe I'll tell it again..

walked into a local pawn shop..saw a big Yammy , was looking for an amp suitable for running a stereo sub. Figured what the h#ll, bought it. Then did research and found out what I really bought (':D') just absolute dumb luck....

one of the few times I've been lucky in audio
 
binarywhisper said:
yep, I'd have to agree about the panasonics.

I read threads all over the internet raving about them but remained very skeptical right to the end. A truly great little reciever for the money. I'm going to pick up another off EBay, maybe a 25 as I have heard so much about them although the 70 with the HDMI input would probably be a smarter buy.

Part of the key to these amps seems to be feeding them a digital signal. It is quite plain sounding when it get an analog.

I beleive that the CSS 125's and the Panny combo are going to produce an amazingly cost effective home theater system. I have the money for better but I'd rather spend it on my vehicles.
I use the Panny XR-55 and FR125's for surrounds. For HT it works well. Playing DVD's in DTS mode, I don't know how it could get better. The Panny just delivers great, accurate power.
 
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