I had to laugh when I came across this thread, which hadn't been updated in a while.
Unless one reviews audio gear for a living it's become difficult to sample the multitude of new speakers and other audio-related gear to whet the appetite on a regular basis.
What I've done is invested my hard earned money the best I can with my main system and maximize the enjoyment I can get from it. Getting to that point took a pretty long time. My main music listening rig is also my movie / TV watching setup. I once had the full surround-sound setup, but outgrew it. The Devialet Phantoms 1 108db create a wonderful soundstage for everything I listen to.
Where I do allow myself to try out new gear is in secondary listening areas, where the best sound isn't needed or realistic.... i.e., kitchen, exercise area, etc. For these areaes I rotate a variety of MUCH less expensive gear. These include previous Phantoms (Phantom 1 103 Premier Classics in mono single speaker setups), Klipsch The Three's, and different generations of JBL Boomboxes. I discovered stereo music playback via the boombox as a 12 year old kid. Boombox sound quality and streaming capabiity has come a long way over the years, and they hold a soft spot for me. For these areas these all sound fantastic.
![[Image: Qp1g9bB.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/Qp1g9bB.jpg)
Unless one reviews audio gear for a living it's become difficult to sample the multitude of new speakers and other audio-related gear to whet the appetite on a regular basis.
What I've done is invested my hard earned money the best I can with my main system and maximize the enjoyment I can get from it. Getting to that point took a pretty long time. My main music listening rig is also my movie / TV watching setup. I once had the full surround-sound setup, but outgrew it. The Devialet Phantoms 1 108db create a wonderful soundstage for everything I listen to.
Where I do allow myself to try out new gear is in secondary listening areas, where the best sound isn't needed or realistic.... i.e., kitchen, exercise area, etc. For these areaes I rotate a variety of MUCH less expensive gear. These include previous Phantoms (Phantom 1 103 Premier Classics in mono single speaker setups), Klipsch The Three's, and different generations of JBL Boomboxes. I discovered stereo music playback via the boombox as a 12 year old kid. Boombox sound quality and streaming capabiity has come a long way over the years, and they hold a soft spot for me. For these areas these all sound fantastic.
2 Channel Power / Signal Path: APC H15 → Mistral Audio W-3900 → Custom Roon Server → Silent Angel Bonn N8 → Silent Angel Forester F1 → miniDSP SHD Studio → Mutec MC-3+ USB → Devialet Phantom I 108dB
Headphone iFi Audio iDSD Signature → Grado GS1000i
Headphone iFi Audio iDSD Signature → Grado GS1000i
