174 replies to this topic

[Woody]

All,

This is something for the thinkers out there.

Im interested to see what sort of opinions there are about the really high end gear. And more importantly, i'm trying to get an idea of what gear is out there in the really high end bracket.

So.... a little challenge....


The Challenge: Create an ultimate SQ system within a budget....

The Rules and guidelines:

#1. The budget for the system is $30,000.

#2. The budget is for EQUIPMENT ONLY. Installation costs are not to be included within the $30K budget. Wiring IS to be included.

#3. Reasons for your selection must be given. Nothing to in-depth but a general explanation will do.

#4. The vehicle the gear is being installed into, has not been selected yet.

#5. All prices must be Reccomended Retail Price.



I know this has probably been done before but not in recent times. If you have any questions post away but if you don't have anything of benefit to add to the thread, feel free to hit the 'back' button instead of the 'submit' button.

Looking forward to seeing whats out there.

Woody

[fuddbutter]

well IMO i have my ultimate SQ system, untill someone beats me by a far margin then ill change.

but there will be some changes.

Hu will change next year. at the moment it looks like ill go a Pioneer p90 combo. But may change my mind and get a Mcintosh or Nak deck and H701 but rather the p90.

Tweeters i would upgrade to some Scanspeak revolators.

and wouldent mind another OZ ME12

if i was to change Mid's it would be for some Hybrid audio Legatia L6's
7.1in and paper cone

and for amps well, the SS ref is one of the best amps i have ever had the plesure listning to. again if i really wanted to upgrade it would be to Brax.

brands like DLS/rainbow/dyn etc would not get a run in my car for my ultimate SQ system.

amps i would run
Brax
Zed audio
Mcintosh

speakers
OZ audio (cause mine have proven themselves)
Hybrid audio

Decks
F1
p90
McIntosh
Nak

subs
Oz (again cause it's proven itself)
Boston (i have loved every boston sub i have owned)

[Fury♫]

Clarion HX-D2 Headunit - $2099
3-way active + sub. Awesome, most reasonably priced high end deck.

2 x Tru Technology C7.4 Amplifiers - $4999 ea
4 x 100wrms @ 4ohm
The name speaks for itself. I've never heard a bad word about these, and they look the sex. Only alternative could be Brax Graphic edition 4 channel amps.

1 x Rainbow Reference CS-360.30 3-Way Active - Approx $7000 I think?
The rainbows i've heard have all amazed me, so i'd have no doubt these would be amazing. Run active off the HX-D2 and Tru amps.
Alternatives could be Focal Utopia Be's, Hertz Mille's (would love to hear the ribbon midrange though), or Alpine F#1 Status 3-ways (mmm revelators).

2 x Rainbow Vanadium 12" Subwoofers - $900 ish?
Either these or Focal 33KX's. The focals would have to be the best sounding sub i've heard. Insanely quick and clean, however have not heard the Rainbow yet... Who in Melb wants to get one so I can demo it? Run these off a bridged pair of channels from one of the Tru's.

Cabling/Installation accessories... choose your esoteric brand. Nothing wrong with Stinger Dream Series gear.

So for around ~$22k + cabling and what not, there's my dream system...
Keep it simple

Edited by Fury, 08 August 2006 - 12:17 AM.

[the_iano]

Clarion HX-D2 - $2k

Tru tech amps - $$$ unsure but a lot of m&ms worth

Focal Berylium splits - $4k (JMLab use these in their $100k grand utopias so they cant be too bad...or something)

Phoenix Gold EQ232 - I already own one but love this piece of kit to death...

IDMAX 12" x 2

Probably go some exquisite high end home audio cables - QED, KimberKable, VanDenHul etc etc

And if I could choose the vehicle, it would be a Mercedes W140 S500. Fort knox on wheels. Big, solid, dashboards wider than Oprah's ass.

Edited by ikerr, 08 August 2006 - 12:24 AM.

[Cyberpunky]

Well rrp on my system is about 30G and like Rob, I am happy. Be careful what you wish for Rob lol What is a fair margin ? My advice...start saving
peace
Cyberpunky

[SCorpion]

myself, i'd end up doin something silly like:

Rega P9 Turntable $7.5k

Tru tech Hammer $2.5k??

Stroker Pro 12 $2.3k

TacT Millenium 2ch $9.6k

theres $22k so i could blow 8K on a set of speakers and we r laughin.

mind you, i havent had the opportunity to listen to a stroker pro, the TacT or the Turntable BUT they all do get excellent reviews.

but if I had this system, the only thing that would be holding it back would be my tuning

[~thematt~]

Deck& DAC: McIntosh MC402 and MDA5000 $5k

Amps: The choice here would be either Brax Graphic Edition or McIntosh. Id be going for 3x 2-channels. One left , one right and one for the two subs (stereo <-cause I can). ~$8k all up.

Speeks: Dyn Esotar tweet with a MW150 mid and MW180 midbass. 3-ish k. Either that or the Morel Supremo Piccolo + CDM88 + SW9 combo.

Subs: 2x PHD AL12W. If you have heard these, you'll realise why I chose them. $2.5k

Cables would be VanDenHul or Kimber.

The other 10k, Id throw it all into a Custom Passive Xover for the fronts, courtesy of AA&T. Id prefer a bit more for a three-way, but hey it seems Ive run out of money.

Edited by ~thematt~, 12 August 2006 - 03:16 PM.

[jas]

alpine dvi-9990 (dvd player)

alpine pxi-h990 x2 (full active processor)

clarion Tb851P (indash tv)


Genesis Absolute D1 Tweeter x3 (front + centre)

Genesis Absolute 15w Bass/Midrange x3 (front centre)

Genesis Absolute 18w Bass/Midrange x4 (front midbass)

jlaudio 13w7 x 2 (subs)

alpine spx-z15m x2 (rear fill)

rockfordfosgate t15004 x2 (front + centre amps)

rockfordfosgate t8004 (rear fill)

rockfordfosgate t4000bd (sub amp)

*note might be over budget but can be scaled down by only making it a stereo system, using one alpine h990 processor +no indash tv + no centre channel or rear fill + only one sub.

Edited by jas, 08 August 2006 - 01:09 PM.

[Pulse-R]

30g isn't enough for a serious system....hahaha

for purely stereo

I get the Pioneer ODR H/U
and 2 ODR 4 channel amps (ch1 for tweeter, 2 for midrange, bridge ch 3+4 for midbass, 1 amp per side, fully active for now(have to install & test before building any crossovers)).
and a nice amp for the sub (most likely ODR as well)

front speakers Alpine F#1 Status 3-ways (same as Scanspeak Revelators)
sub probly Focal 13"

cables all Stinger Expert Series

[@nThOnY]

Pioneer RS-D7XIII + RS-P90X (modded opamps and DAC chips)
Milbert TC-4R (modded power supply and tubes)
Mcintosh MCC602TM x 3 (2 amps to bi-amp tweeters and mid range via custom passive x-over, third amp run mid bass active)
Focal Utopia Be Kit N.7
Mcintosh MCC301M
PHD AF12W x2

Any cable that is well built, long lasting will do the job

[Wasnt Me]

Drews ute - Tweakd. =)

Edited by Phat Devil, 08 August 2006 - 05:04 PM.

[car1990]

Alpine DVI-9990/PXI-H990 ~ 8K
Focal Utopia Be No. 7 ~ 4K
Genesis Miniblock (6 units) ~ 10K
Diamond Audio D9 ~ 1K
Genesis Monoblock ~ 4K

Edited by car1990, 09 August 2006 - 04:42 AM.

[_Anthony_]

Pioneer ODR (5k?) Looks the goods and offers me control
Morel Supremo set 6 (1.5k) Have at present and absolutely love it.
PG Ti12DElite (2k) Have at present and absolutely love it.
Audison Thesis x 3 (18k) Have the VRx and love it, am guessing the next model up would be even better.
QED cables.

Edited by The Tick, 15 August 2006 - 11:16 AM.

[HooDs]

 Phat Devil, on Aug 8 2006, 07:04 AM, said:

Drews ute - Tweakd. =)

You basically have that now Ant!!

[ProClass]

My approach would be a little different.
Head Unit- It makes little difference to me what brand the source is. All that matters is it has a raw digital output. I think I would most likely use a carputer for source. A touch screen and a dash mounted ROM. Software similar to Pro-Tools will allow me to manipulate the digital source as needed. I would then use something like an Apogee X series DA converter for the best possible sample and conversion.
For processors something like a RANE AC23B would do nicely for cross over and a RANE PEQ55 parametric equalizer.
A ribbon and soft dome tweeter combination I find works well in cars. For woofer something like Dynaudio MW 160 7“ with a 3“ aluminum voice coil paired with 2 MD 140’s which are 3“ soft dome midrange with a sealed and acoustically damped rear chamber. For sub woofer JBL 1500GTi are the ticket.
For amps I just don’t know. What I will say is that I would be buying something American in design. Along the lines of old school Orion and PPI. And lots of it.
For cabling, Streetwires and Esoteric Audio.