$2,000 Recommended Two-Channel Stereo System
Our $6,000 recommended two-channel system offers premium products that look and sound great, but not everyone wants to spend six grand on a stereo system. For all of those people, here is our recommended two-channel stereo system for $2000. This guide still includes everything you need, but with more of a focus on value vs. performance than our more expensive guides. A key part of this system is balance, rather than put all of the money into the speakers we wanted to make sure enough of the budget was devoted to the other products so they would work well with future speaker purchases. This system will give you outstanding performance, provide the building blocks for slowly upgrading equipment in the future, and still allow you to hear music in a way that most consumers never have.
Our goals were to:
- Provide a good value vs. performance system
- Put together a balanced system so there is no "weakest link" in the chain, every piece must be high quality
- Choose equipment that looks good as well as sounds good (high SAF)
Speakers and Amplifier
Speakers – Boston Acoustics A 360 ($799/pr)
When designing a speaker, manufacturers have to make tough choices about what to include and what to cut in order to keep the product in a particular price range. Sometimes they completely forego aesthetics in favor of performance. Other times they create speakers that are beautiful to look at but sound like a clock radio. Boston Acoustics struck a good balance with the A 360. The three way design is powered by dual 6.5” bass drivers, a 3.5” midrange driver, and a 1” soft dome tweeter. The tweeter and midrange drivers are actually housed in a sub-chamber inside the cabinet to minimize interaction with back waves from the bass drivers. On the back of the cabinet is a tuned port for added bass response, which undoubtedly helps the speaker achieve its 38Hz-25Khz rating . Horizontal and diagonal bracing helps keep unwanted resonances at bay. It is obvious that Boston Acoustics did their homework with this speaker. We heard these babies at CEDIA 2012 and they sounded great! We should note that the A 360 and alternative speakers listed are not designed to product gobs of bass. For most music this is not an issue, but if you want to listen to bass heavy music a subwoofer from the likes of SVS, Emotiva, Outlaw, or other reputable manufacturers might be a good idea.
Alternatives: EMP E55Ti (plays louder but not as much deep bass) | Emotiva XRT-6.2 | Fluance XL7F (lots of bass but very laid back sound)
Stereo Receiver – Outlaw Audio RR2150 ($699)
Outlaw audio has been a well respected name on the audio forums for quite some time because of products like the RR2150. The RR2150 Stereo Receiver is a power and feature rich receiver. Now, when we say feature rich we aren’t talking about the typical home theater list of features, these are all two channel centric features. There is ± 6.5dB of bass adjustment at 50Hz and treble adjustment at 1Khz. Outlaw is particularly proud (and they have the right to be) of built in analog bass management. On the back of the receiver is a low-pass filter that can be set at 60Hz, 80Hz, 100Hz, or bypass. On the back is also a dedicated phono input, among other line-level inputs, and a USB port. The USB port is a great feature that opens up the ability to hook up a computer and still use the DACs built in the receiver. On the front of the receiver is a ¼” headphone jack, 1/8” stereo input for use with portable devices, and a nifty speaker EQ adjustment that allows for a boost at 66Hz, 65Hz, or 80Hz. Finally, it is rated at 100wpc, 20Hz- 20kHz, <.03% THD, both channels driven into 8ohms and 160wpc into 4 ohms. This means that you will have enough clean power for any of the speakers we recommended. All in all, we don’t think there is a better two channel receiver option on the market for $699. But, for only $499 the HK 3490 is an amazing value, so if you are looking to save a few bucks we would suggest it as an alternative. Plus the HK 3490 has digital inputs and a build in DAC which is the only two-channel receiver on the market we know of with this feature.
Alternatives: Denon
DRA-697CIHD | Yamaha
R-S700 | Harman Kardon HK 3490 (has digital input and DAC)
or step up to separates for just a little more money: Emotiva UPA-200 Amp and USP1 Stereo Preamp combo
Sources
CD Player – Marantz CD5004 ($349)
In a system where the digital to analog conversion takes place at the source it is important to make sure that every source has quality components, especially quality DACs. Hence, we chose the Marantz CD5004. It does not play SACDs, but most individuals who are purchasing this level of equipment likely do not have an extensive SACD collect. It does play CDs and MP3/WMA files from a USB port. The signal path is symmetrical and Cirrus Logic CS4392 DACs are utilized to ensure solid line-level performance. Marantz also incorporated HDAM-SA2 “Hyper Dynamic Amplifier Modules”, which trickle down from their reference series components for “better” sound.
Alternatives: Onkyo C-7030 | Denon DCM-390 | Emotiva ERC-2
Turntable – Audio-Technica AT-LP60 ($99)
Audio Technical AT PL60 w/o cover
This might be the only component on our list that doesn’t have a high SAF (spousal approval factor) because it is ugly as sin. However, it does allow someone to open up their entire music collection to vinyl, and at $149 it isn’t a major investment if one doesn’t listen to vinyl often. If you want a turntable that looks awesome checkout some of the alternatives. Otherwise, the AT-LP60 has an aluminum platter, defeatable preamp, and fully automatic belt-drive. The cartridge is permanent but the stylus is replaceable.
Alternatives: Denon DP-29F | Pro-Ject EssentialCables and Protection
Speaker Wire - BJC 12 AWG Belden 5000UE ($.54 per foot)
that most people wont need more than 12' lengths, so the total for 24' of wire plus banana plugs is $26.96.
Alternatives: 15' Velocity AWG | Emotiva X SS
Analog Interconnects –
Tributaries Series 3 ($25/ea)
We took the same approach with the analog interconnect cables as the speaker cables. The Tributaries Series 3 is one step down from the Series 5 cables in our $6,000 recommended system. It has a 100% aluminum mylar shield and 80% copper spiral. It is available in various lengths between .5 and 4 meters.
Alternatives: BlueJeans BJC LC-1 | Emotiva X RCA
Power Protection – Panamax PM8-AV-PRO ($169)
The PM8-AV-PRO is a phenomenal product because it essentially gets you the same protection and filtering as the $399 MR4300. It monitors incoming voltage and will automatically disconnect your equipment if voltage is too high or too low. It also has two isolated outlet banks to filter out RF and RM interference in the electrical lines and prevent interference from crossing between banks. We looked at multiple power protection brands, including the Tripp Lite, Surge-X, and Monster, and were unable to find better protection for the money.
Alternatives: APC P8V | Panamax PM8-AV
System Break Down
& Conclusion
| Speakers | Boston Acoustics A 360 | $799 |
| Receiver | Outlaw Audio RR2150 | $699 |
| CD Player | Marantz CD5004 | $349 |
| Turntable | Audio-Technica AT-LP60 | $99 |
| Speaker Wire | BJC Speaker Wire |
$27 |
| Audio Interconnects | Tributaries Series 3 | $25 x2 |
| Power Center | Panamax M8-AV-PRO | $169 |
| Total | $2,192 |
Buy this entire system from the Audioholics E-store with the HK 3490 A/V receiver for $2k with FREE shipping.
Alright, technically the system totals just over $2,000 without tax. But, we quoted all of these prices at MSRP so you should be able to get everything for about $2000 with a little bit of patience (and we couldn't call it the "$2,221 Recommended System"). You could also cut some cost by going with some of the alternate products listed. We think this is a great system and that it will give you many hours of enjoyable listening.
We would love to hear what everyone else would do with two grand to spend on a stereo system, so please comment below. But keep in mind the goals outlined at the beginning of the article and make sure to offer good sources and protection. We know that coming up with great speaker options will be easy for everyone ;).bikemig;913444
Squeezebox is great and it isn't dead yet. But at this point, it's future is uncertain which is too bad.
I own and love my outlaw stereo receiver. One point where I disagree with the review is with the quality of the usb input. It's mediocre at best. I run my SB Touch via the analog outputs straight to the outlaw receiver and the sound quality is excellent. But I would not hook up a computer directly via the usb input.
The Onkyo 8050 sounds like a really good alternative given the digital inputs, the wireless streaming, and that it can play music directly from a hard disc. I wish more manufacturers took computer based playback seriously in 2 channel systems.
You can get a clear improvement by using a high quality outboard DAC, in my experience optical output sounds clearly better than coax, don't know why but it's how it is, perhaps due to unsurpressed noise and residue from power supply....
I own and love my outlaw stereo receiver. One point where I disagree with the review is with the quality of the usb input. It's mediocre at best. I run my SB Touch via the analog outputs straight to the outlaw receiver and the sound quality is excellent. But I would not hook up a computer directly via the usb input.
The Onkyo 8050 sounds like a really good alternative given the digital inputs, the wireless streaming, and that it can play music directly from a hard disc. I wish more manufacturers took computer based playback seriously in 2 channel systems.
ImcLoud;912726
OK, thanks..
So why not just use something like pandora? you dont need a pc with sonos, you can get a cheap laptop for $350...
I am not sure I understand your question/statement....
Sonos makes a number of different products that allow allow you to stream Pandora, and many other music services, around your home.
It isn't typically used as a single room solution, but it certainly can be. In this scenario if someone was only interested in digital audio they could get a Sonos Amp ($499). Then the receiver, CD player, and turntable could be taken off the list. Alternatively, they could just add a Sonos Connect to the system (just like a squeezebox) and that would feed music to the receiver.
shadyJ;912708
Those open baffle designs look pretty iffy to me from a performance perspective. I haven't heard any high end ones though, and they do have their followers, so I am curious to how they would sound. Is that [urbanfidelity.com] a real coaxial driver? Is this a one-way speaker or two-way? I don't see any mention of a cross-over. How would bass output be on a open baffle design? I think you would need some real excursion to get any kind of bass, but to get real excursion you would need to give those things some real power, but wouldn't that design be at a greater risk of bottoming out?
Also, what the hell is a high frequency whizzer cone? That's not exactly a tweeter, is it? In the place of specs, they have pictures of cute dogs sitting in front of the speakers in a Ikea laden apartment, so I thinking these speakers might not have the frequency range of more typical designs.
Honestly, if there is no talk about standard specs when considering an open baffle, it definitely raises a red flag to me. I love a well done open baffle or omnidirectional design, however they require a proper crossover and a sealed cabinet for low end or powerful open baffle subs to get lower than 200 hz cleanly.
Those look very fishy to me as well. BTW, a whizzer cone is used on full range drivers to extend the frequency response, so this is just a full range driver with no crossover.
However, some of those look great though. I could see me buying one since the price is not too bad, just for kicks.
Cliff_is;912724
Squeezebox is a wireless music streaming system from Logitech. I was really excited when it was first released, but unfortunately it went the way of most wireless systems.....defunct.
I think Sonos is an AMAZING alternative. There are a lot of things that set Sonos apart from the competition. From an installation perspective the mesh network and continued updates are great. With most wireless solutions you have to worry about the manufacturer discontinuing support, but Sonos is really great about that.
Also, the Sonos Connect has optical and digital coax outputs.
OK, thanks..
So why not just use something like pandora? you dont need a pc with sonos, you can get a cheap laptop for $350...