Tagged: value gear
7 articles we've published with this tag.
Closed-back headphones on a budget: the giant-killer case nobody makesEveryone spruiks open-back for detail, but a good closed-back pair under $400 is the smarter buy for most desks, flats and offices. Here's why.By Dave Okafor
Upgrading a budget turntable: the order that actually saves you moneyCartridge, phono stage, isolation, platter mat — the order you upgrade a budget turntable in matters more than the total you spend.By Dave Okafor- Cheap DAC chips are basically solved: where your money actually goes nowA $150 DAC and a $2000 DAC often measure almost identically. Here's what the extra money is really buying, and why it's usually not "better sound" in the conversion itself.By Dave Okafor
- Giant-killer desktop rigs: getting 90% of a $3000 headphone setup for $600You don't need a four-figure DAC/amp stack to hear what good headphones can do. Here's how I'd spend $600 on a desktop rig that gets embarrassingly close to gear costing five times as much.By Dave Okafor
- Cheap multiroom that actually sounds good: building it without the taxYou don't need a five-figure whole-home system. Here's how to build genuinely good multiroom audio on a giant-killer budget.By Dave Okafor
Building a home cinema budget: the spending order that actually pays offWhere to put the first dollar in a home cinema build, and why most people spend it on the wrong box first. A spending order from twelve years of installs.By Jonno Fraser- DAC chip specs are marketing. Here's what actually decides sound qualityESS, AKM or a "flagship" chip name tells you almost nothing about how a DAC sounds. Here's what genuinely separates a good one from a dud, on any budget.By Dave Okafor