Apartment Dweller's Paradise - The Ideal 2 ch. system?


We've had really great threads on Audiogon so far, so I'd like to keep the ball rolling.

One subject rarely covered enough in the music world are systems that are specifically for apartment dweller's. These systems are more modest in size and cost. Dolby Atmos? Forget-about-it!

How would you put together a system, under $10k, soup to nuts?


erik_squires
I put my current system of Quad VA-One driving Dynaudio Excite X14’s up against anything out there in a small room...
Even at lower listening levels it still has body and detail...I’ve experimented with plugging the port and putting them against the wall and the room still disappears..Amazing pint size speakers and superbly musical amp with fantastic(although underpowered)headphone circuit...
This thread is a good idea and I REALLY want to shout out again to the wonderful Quad VA-One control amp...Search out the reviews,this little powerhouse is about as close to the perfect apartment amp as anything out there at any price!
+2 for 'phones, and I hate them!
But if I had to live in an apartment, that's all I would use.
@elizabeth , excellent point! I have found the better my system gets the lower the volume I need to "sound good". I also rarely go above 80 dB C- weighted peaks.

Tom
Today another killer little apartment amp arrived fresh from full factory rebuild..The iFi Audio Retro Stereo 50 is,like the Quad AV-One an EL84 Class A PP all in 1 control amp...In the right size room with the right speakers these tiny titans provide world class sound!Unlike the lowish powered Quad, the iFi has an amazing tube driven headphone circuit that can be optimized for any conventional headphone/in ear monitor available,including the HiFiMan HE6 where it will feed a massive 7 watts!