u/Huge-Squash-8164

My KEF LS50WII and REL T9/x found new homes as I'm a law student and needed the money. Fortunately, I got what I paid for them so there was no depreciation loss. Now that I have incoming cashflow, I want to get back into the game with a fun budget build. If you were building a music-dominant mixed-use setup, i.e., 70/30 music-to-movie ratio, what would you look at? The goal is a fun system with a budget of up to $500.

The KEF 3001SE launched my love affair with hi-fi so I'm tempted to acquire those for a mixed-use system but a decent amp to drive all five speakers could be a lot.

ELAC and JBL Andrew Jones speakers are well rated so I'm open to those options paired with a cheap RSL amp or something used.

I'm browsing FB marketplace and craigslist in my area and see an all-in-one Bose 2.1 system for $60, the price of which is more attractive than the sound.

Yeah, I'm open to suggestions and am embracing the creativity of the build after owning a pretty serious hands off setup at a relatively young age. For such a system, output, imaging, and attack are more important to me than other factors including clarity or bass extension.

I read online that Magnolia has been phased out and am unsure what that means for the in-store demo service in general. Are KEF and other products still available for demo in store? I tried to call BestBuy and was met by an incompetent bot

A friend recently asked about my LS50WII and as the field of active wireless speakers and their price variability are expanding, I'm wondering what if any other options he should consider.

I've owned the first and second generation of these speakers and adored them but the market has changed since 2017 and 2020. The first generation at $2k had network issues so KEF sold me the second generation at a steep discount, $1,450. I then sold the first generation for $1k. As a broke law student, I recently sold the second generation for $1,450, breaking even. That is, I got about nine years of service from these speakers for $1k.

Since my last purchase, KEF has since increased the price of the LS50WII to $3k and introduced the LSXII, LS60W, LSXII LT, and CodaW. I'm aware of similar products from Bowers & Wilkins, Buchardt, Dali, Martin Logan, Paradigm, PSB, Technics, SVS, and Wharfedale.

Reframing the initial question, are any of them worth considering? I suggested that he consider the LS50WII from Accessories4less and the CodaW from KEF. I haven't heard the CodaW but assume they're louder and less resolving than the LS50WII. Before we talk about passive products, he is unlikely to take up a passive system as he is coming from Sonos and has an infant.

I recently saw an analogous post framed toward straight men in relation to women and became curious as to what you guys would say. Personally, obvious cosmetic work, overly curated social media, high fashion sensibilities, cheating, and lack of meaningful educational or career interest immediately disinterest me. Scene-y gays who frequent Fire Island or equivelant with the group bakini shots definitely raise my suspicions about whether the guy is living a sustainable lifestyle, but wouldn't be an immediate disqualifier. I've met at least one or two cool guys in that category who I would happily date.