The Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla are my benchmark products for value in the auto and hi-fi industries. A quick Google search indicates that in the United States, the 2025 version of the former starts at $24,500 and the latter at $22,325.
For many years, both models have delivered reliable transportation in every kind of weather and have proven to last a very long time. If you spend less, you might not get the same reliability and longevity. If you spend more, you might think you’re getting a car that will work as reliably and last as long—but that’s not a given. That’s why I consider the Civic and Corolla automotive benchmarks—they’re the ones to beat.
In hi-fi, if a complete system costs close to either one of those cars, I wouldn’t call it affordable—$20,000 is a lot of money for a stereo—but it’s not necessarily outrageous. But if a system costs more than a Civic or Corolla, that’s a big ask—now you’re talking about spending more than the price of a very good car.
This analogy came to mind when I walked into the room of Tampa retailer Maximum Audio Video, just as one of the reps was explaining to a showgoer that the system on display, excluding the AudioQuest cables, costs $16,000. Here’s how that 16 grand was divvied up: $6000 for a pair of GoldenEar T66 speakers, $5000 for an Anthem STR integrated amplifier, and $5000 for a HiFiRose RS150 streaming DAC. I have no idea what the cables cost, but if it were me buying the system, I wouldn’t spend more than $1000 on speaker cables, interconnects, and power cords, at least to start. So all in all, this system costs quite a bit less than a Civic or Corolla.
You could also try to lower the outlay. For their respective prices, you’re not going to do much better than the T66s and STR—different, yes, but flat-out better, probably not. But I don’t know if someone needs to go whole-hog with the RS150 streaming DAC. That’s because it’s a DAC as well as a streamer, and the STR already has a DAC (and a phono stage, plus Anthem Room Correction), but it has no streaming component, so someone could just connect an affordable streamer and save some bucks. Mind you, the RS150 has a lovely display screen. And it’s said to be very intuitive (I’ve never used one). So if someone wants the RS150, that’s fine by me.
Even with the RS150, this system provided real value by delivering sound that was exceptional for the price, and even for multiples of the price. I listened to several tracks and came away impressed by the overall neutrality, high degree of clarity, and deep bass. These are traits that the T66 is known for and that many much-higher-priced speakers at the show couldn’t match. Some of these speakers cost more per pair than a Civic or Corolla. No wonder the guy from Maximum Audio Video was so keen to show it off. Not only did the GoldenEar/Anthem/HiFiRose system exude quality, but based on these brands’ reputations, I’m willing to wager that it will work reliably and sound wonderful for a very long time.
Doug Schneider
Founder, SoundStage!
