A current AOS thread asks how one would spend £10k if building a system from scratch. I wonder how little one would need to spend to get a system capable of delivering a credible hifi performance. I ask because I am contemplating an increase in travelling for work and I'm reviewing my portable "hifi" kit.

Several years back I had a pretty decent travel system that fitted into a nice travel case around the size of a shoebox. It comprised a tiny Nuforce Icon digital power amp and a pair of metal enclosure KLH 610 speakers. The Icon had analogue inputs as well as usb digital facilities. I could therefore provide inputs from phone, tablet or laptop. I also used to pack a WD Media player which would play virtually any audio and visual file format, great for watching movies from a usb drive.. I still have all of the kit, except for the KLH 610 speakers. Although they were tiny, they produced a very clean dynamic sound and could play pretty loudly. Placed on a desk or close to a wall, and kept in place with some blu tac blobs, they were not noticeably bass shy, at least not excessively so. IIRC the Icon cost me less than £200 and the KLH610 speakers a mere £50 from Richer Sounds back in the 90's.

Has anyone else put together a similar kit and if so, using what components?


Geoff