Tier Lo · BBC Sound (mandate)
Built around monitors in the BBC line — the LS3/5a family and its descendants.
One certified system per brief. Costs appear only as signed percentages against each tier’s (unpublished) baseline; absolute prices are not shown.
The certified system
| Slot | Component |
|---|---|
| Turntable | Pro-Ject Debut Pro (with cart) |
| Tonearm | ProJect Tonearm 8.6 Carbon (Debut PRO) |
| Cartridge | Linn Koil MC |
| Phono stage | Rega Aria Mk3 MM/MC |
| Integrated amplifier | Creek 4040A |
| Loudspeakers | Falcon Q7 Complete@Home |
| Whole-system cost vs tier baseline | −2.8% |
Amplification: integrated amplifier — an outcome of the search, not a requirement.
How the money is shaped
How the budget is shaped here — each share is the portion of the whole build this brief aims at that position. A position marked free is left to find its own level.
| Position | Share of build |
|---|---|
| Cartridge | 16.1% |
| Tonearm | 3.5% |
| Turntable | 18.0% |
| Phono stage | 17.7% |
| Loudspeakers | 25.3% |
| Integrated amplifier | 19.3% |
Why there is no subwoofer
No subwoofer is fitted: at this tier the budget is better spent inside the core system, and the loudspeaker carries the bass range alone.