$1130 system for a musician, please :

I am answering as though your total budget is $1130, although you only ask for advice on amp and speakers. I'm including a CDP recommendation but you may already have one.

I would start with the best CD player I could afford, perhaps a Music Hall MMF-CD25. (The source is where I think you should put most of your money, because resolution lost there cannot be restored later on in the chain. Yes, some people do say spend most on speakers, but I'm not one of them.) Price on these second-hand is about $375 here.

Then I would look for a 20 to 30-watt tube integrated in good shape. A Dyna SCA-35 on eBay is one option. These were discontinued years ago so you'll have to buy used. One that's been looked after and upgraded will cost you $250-$350.

You'll need small (because low-cost) but efficient speakers and I would look for a pair of Paradigm Titans, PSB Alpha Minis or, best, Acoustic Energy Aegis 1s. $150-$200 here.

That leaves money over for cables. I say Audioquest Type 4 or Canare 4S11 for the speakers and Wireworld, Van den Hul or Zu Cable for interconnects. The speakers will need stands, too. Later you can add an upmarket (or homebuilt!) power cord to the CD player.

You can get all this home under budget if you are patient and thorough. It will give you the midrange you want first off, and above all it will be musical--you will want to listen. Although the bass and treble extension you also want will have to come later, your perception that modern fashion is for too much bass suggests to me you can accept that. While you wait, this equipment will hold much of its value.

It's never easy to make recommendations without knowing exactly what the person who has paid the compliment of asking has actually heard.

NHT has been making speakers for some time, and PSB has too, so there are a lot of models on the market from these two makers alone, if you consider buying second-hand. They are not all bad. Perhaps you have heard some models in unsuccessful combinations.

IMHO there are some very interesting recommendations here. They strike me as coming from the horse's mouth : that is, the posters have heard what they are talking about. In turn, that gives you a lot to explore.

A wise audiophile once told me that the pleasure of audio was not in having wonderful music through great equipment. It is having wonderful music through great equipment *at bargain prices*.

It takes a long time and a lot of experience to build up the knowledge required to make the right decisions. I'm happy to share the little I know, and more important, I'm very lucky to have access to so much hard-won experience from others who know more than I do.

Perhaps you have not yet heard the kind of sound you would one day like to have. I think this is an essential part of the process. After you have this experience, you can listen to cheaper equipment and decide which of its weaknesses you can accept, and which you cannot live with. You are also able to state more clearly just what you are looking for.

No matter whether the suggestions here are gold or dross to you, in the last analysis you will have to make up your mind with your ears.