Advice for a new hi-fi customer

It's great that you have an interest in hearing how pleasing music can sound. Remember, what someone else says sounds good may not sound good to you. You really need to listen to music you know on various systems. If the music makes you smile and makes you tap your feet, you found it. Enough of the "theory". Here's a system recommendation: Bryston electronics, Rotel CD player, Maggie 1.6 speakers. Try it if you can.

The maggie 1.6QR's might blow your receiver to kingdom come. You're receiver probably outputs 8 ohm loads. The magnepans are (probably) 4ohms or less. You will want to make sure your receiver can drive these before connecting it up.

I second the opinions of others that quality used equipment can yield more cost effective results than new, particularly in categories of audio gear that possess few moving mechanical parts, such as tuners, amplifiers, and speakers. Don't forget to audition equipment from quality Canadian, British, and European manufacturers as well as the BEST Japanese and American brands. Do expect some brands of new quality gear to take some time to break in. Cheap awful stuff stays bad forever. And above all, let your ears, not your eyes, ego, or wallet be the judge. Audition using familiar recordings of acoustic music (classical, jazz, folk, blues, unplugged rock, or whatever) so that you can compare that sound to some roughly analogous live reference. Remember that sound preferences can be very personal, so what pleases you best may not please someone else. However, do buy a sound that you can live with without fatigue, but not at the expense of the details and nuances of the music. Do listen to great equipment that you can't possibly afford, then try to see how close you can come to that great sound within your budget using lesser equipment. Think about what conveniences and controls you really need; in high fidelity less is often more. Have fun!

Congratulations upon your entry into the world of high end audio! That having been stated, I have read all the prior responses, agree to varying extent with most of it and will try to refrain from any unnecessary repetition. One thought worthy of repeating is the fact that there is some truly decent performing equipment out there these days, for not a whole lot of money. Indeed, if you are a savvy shopper, for the price of mass market mediocrity, you can have yourself an extremely satisfying high-end system. First off, in my humble opinion, CD players are dinosaurs. Instead, get yourself a DVD player with true 96 kHz output. Pioneer's latest entry-level 525 player would be an excellent choice and you can pick one up new for under $200 on the web! Used merely as a stand-alone player for standard CDs, I think you will marvel at the performance/value this player brings to the table. Then, as funds permit, pair up the Pioneer player with MSB's latest Link Dac III (under $350, discounted), another true sonic marvel at its price point. Later on down the road, I suggest you have mod super-guru Andy Bartha (I can provide his contact info if you email me) modify the Pioneer player (for approximately $350) and the Link Dac unit (approximately $400. You will then have a true world-class combo digital front-end. This pair, costing all told, about $1300, I dare say will be better that anything costing 5 to 10 times as much from just a couple of years ago. In terms of your power amp, I would take a serious look at David Belles' 150A amp. The basic, stock unit lists new for around $1299. Pound-for pound, dollar-for-dollar, I think it is one of, if not the best values around. Moreover, there is much you can do with it in terms of upgrades and tweaks, again as funds permit. Preamp-wise, there is a relatively unknown guy by the name of George Wright, out in Washington State, who builds tube equipment that is truly remarkable for its price. You can get one of his combination line stage and outboard phono stage units for a mere $650 --- an incredible value! If you are not into playing vinyl, your $650 will be well-spent on Wright's more expensive, fuller featured, line stage-only preamp. Finally, cables do make a difference! The best interconnect value (entry-level prices) I personally know of, are the DH Labs family of products. Best regards and good luck, Rick P.S. Of course, it should go without saying that you must change those speakers! In what particular order in the scheme of things, is up to you. This will be the toughest of your undertakings. Here, personal preference really comes into play. Demo as much as you can and keep an open mind. My personal preference is a full-range speaker, where (in my particular listening room) with a small enough leap of faith, the results are quite consistent with a live performance. Always value-conscious, I chose PSB Stratus Gold i's, as I found they afforded the most bang for my buck.