Being given 2 custom systems but what to ask for?

I think the McIntosh advice is good. Trying to do a component matching across multiple brands is time-consuming and requires time and experience that aren't available.

McIntosh stuff sounds great and it's all matched. For cables, you could stick with all Transparent, AudioQuest, Kimber, or Analysis Plus.

Analysis Plus would probably give you the most accurate, linear performance for the money, especially if you don't have a lot of time to mess around.

Another matched-system vendor is Naim. That's what jazz bassist Charlie Haden uses. He went with all Naim to avoid the thrash of audiophilia, and has a consultant keep his system up to date.

Carrie- If you are a classical musician I am thinking that you will want a tube system in the mix at the mid and upper end of your price points, but not one that is dependent on NOS tubes, and one that has excellent customer support. One option then that comes to mind would be Atma-sphere. Their amps and pre-amps work very well together. The owner's support is legendary and his products are designed to work well w readily available current production tubes. Another option would be VAC; maybe one of their integrated amps would cut down on the complexity. For a turntable, I would recommend a product that you can find a local dealer for, who would come in and set it up, since that is a critical part of maximizing LP playback quality. I agree about perhaps skipping cassette as there really is no-one out there selling quality products any more. Speakers are a bit problematic in that there is a wider variety of "house sound" in speakers than elsewheres. Tell us your room size, whether it would be a dedicated room and sonic priorities and then we can start building from there.

Thank you for the on-going suggestions, guys. I apologize for that verbose post up there, but I know it gives a clearer explanation of what I am looking for and why.

I've spent a little time checking out McIntosh here on the web and will visit a couple of shops tomorrow to audition. If anybody has any more insight in the meantime then I would greatly appreciate it.

So what did you do?

For your 2 channel system what kind of music do you like to listen to; also what size is the listening room and enviroment like?
As far as the negative trip to the audio store, I would go to another;also if there's a audio club in the town/city that you live in I would check into that for information from club members and help; thats how I got started in Mpls,Mn.