As stated previously, it will depend greatly on the type of music you listen to, and how you listen. If you tend to listen really loud, and need "in-your-face" slamming dynamics, you won't like my speaker recommendation, but the other components, mated with a good dynamic loudspeaker design, would make for a good rig.
Source: Sony SCD-XA777ES SACD/CD player ($3,000 new, $1,600 used). Stereophile recommended class A+, awesome sound and build quality, great for redbook CD's, even better with SACD.
Pre-amp: PS Audio PCA-2 ($2,000 new, $1,200 used). Fairly new product, but with an excellent pedigree, considering the reputation of Paul McGowan and PS Audio.
Amp: PS Audio HCA-2 ($1,700 new, $1,000 used). Stereophile recommended class A, 150 W/pc digital amp with an over-engineered power supply and stability into low impedance loads.
Speakers: Martin Logan Ascent ($5,000 new, $2,500 used). These speakers are also Stereophile recommended class A. They are recently discontinued, replaced by the Ascent i, so good deals can be had used. All the great attributes of an electrostatic design, including huge soundstage and remarkable low level detail. Very fast and transparent, but as I mentioned at the top, all planar speakers sacrifice the nth degree of dynamics, so they are not for everybody.
With some careful shopping, the above can be had for around $6,400. Try to allow your self the time to find a local seller, if possible, for the speakers to save on shipping costs, and the inevitable damage that occurs when shipping large, heavy, expensive objects. That leaves about 20% of your budget for cables, and I would suggest that you spend the money there. Used cables are probably the best bargain in high end audio gear, and you can buy and sell without losing a lot of money on the transaction. Start with any decent interconnects and speaker cables, and experiment until you find the right balance. Also, don't ignore power cables, especially on the Sony player. If you are so inclined, DIY power cords can improve performance dramatically for a fraction of the cost of most popular brands.
Whatever you end up buying, have fun putting together your system, and don't forget to save some money to buy music. It's easy to get so caught up in system "upgrades", that we forget the entire purpose of having a Hi-Fi rig, which is to enrich our lives with music.
Mike
Source: Sony SCD-XA777ES SACD/CD player ($3,000 new, $1,600 used). Stereophile recommended class A+, awesome sound and build quality, great for redbook CD's, even better with SACD.
Pre-amp: PS Audio PCA-2 ($2,000 new, $1,200 used). Fairly new product, but with an excellent pedigree, considering the reputation of Paul McGowan and PS Audio.
Amp: PS Audio HCA-2 ($1,700 new, $1,000 used). Stereophile recommended class A, 150 W/pc digital amp with an over-engineered power supply and stability into low impedance loads.
Speakers: Martin Logan Ascent ($5,000 new, $2,500 used). These speakers are also Stereophile recommended class A. They are recently discontinued, replaced by the Ascent i, so good deals can be had used. All the great attributes of an electrostatic design, including huge soundstage and remarkable low level detail. Very fast and transparent, but as I mentioned at the top, all planar speakers sacrifice the nth degree of dynamics, so they are not for everybody.
With some careful shopping, the above can be had for around $6,400. Try to allow your self the time to find a local seller, if possible, for the speakers to save on shipping costs, and the inevitable damage that occurs when shipping large, heavy, expensive objects. That leaves about 20% of your budget for cables, and I would suggest that you spend the money there. Used cables are probably the best bargain in high end audio gear, and you can buy and sell without losing a lot of money on the transaction. Start with any decent interconnects and speaker cables, and experiment until you find the right balance. Also, don't ignore power cables, especially on the Sony player. If you are so inclined, DIY power cords can improve performance dramatically for a fraction of the cost of most popular brands.
Whatever you end up buying, have fun putting together your system, and don't forget to save some money to buy music. It's easy to get so caught up in system "upgrades", that we forget the entire purpose of having a Hi-Fi rig, which is to enrich our lives with music.
Mike