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How do I choose a decent system?

I am a novice audiophile who would like to set up my first (and last) decent system for about $2,000. That would include a receiver, CD-changer, speakers and maybe a phonograph (I'm a little old school). An MP3 player wouldn't be out of the question either. The room I have is about 40'x20' without much in the way of sound absorbtion material (hardwood floors, high ceiling, spread out furniture, etc.) Oh, and the system shouldn't be too conspicuous. I've looked at(but haven't heard) the Nakamichi compact systems, as well as B&O stuff. Any advice would be appreciated.
dannebrog16ff

Showing 1 response by bomarc

bomarc
501 posts
 
You've got an 800-square-foot room and you're worried about the system being too conspicuous???

Seriously, it's hard to give specific advice for a very unspecific problem (maybe a turntable; maybe an MP3 player?), but the general advice I'd give is to budget about a third of your $2000 for speakers (PSB, Paradigm, and B&W all have good reputations in this price range, but they're hardly the only ones) and another quarter for an integrated amp (NAD, Rotel, Yamaha). That leaves a good chunk of change for sources--tuner, CD, phono (plus phono stage), etc.

And listen, listen, listen.
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