Looking to build a system for under $5k

"Keep this in mind With loudspeakers under $3'k you will jot get real low bass"

Assuming that's true (and its not), so what? Most speakers over 3k don't go all the way down either.

"If on s budget a good stand mount and a decent powered sub would get you much more low bass.

At the expense of overall sound quality. System matching is everything. Subs are best used with full range speakers.That's why they're called subs, and not bass speakers.  If you use and stand mount speaker and a sub, what do you do about the frequencies that are too low for the small speakers to play, and are too high for the subs? You end up with a hole where some of the music is supposed to be, and the subwoofer never was. Besides, these components are not generic and interchangeable. You can't just throw them in any system without consequence and expect good results. If the OP buys a full range speaker like the Vandersteen Model 1, he can add a matching sub at any time, and will have a very easy time integrating it into his system because both pieces are designed to work together.

"There seems to be a consensus here regarding integrated. Perhaps I had mistakenly assumed that a separate amp and pre would be preferable.

What at was the line of thinking here? Cost prohibitive given budget?"

It's never that simple. People give different answers for completely different reasons. Unless you know the person who is giving you a recommendation, you really don't know why. Most of the time a recommendation is given by someone based on their own personal experience. "I like it, therefore you will too.", is the logic behind it. Its usually an honest approach, but it may not be worth much due to lack of experience with other types of gear, or just tastes that don't match up with yours. Another person may have some type of ax to grind. You see this a lot with cables. People that have strong views against cables in some way either got burned, made some poor choices, has it in their head that cables can't make a difference, the review said xyz, and any other number of negative reasons. The problem with this type of person is that their view may, or may not be realistic. Since were talking about cables, its probably a good time to deal with the term Snake Oil. Its a relative term that's used most of the time to classify cables. If someone tries a cable, or any other audio product, and it doesn't live up to expectations, they label it snake oil. At first that seems reasonable and they may be right, but the real question you need to ask is, "is that person qualified to label something snake oil?". That's a real problem, because if doesn't know what they are doing, it may not be fair to call it snake oil. Give the same exact product to someone else and they may get great results with it. Is it fair to label it snake oil fair? Anyway, since you're looking for advice, here's my take on cables. There's no question whatsoever that cables sound different and can make a difference. That said, its not a beginners task to start picking through different speaker cables and IC's. Your listening skills build over time and you shouldn't buy expensive cables without having the skills to verify their worth. You can walk into any Best Buy and get some entry level AudioQuest cables that don't cost a lot of money, but work very well. You get cables like that to start with. If you buy expensive cables because a review, or anyone else just told you to, that's foolish. If they don't make a difference, you've got no one but yourself to blame.

If you'll notice up to this point, I haven't made any specific recommendations on equipment. The reason for that is I don't have any idea as to what you like, or don't like. You can have 2 very good components sound very different from each other. In a situation like that, it comes down to personal preference. I don't know you well enough to make any specific recommendations except for 1. You brought up Vandersteen 1's, and I talked a little about them in my last post. That's a good speaker to start with. The reason is that Vandersteen makes very transparent speakers. What I mean by that is they impose very little sound of their own on the music. A transparent speaker makes it very easy to hear what the other components in the system are contributing to the overall sound. That's why its such a safe pick. If you don't like the sound of your system, you'll almost never have to get rid of the speakers. You just change the offending component(s). The Model 1's are also very easy to drive and they're time and phase correct.

"Note: I too, will not comment further the merits of audio shows. This is just an account of my personal experience. If someone else wants to weigh in, great ... but that's it for me.   "

I understand what you're saying, but you can still get a lot out of a show regardless. First, you can never listen to too much gear, especially if you're new. That's good listening experience, and you'll use it moving forward. Second, most companies offer a range of components at different price points. For example, if you're really impressed with a 5k speaker you hear at a show, there's a good chance the company will offer less expensive models that you can demo at a dealer.