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Newbie to the awesome audiophile world

hi all, i'm a new member here and looking to learn from here of starting a stereo system. I'm thinking a basic 2 channel amp that can power a pair of floor standing speakers. I'm currently eyeing a pair of bowers & Wilkens cm9 or kef iq9 both used of course (my budget is around 2k for the setup) so around 1000 for the speakers or about 1000 for the amp. Given the speakers, what are your thought on amps to pair with them that provide the best sounding? I'm looking for high fidelity sound over raw power. 

thanks all for viewing and helping this newbie out.
retsameht01

Showing 2 responses by terry9

terry9
2,354 posts
 
Consider headphones. You can get a lot of sound for a few dollars that way.
terry9
2,354 posts
 
Welcome!

I suggest that you go around the retailers and listen, listen, listen. Visit a high end store too - they may just treat you a whole lot better than the chain stores - at least, that's my experience. And they often have used/demo equipment too. Main thing is to be exposed to various sounds. Planar speakers are very different from box speakers. Vinyl is very different from digital. Etc. Etc.

You may find that you only need to spend half your budget to get what you want. Then again, you may become like most of us here ...

Just don't get conned into spending a lot for cables, a HUGE profit centre for retailers. Sound of cabling is almost uncorrelated to cost, and what you spend on cabling can't be spent on speakers.
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