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
You are in the wrong place.   Seeking information about gear on this site, is like  being adrift on a raft, in the middle of the Pacific, dying of thirst.

Whichever brands are not mentioned here, those for the masses,  are the ones you want to start with.   I would suggest inexpensive Receiver, CD player and speakers.   Then listen for a few years.

Cheers
Thanks everyone for providing such great inputs. I’ll take it slow and try to learn as much as I can before buying.

A little more about my music preference: I listen to a wide range of music from classical piano, jazz, latin jazz, rock, pop and trance. So I would need speakers that can handle a broad spectrum and provide neutral accurate sound. For starting out i'm thinking pairing a nice pair of speaker with a good integrated sound. My source music is coming from youtube and I do have a library of high quality wave music as well (50 MB per song). 

I'm currently looking to wet the appetite with more of an audiophile (used speakers). Revel, Monitor Audio, Bowers & Wilkems, KEF, paradigm are a few brands i'm interested in. I'm thinking getting an stereo integrated amp to pair with the speakers for now to have something to listen to right away and build up later on. I've heard lots of good reviews on Peachtree Audio nova 300 or Rotel, classe lines of integrated amps. 
Very FIRST thing you should do is go LISTEN TO LIVE unamplified music!Doesn’t matter where or what,coffee house,public street,wherever..Go hang out at Music Center & listen to the different instruments being played around with.Learn what music sounds like coming from real instruments so you have a good foundation to build a system on..
I suggest you start with a good,all in 1 solution that includes a DAC with USB & Toslink inputs,maybe even a phono stage for future turntable use(though I don’t recommend vinyl)..This unit will also include a built in power amplifier so all you need do is add speakers,plug a few cables in & away you go..
Have a look at the Quad "Vena II",Creek "Evolution 50a with Ruby DAC board",maybe a gently used Hegel..
Speakers are difficult,you need to listen to many different types to learn what sounds good to you..It has been my experience that you can NOT go wrong with speakers from Dynaudio or Sonus Faber but I also like Dali & if I were you that is where I would go for speakers..Dali use wood pulp fibre for midbass driver giving a wonderfully lucid midrange hard to find at entry level prices along with very smooth but not rolled off silk tweeters..If your going to go with a metal tweeter make sure to hear them with your amp of choice in your room if possible.I just don't like metal anything in speaker drivers..
You say you want high fidelity and not just impressive sound. One idea that I have always gone back to: source, source, source! Always remember, any information lost or distorted at the source cannot be retrieved or corrected further upstream. Oversimplification to be sure, but the idea has been essential to get closer to my idea of what high fidelity is. Good luck and have fun.
Just way too many possibilities and variables to even begin to put together a useful answer.
Instead I suggest you read a lot of the current threads and get a feel for what others are doing/ have done.
Good luck and stay safe.
It's going to take time and effort to sort through the possibilities and one of the difficult parts is sorting out the good information from the bad on forums like this. Go slowly, read as much as possible of the often conflicting information and advice you'll come across and trust your ears. Resign yourself to not getting it just right the first time, which argues with sticking with mainstream brands with excellent reviews that have good potential resale value, possibly used. 

damm,2robtenambunchmofmstuff,8t deleted, darn iPads!

 Get 300 RMS, NO LESS, YOU WILL BE HAPPY!

tons of good gear out there!

enejoynthe hunt.
Speakers with around 95dB sensitivity will be a big help, as much below 90 and you need a lot more watts. And don't spend half your budget on speakers. Or amp. More like 25%. You need source, amp, speakers, and wire. Four equally important components. 25% each.
Welcome, retsameht01.   Different speakers place different demands on an amp, so I would select a pair of speakers first and then decide on an amp that works well with them. I’m not familiar with either of those speakers, so I can’t be much help there.

Speaker - amp interaction is a complicated subject for someone fresh to this world, so the explanation would be lengthy. It’s one of the keys to getting that audiophile sound that you’re after, though, and not being disappointed that you spent a bunch of money and it doesn’t sound any better than your old system.

So take some time, try to listen to the speakers, preferably in your home if you can borrow them, and when you decide on a pair we can then talk about a good amp for them. Take your time, that’s another key to getting good sound.

I think slaw is asking if you listen to digital or vinyl. That can make a difference too.

If you search the forums here, you can find threads on many speakers and amps that go well with them.  You may find a thread that will explain it in a way that works for you.