Old fart needs help with speakers and power req's

Dear Mr. Old Fart,

Lots of good advice here. I like the NAD amps, the C-375BEE in particular. With that said, you should have an open mind, and ear, at this point. As stated above, I also believe the source is critically important (garbage in - garbage out). I believe the preamp/amp are critically important (quality in - loud garbage out). And the speakers are what actually move air (quality in - half missing out, new stuff added that wasn't there, buzz, buzz, ring, ring, OUCH MY EARS ARE HURTING!) You get the point - its all important. Furthermore, as stated above, good pieces can sound bad together because of lack of system synergy.

Here is what I suggest:

-go out to stores, make an appointment if necessary, and shop with your ears

-tell the sales person what your (FIRM) budget is, what kind of music you listen to, how loud you like to listen, how big your room is and whether you sit in the sweet spot to listen, or listen while practicing your fencing moves (just a guess).

-ask the salesperson in each store to suggest a complete system or two for you to evaluate within your budget, and if calling ahead, have them get the gear ready for you to audition when you come in - don't bias them with specific amounts for amp, speakers, etc. - just see what they come up with that stays inside your total budget

-bring a variety of music with you when you go to audition as suggested above and provide enough time for yourself to listen to a fair bit of music critically through one to several systems - make sure if you are bringing LPs, the showroom has a turntable set up with the demo system

-repeat this at several establishments to get an idea what you like

-if you are uncomfortable shopping in this way, just tell the sales people you are coming back into the audio market after a long break, you need to get an idea of what is out there and if you like what you hear at their store, maybe you will buy it.

I usually believe that if a choice is needed, it is better to spend more on source and amp than on speakers, and that many speakers can reward when fed a quality signal. But I recently did what I am telling you to do at a dealer, and was astounded when auditioning a great sounding system that contained a relatively expensive and competent set of speakers paired with a very budget amp and decent source. You just can never tell when a particular combination is going to sound really good, but you will know when you hear it.

Most dealers are fair and well informed about their gear - after all, most are professional music listeners and gear evaluators. Some less scrupulous dealers might try to unload something that they want to get off their floor, but you will quickly gain a sense for what does and does not sound good to you. Remember that "No." is a complete sentence.

So hopefully when you are done you will have evaluated speakers, amps and sources of all types and prices, and probably identified a few that really float your boat. Then you can ask the question if any of this gear sounds better than what you already have.

Blindjim's advice is good, for somebody who has an idea of what is out there and is comfortable making a deal sight unseen for products they may have never heard. I agree with Rleff and Stanwal that you really need to do some "ears-on" research to get an idea of how current products in the marketplace compare to what you already have. I strongly suggest going out and doing some research before you make a major investment in this or any other Internet market, unless you relish trial and error by mail and bank account.

Another point - I took a twenty year hiatus from the hi fi marketplace, and when I returned, the most important thing I have learned from sites like this is the criticality (word?) of physical set up and your listening room are as important as the equipment itself. You may be able to increase your enjoyment of your current system by 100% by setting your speakers away from the back wall and adjusting the separation optimally to your listening position. Also, isolating some of your gear with even crude measures like heavy hard wood cutting boards and blocks, blutack, sorbothane dots, spikes, etc. can have surprisingly positive effects on system performance.

The second thing is that better wires often do sound better - again, just upgrading to well designed but inexpensive interconnects and speaker cables from Internet providers like Signal Cable and Blue Jeans Cables can add to your overall enjoyment and the performance of your current or new systems. When you go listen in the showroom, be sure to look behind the gear on demo to see how and with what it is connected together. Sometimes you can get gear home and it doesn't sound like it did in the store - because in part it does not have $4000 of cabling hooking it together. For your demo, make sure the sales person sets it up with wiring that is also within your budget.

Good luck. If you look at this as an adventure, it can be fun and highly educational for your ears, and perhaps actually save you some money and time in the end.