Perspective system advise needed.

@audiotroy very well said. I would recommend powered speakers for an additional room and not your main listening room. 

Thank you very much, overthemoon!

Something to look into, for sure! I Will do just that.

Thanks, again.

Thank you much, baylinor.
I appreciate your kind and wise words. It's good to see that this board has grown-ups.

@hoping 66 years old, rock on brother and many good years remaining to enjoy some high end SQ that is emotionally moving and speaks to your soul

Some very good suggestions from other members

My quick .02 cents - If I were starting this hobby today and was looking for bang for the buck with the most immediate benefits I would start with a good purpose built all in one unit that does a very good job, though not the best, of all the feature functionality

I would couple it with a pair of loudspeakers at about 2 to 3 times the cost that are matched to the room and the amplifier

That unit for me is the PS Audio Stellar Strata, MSRP 3k US

That would leave you about 6-7k for speakers and cables

I don't have a particular speaker in mind but have had great experience with Revel

Here's a link from a review of the Strata

https://www.audiophilia.com/reviews/2021/7/16/ps-audio-stellar-strata 

This group can be brutal sometimes

Having a laugh at someone else expense due to language or grammar barriers just doesn't add any value

None of us are above a fat fingered post and mistake from time to time

I can hardly keep up when English is my first language and honestly impressed with those that are able to do so when English is a second or even third language

I think the language disconnect tells us that perhaps the best level playing field and something we all have in common is our ears and what we hear

The strength of this community is our differences and all are welcome to contribute and learn

Happy Listening To All

Erm, PROSPECTIVE. 

@hoping Wrote:

Thanks, roxy54. I am a non-native speaker, and in my native language, there is one letter for one sound. Russians joke that when brits write: Manchester, they read: Liverpool. Jokes aside, I wondered whether you could provide me with expert advice on the matter in my original post. I am sure you'll write it in English - the language you so well mastered and, perhaps, the only one you speak, aren't you?

Well said!! 😎

Mike

May I ask what exactly you want to achieve with the new system?

Bass-Midrange-Highs, Genres of music, music only or home cinema as well, ...

Consider further that almost all presentations are mixed in different ways so your combination and capabilities of gear+room+furnitures to solve this issue so that you can be in your listening chair and enjoy for hours as I do.

How much listening experiance you have?

Greatings from Germany

And don't forget about room treatments,  dsp does nothing for reverb which smear sound stage immensely. 

I don't know if I phrased that correctly since I'm from Sweden and the grammar police might catch me 😨

@hoping I agree that deciding on what speaker you prefer first is most important and being sure to pair it with an amp that's a good match. These two should take maybe 50-75% of your budget.

From the components mentioned, I'm guessing you are relying on youtube video reviews...which are limited in covering the range of what's out there. Do you have a chance to demo gear at stores, homes or shows before deciding? Speakers are all a matter of priorities and tradeoffs, so it makes it important to get a good sense of what matters most to you and if you can't demo, look for detailed descriptions of the characteristics of each contender from multiple experienced sources. 
IF you've heard any systems that really sound great to you, describing what gear and what you loved about it may help people steer you towards items that have those same strengths.

Also, it takes great courage engaging in a non-native language. I applaud you and apologize for comments implying the flat earth ends at someone's borders. Cheers,

Spencer 

You don’t need to go down the rabbit hole of DACs it’s one of the least important components in a system unless it's a distortion generator. You definitely don’t need to watch YouTube videos from PS Audio. The active speakers you’ve mentioned all have good DACs in them, there are some that don’t  have DACs but you haven’t shown any interest. If you are interested, Focal Trio11 be, Neumann 420, Geithain 804 are some good ones. I have heard a lot of these speakers and for the money the Genelec 8351b or KEF LS60 and Buchardt are exceptional, depends on your preferences. Don’t get sidetracked your thinking is spot on.

@hoping If you aren't too familiar with DAC's you might want to spend 1/2 to an hour listening to the Youtube presentations from Paul at PS audio in Boulder. Brief but informative. Other than mentioning his own product and some positive comments (of course), he doesn't go around pointing fingers, or shaming, and just gives the basics. His company was one of the pioneers of the addon DAC. I tried to list them in order of what I consider important, so if you don't want to watch them all. and there are more also.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1j5VAfTax0o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77DXMR3aVtc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdOj9HNS_r4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McoA82-fi9s
 

Ok, Mr Right.

Okay MC2. Real assy.

"Very common treatment around here."

@juanmanuelfangioii

Yes, you would say that because you always have something to say, and you’re always misspelling words.

@baylinor 

He never mentioned that he was Russian before I made mention of the misspelling, so you are wrong. It has nothing to do with arrogance. Whether he's Russian or from Brooklyn, it never hurts to learn. Anyway, there are many American members here who make grammatical and spelling errors way worse than that.

Members here who have specific knowledge of things like tubes or crossovers are always a source of learning for me, and I am grateful to them for that.

Personally I think you are going in the wrong direction

you should select loud speakers first. 

altough we are specialists in active loudspeakers we sell kef dali elac and atc 

we view these  as lifestyle products for starter systems  or for users looking to add music for another room.

we would recomend visitung a few stores and listening to some great monitors priced at 2k to 5k and great compact floorstanders at the samr range.

this way you can find out what your ear likes detailed or warmer and more musical 

then find an amplifier that drives the speakers well 

many great integrated amplifiers have excellent d dacs and somtimes even have great built in streamers.

a great system in that ptice range dali rubocon 6 a small floorstander 6k

hegel h190 4350 iintegrated 

node 600

total $10,950 add in some good cables and you are in budget

in the future you can upgrade the dac and streamer and contnue to refibe your sound 

Dave and TroyAudio intellect NJ

dealers for dali heget atc kef elac 

You appear to have dismissed the Dutch and Dutch as a choice. This is a mistake as they are probably the best sounding of the speakers mentioned to date.

Here is Buchardt A509 review great on paper betan genelec Bucharest asr test

@hoping If you are starting from scratch and want to do it one and done I have an alternate approach to consider. 
 

Moon by Simaudio has an All-in-One called the ACE and it’s an integrated amplifier with a DAC and streamer and they have a pair of speakers designed as a system.  And then Linn has complete systems with active speakers that you may find compelling as a minimalist and exceptional sound quality. 
 

They would both come in below your budget.  
 

Enjoy the journey.  
 

Very common treatment around here.

My advice is to spell advice with a "c".

It would be a good idea to reach out to Buchardt if you have questions. Mads Buchardt himself has responded to my questions (I own the S400 Mk2 bookshelf speakers. Their products ship for free, and I believe have a $100 restocking fee if the A500s don’t meet your expectations. Great company to work with

hope you find your match

Too much arrogance here from some english speaking folks, sad. Like the OP says, it's likely the only language they mustered to learn. How cheap to belittle him over grammar, specially after he mentions being russian if I read him correctly, very sad. I apologize to the OP for being treated like this, there are many good people here. 

You go @roxy54 !

@hoping ...which does not necessarily have to be complicated to be great.

I have a couple of "minimalistic" systems. One is a source, a tube integrated, and a pair of LS-50s. Very affordable and a decent sounding system. 

Room correction is certainly something to look into, even if it's just hanging some sound-absorbing items on the walls to cut down on sound reflecting all over... 

Still, my impression of a Terminator II and Terminator Plus is that these would give me a much more refined and life-like sound compared to the built-in DAC in my NODE streamer or most of the wireless speakers you have mentioned.

The speakers I mentioned don't have to be ran wireless you can connect them with ethernet cables. I agree with your FutureFi minimalism which is why I pointed out  the speakers you were looking at you don't need a DAC, more to the point using an external DAC would not change the sound as all of the inputs go through the built in DAC of these types of speakers. The analog input simply goes through an ADC first so while it is possible to use your own DAC it doesn't do anything except add another conversion and increase cost. 

I think you're on the right track with your philosophy but do a bit more research on the speakers you're considering.  The Genelec 8351b is an excellent speaker and in a small room I doubt a subwoofer would be needed for most music. 

I for one am firmly aboard the FutureFi bandwagon.  It’s hard to go wrong there, personal preferences aside.  

Thank you, holmz.

Minimalism in audio (or Future-fi as some call it) makes much more sense than all those twenty-century creations, like preamps and multi-thousand dollars worth of room treatments.

Thank you, russ69. A long time ago, I subscribed to this notion of future-fi or minimalistic audiophilia philosophy that your music could come from modern equipment, which does not necessarily have to be complicated to be great. For instance, many people report that room treatment was the most critical component in their setup. In contrast, others answer that great software like Dirac or Genelec's GLM could achieve the same (or almost the same) result with much less money spent.

My advice is to spell advice with a "c".

Well, for the prospective system… 
The Genelecs make a lot of sense.

As @djones51 mentioned:

You don’t need a DAC for Genelec the ones speakers

So the OP may be better off getting a sub than a DAC... (IMO).

You can have a nice system with any of the stuff listed in this thread. But you have severely limited your options for advancing your system

I think that the OP would end up with something that likely is fine sounding, without the hamster wheel of upgrading amps and preamps, and sources.

So it makes a lot of sense IMO to go with the fully engineered solution.

I would not worry about missing anything in terms of cobbling together preamps, amps, cables, and power supplies. The OP gets well down the road without (god know how much) waste in terms of extras to tune the system.

You can have a nice system with any of the stuff listed in this thread. But you have severely limited your options for advancing your system. If you just want a music system you are fine, but if you want to grow and expand your knowledge and sound quality, you need to start with some basic building blocks, such as an amp and speakers. 

Thanks, djones51. I was not aware that Genelecs have a built-in DAC. Although those KEFs do. You see, I strive to get the great sounding system for less. Still, my impression of a Terminator II and Terminator Plus is that these would give me a much more refined and life-like sound compared to the built-in DAC in my NODE streamer or most of the wireless speakers you have mentioned. Yes, I have read that D&D are great speakers, on par with the Genelec 8361B, and I may also consider them, even though they are more expensive.

From my perspective, I would consult with your grandpa, or better yet your grammar about your prospective system! That's my "advise."

Thanks, roxy54. I am a non-native speaker, and in my native language, there is one letter for one sound. Russians joke that when brits write: Manchester, they read: Liverpool. Jokes aside, I wondered whether you could provide me with expert advice on the matter in my original post. I am sure you'll write it in English - the language you so well mastered and, perhaps, the only one you speak, aren't you?

Thank you, mapman. I thought to make this my "end game" and wondered how long those components and speakers would last. I am 66 y.o. 

My advice is to spell advice with a "c".

You don’t need a DAC for Genelec the ones speakers. The new KEF LS60 would work in a small room, again no DAC or streamer needed. Dutch and Dutch 8c another with built in DAC and streaming if using Roon.  I've never heard the A500 but I have tried the A700, you should consider their hub so you have access to their room correction.  Don't know about the Focus 30 but Dynaudio is coming out with a new active you can stream right to the speakers. Devialet Phantoms ditto no DAC or streamer needed. Of these I like the Dutch and Dutch then Genelec 8351b. 

Those are all good setups and should all sound good though different folks will always have different personal preferences.