It is almost impossible to make suggestions unless you provide info on your room, the music you listen to, what you like or want in a system (are you an analytical listener or do you prefer to melt into your music, do you require a remote, etc.). Also- try to audition as many products as you can. It would be helpful if you could post again (on this forum or others like www.audioasylum.com) with info like: I like Classical music, and was impressed by Paradigm speakers- as opposed to, say NHT... I will use this for 80% music, 20% HT... All of the otherposted listed excellent bang-for -the-buck choices, but they arent really applicable unless we know more details about waht you are looking for. In general I would advise you to: 1. Amps/Pre buy separates if at all possible. This allows for more flexibility 2. Speakers - stay away fromthe mass market & try for small, higher quality manufactureers. They often hve the best support, and always (at this price) have the best components for your money. Check out www.aci.com www.norh.com www.newformresearch.com www.hsuresearch.com(subs) These companies also have lots of info on their sites to educate you about all sorts of audio issues. In general you will discover that small companies like this invest a lot more of your purchase dollars into components (actual product you receive) as opposed to marketing. The drawback, is that you cannot listen to these actual speakers, but yu can listen to "similar products" in the mass market, although you may feel strange, because they will be in $6k speakers. (I personally am awaiting a pair of nOrh 9.0's). 3. Cable - reserve about $200-$300 (10-15% system cost) for cables. DO NOT SPEND MORE THAN THIS intially- you will be tempted to- cables can be damn expensive. Personally, I got a little too into just gettign good cables foreverything, then realized that with some ofthat extra $$ I could have gotten a better CDP. I really think a better component makes more of a difference than an extra $$ cable. Initially buy 12 gague OFC copper (30C foot) for speakers &cheap IC. Then , once you have everythign else set up, experiment with cables in your price range to find the most synergistic combination. Once everything else is set up & burned in, and you switch from crap wire to realcables you WILL notice a difference. If not, just return the cables & keep your $$. I know that if you actually do this, you will hear a difference, and then will have $2-300 to play around with cables to tune yoursystem the way you like it. 4. Incidentals. - Budget ahead for great tweaks that don;t cost much (but can add up). Anticipate getting 3 vibrapodsfor your CDP ($20 total). May not soudn better, but will sound different (usually better). If you don;t like, try under your VCR. Optrex - this is a CD cleaning solution I use. A bottle costs $17, and sprays 200 CD's. Thespray lasts about a year, and really improves sound IMO. Some disagree, but it's worth a $17 gamble IMO 'cause I can attest its great. Get a $125 power conditioner. Monster HTS-2000 (if you have video) or lesser model. It's notthe best, but it is avery good use of $125. Some audiophiles poorly ratethem , but it's only compared to much more expensive products. Many (myself included) think they work wonders on our HT & Audio set-ups. You can e-mail me if you want more info, I'm tired of typing. Dan G. (dango@rcn.com)
