What's the best approach?

With limited exposure to various electronics, It would be wise to consider a system based an a single manufacturer. This would in theory resolve the issue of component matching. For instance, If you plan to go with the Proacs, you should consider the ARC products at your price points. Likewise, since you pleased with the Naim products, why not go all Naim. A CD5/82/250/D15 system would be quite awesome. Used gear would only extend your budget a little.

Good luck and welcome back to the High-end fray.

Matt

By ARC I was referring to Audio Research products. There is wonderful synergy between these two product lines.

Source first v. Speaker - amp first. This will always be debated. Most Naimers tend to be first source folk. You should visit their forum at Naim-audio.com for some interesting discussions on this topic. My view is that within a budget the law of diminishing returns occurs at a lower price point with digital products than with other gear. For instance, the sonic differences between my Audio Note CD3.1x cdp($2400) and the CD2.1x($1400)are minimal. In retrospect I could have used that extra $1000 elsewhere in my system.

Likewise, It would not be unreasonable to allocate 40-50% of your total budget on the amp/speaker combination.

I would like to add that I have auditioned the D15 with a Manley Stingray. This was an extremely musical combination.

Matt