What tier do you consider Anthem integrated?

Also, nothing against Mac owners.. Saying it was mushy and veiled as an over -exaggeration but that particular system that I was referring to was old and not properly maintained.

@sunshdw Wow! That setup is killer. Those speakers are gorgeous. Is the sound signature of those like higher end Dynaudio or Sonus Faber?(are those two brands considered warmer type speakers?) Or are they more lively forward and revealing/clinical transparent sounding?

Thanks for the input on your satisfaction with the Anthem. I think maybe the integrated would be a good buy. I'm reluctant to get loaded integrated that have dacs and phono stages and crossovers all by the preamp and power supply. I am concerned that a all in one value amp may have decreased SQ, or I'd be paying for features I didn't want or would wind up upgrading externally later, etc. Maybe I should consider Hegel as well as Anthem.

@mesch , you don't sound snarky at all. I'm sure it's hard to help somebody that has no idea what they want and has no stores in their area to listen to anything. It's just gonna be a blind buy. I keep thinking if I increase my budgethat maybe I stand a better chance of getting something quality. But  if it winds up too clinical and revealing as opposed to musically detailed and warm (my sound preference I believe) I'd hate to waste all that money and wind up disappointed with my purchase. So  I go round and round with indecision. You and @soix  and a bunch of others here have been very helpful and educational but it's really hard when I can't physically listen to the assortment of items to choose from. Plus, I want to purchase wisely and get great bang for my buck. (This will be a huge purchase for me) I don't have a super lucrative job, and it's a big budget to risk becoming. unhappy with if I make a poor choice.. Relying simply on descriptions from others instead of being able to physically hear it myself plays a big part in the indecision not to mention all the choices available and all the ranges of price points for varying gear.  I keep running across stuff that interests me and it prevents me from making a decision about anything. Most recently the speakers of @sunshdw  Look super appealing, As well as some triangle Delta signature speakers that are probably too big for my area. But those intrigue me as well. Anyway guys, the struggle is real. Thank you for your support and patience as I suffer through educating myself and trying to make a purchase blind (and  metaphorically deaf) because I can't audition really anything in my area other than Best Buy stuff.

Budget is still $5k but I keep wanting to increase that. $5k is a good start for now for the first piece or two though. I need to be patient and build this over time with quality pieces. First amp and speakers,  then dacs and wires,  etc.

Also, I'm not attached to any of the pieces. I'll sell it all off or just replace it..

@mesch, thanks. All that is correct except I may prefer a tower that wouldn't overpower the room *too much (ha ha) (instead of bookshelf. monitors). My thought Is that being in an apartment a subwoofrr to augment  bookshelves may irritate the neighbors. I'd rather have a quality tower and sacrifice some extreme low end, but also, some monitors might suprise me even without a sub. I currently have an external old Parasound zdac, but it's not much better than the one in the node 2i.

@Kota1 suggested getting room correction via the martin logan unison streamer. I could sell my Node and get the other streamer that includes ARC. Previous speakers were revel f208 and salk songtower. Revel overpowered the room wit 2 8" woofers per side, and songtower had great clarity and low end extension but sounded to bright and forward on certain songs, but mostly, those drivers were too small for punchy midbass on rock and stuff like Jack white, NIN, etc.

The current system is "great for the price" and I believe I'll have to spend a lot more than i paid to noticeably exceed how it works in my room. It's cheap but it works. Yamaha A-S500 integrated with node 2i. Parasound zdac. Cheap Bluejean and wire world cables with Acoustic Energy Aegis 3 speakers is what I currently have.

I had Robert Hartley's book. Loaned it to a buddy of mine and never got it back in spite of repeatedly asking for it. (I hate loaning stuff. I gotta stop that).

@recklesskelly, I am unable to really audition much of anything that Best Buy doesn't sell. (Even then, half those guys can't get it to work). So, no, I haven't heard anthem or pass stuff, and even if I did, I wouldn't know what part was the amp and what part was the speakers attached to it. I've heard a few McIntosh systems that were nice, and a few that were "not so much my cup of  Mac stuff is pretty expensive anyway. So that's probably a wash. The Mac I liked had warmth and detail without being overly clinical and revealing. The Mac I didn't like was too warm. Veiled and mushy. As a whole. I think most of the Mac stuff I've heard was a little too warm or soft. I don't want hyper clinical, but I do want articulate,  crystal clear musical just on the warm side of neutral. The Anthem just seemed like it would be a good piece that would work with a lot of different things while offering value. If I ever decided to sell some of my equipment or upgrade. It would be nice if the stuff i had would hold enough value on the second hand market to be worth more than 3% of what I paid for it. @soix if I buy speakers first, I'll have a hard time upgrading the current amp I have because I'll spend everything on speakers and buy Dynaudio confidence or those triangle signature Delta or something else silly that won't work well with my Room. I'd blow it all on speakers and not upgrade the other stuff. I know that doesn't make sense and it's not right, but I'd be more included to buy better speakers for my amp than better Amp for my speakers. Lol. Guess I need more discipline and direction.

@tennisdoc56 ? amps have the internals and build quality that you recommend? I'm all in favor of learning from others experience. Trying to go it alone is overwhelming. I recently watched a YouTube video by "TheAlphaAudio" channel that had me impressed with the Hypex Nilai amp. I just have so many choices that it's overwhelming. I'll shop for speakers first as @mesch ​​​​@soix suggested. Tips and ones to consider are welcome. When it comes to the amps next. Should I only consider csss a/b stuff, or should class d be considered too? Help steer me to some choices that no matter what I pick, it will be solid quality parts and sound. Thanks!

@soix thanks. I sent seller a message to inquire about shipping as im not close to those. I should also see if i can audition the Nola 3 contender. Any idea what a fair price is for those? The look to be in good condition