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Building a system for a friend...Please Help

A friend of mine has decided to invest in a hi-end system. He and his wife enjoy music and feel that it is worth their investment. He recently purchased a pair of ProAc 1SC monitors and has asked me to recommend and integrated amp and cd player. The catch is that he doesn't want to spend more than 2k for both pieces and doesn't want tubes...otherwise I would have recommended a ARC CA-50. Therefore, I have been considering Musical Fidelity or Classe. Obviously he plans on purchasing used. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
jla
zspradlin
143 posts
 
I would suggest a McCormack DNA 0.5 amp and a CDP like the California Audio Labs CL-15, with variable output voltage. Later on your friend, as funds permit, can have the amp upgraded by SMC Audio. He could probably get into both of these pieces here on Audiogon for abot $1300-$1400, having money left over to buy better cables.
consttraveler
250 posts
 
See if you can find a used LFD Mistral integrated amp and any of the CD players mentioned above.
jla OP
231 posts
 
I finally finished building my friends system. Here is what he ended up with.

Classe CAP-101 Integrated Amp
Philips SACD 963 CDP
ProAc 1SC Monitors
XLO Ultra 1 interconnect
XLO Pro 600 speaker cables.

The system is very impressive and he can't even believe it. He has been listening to an old Yamaha receiver running his in-wall speakers. I think I may have gotten him hooked!

Total cost (used...except CDP) = $2,750.
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