Building the Best "Used" Budget System under $3000

Ok,I'll play.

-Monarchy preamp/dac model 33, 550 dollars
-Van Alstine amp 240 or 260, 800 dollars
-Nad 521i cd player(used as transport),200 dollars
-Cambridge Audio tuner, 200 dollars
-Sony table/cartridge(The one with a self contained phone pre amp), 200 dollars
-Vandersteen 2ce s,1000 dollars
-plain vanilla manufactuer supplied innerconnects
-16g heater cord from the hardware store to connect speakers.

Just subjective opinion.....

1) Go for an integrated amp. Something like a
Creek 5350SE, which is going for $925, used,
on Audiogon right now. Another possibility ---
Musical Fidelity A3.2, which has a new price
similar to Creek and would probably sell for
a similar amount, used. There's a Musical
Fidelity A300 going for $950, on A'G'.

So, integrated amplifier --- $900 -- $1,000

2) Speakers -- go for a pair of Sonus Faber Grand
Pianos (the older version, not the Homes). Or,
an older pair of Monitor Audio Studio 20's. [A few
years ago, it was common to find these in
reviewers' systems.] I've seen these go for
around $1,500.

Speakers -- $1,500

3) CD player. There are a number of lower priced
players worth considering. Check out the Ah! Njoe
Tjoeb 4000. Recently, an upgraded unit sold for
$375.

CD Player -- $400 -- $500

4) Cables and Wire -- in a $3,000 set up, I am not
spending more than $100 - $200 on cables and
wire. Go with 12 AWG OFC speaker cables which
you can get for less than 50 cents per foot. Get
your speaker cables and interconnects from
PartsExpress and/or AV cables.

Cables and Wire -- $200

If you expand your budget -- put any extra money into
speakers, not cables. For a little more money, you
can get a pair of the Sonus Faber Grand Piano Homes
[Which I like better than B & W Nautilus 804]. Or, Monitor Audio Gold Reference 60's.

AC Conditioning -- A decent bang for the buck on AC conditioning is a Blue Circle Noise Hound, which you can get for $110.

AC Conditioning -- $110.

Surge Protection -- for now, go with something cheap
but effective --- one of those strips.

Total Cost -- 2,800 -- 3,200

x

Rabbit:
I have recently done just what you describe. Over the course of the last year, I researched this site and others.
I set my sights on the basics first (call it phase one):speakers,amp,source. My budget was $3K, split evenly. Then I waited patiently for the items i wanted to appear here on the gon. Took me months, but now I am one happy camper! I did end up spending about $1k more than I budgeted,but it didn't hurt because i bought the pieces over time which allowed me to save between pieces.
One of the difficulties I encountered was the inability to audition the pieces i was interested in. In this regard the forum threads were invaluable. When researching the threads, note the musical tastes of the writers! I reccommend you look to balance the system in quality of components. I prefer monitors for speakers because I beleive you'll get superior imaging,etc. than comparably priced floorstanders. For amps, I'd look to SS integrateds.
My wish list included:
CD Players: Classe,Rega
Int. amps: MF,Plinius,Simaudio
Speakers: Dynaudio,JA,Tyler,B&W
Cables: start small and build
My system:
Jupiter2000
Simuadio I5
Joseph Audio RM7 signaturesw/target stands
Zu Cable Julian and Warmouth

Used: Audio Refinement Complete integrated and CD player, Rega 25 TT w/Benz Glider cart., ATC SCM 7 monitors.

"Whyt_Rabbit":

My "Used" Budget System for under $3K??? Okay....... here goes:

Speaker System: Vandersteen 2, 2C, 2Ci, or 2Ce (early version) -- from $800.00 to about $1,000.00 (used).

Integrated Amplifier: Classe CAP-100 -- $900.00 (used).

Compact Disc Player/System: Pioneer Elite PD-65 (used as transport) + Theta Chroma Anti-Jitter System + Theta Chroma DAC -- $300.00 + $100.00 + $200.00 == $500.00 (all used).

Turntable: Thorens TD-147 -- $200.00 (used).

Phono Cartridge: Grado Prestige Green -- $60.00 (used).

Phono Stage: Monolithic PS-1 -- $200.00 (forget the matching HC-1 Power Supply for right now. You can get that later on when you upgrade the turntable/cartridge system)(used).

Cables: MITerminator 2 (all the way) -- $350.00 (used).

Power Conditioning: I would go a good, but cheap strip from Radio Shack for right now. Make that a priority item to upgrade when it is time to do so. Upgrade to a Brick Wall, MOL Monster, or Panamax when you do -- $40.00 (new).

Good Luck and Happy Listening!!!!!!

--Charles--