Newbie System Question sort of long, sorry

Hi. I would recommend getting a book called "The Complete Guide to High-end Audio", I'm pretty sure that you can purchase it from Music Direct (www.amusicdirect.com). As far as a system weakness, take a good look at your cables. Cables are something that are often overlooked, especially power cables. Start by upgrading your cables before you go looking to upgrade your components. Good Luck.

Welcome to Audiogon and the high end audio world Jetson!

It's good that you know HIFI when you hear it, but the main thing is do you ENJOY HIFI when you hear it? The reason I ask this question is because in my opinion it's the goal of this hobby to assemble a system that you enjoy regardless of anyone else's opinion. Some people will tell you that an accurate system is the best and others that a musical system is better. But those ideals or descriptions are vague and really relative to the person listening. Other people can tell you what's good, but we all hear things differently, have different listening environments and varying budgets, so it really comes down to pleasing your own ears and wallet.

That being said, I still think it's a good idea to read magazines and online reviews to get an idea of whether a certain component might work in your system. And if in the article or review a comparison is made between two or three different speakers for example, it can give you an idea of how they sound relative to each other. Also, this forum is a great place to ask others that have experience with gear you're contemplating buying.

Looking at your system you sure don't look like a newbie. Before I'd go spending money on new gear I'd make sure both your listening environment and your speaker placement is optimized. I've certainly made the mistake of buying over and over again when it wasn't necessary. Make sure everything is set up as best as you can, then evaluate it. You'd be surprised what a little acoustic treatment or proper speaker placing might do for your system.

But the main question is, "how do you like the way your system sounds right now, and how would you like it to sound?" Once that question is addressed I think you'll get a lot of useful suggestions from the forum members here.

Good luck and enjoy!

Let me answer your second question. I think the weakest link in your current set up is your source (ie: Rotel cd player). Garbage in, garbage out - that's not to say though that your Rotel is garbage. Your integrated and speakers are actually quite good; if you are thinking of changing your cd player, I would recommend a Rotel RCD 971 or a first generation Rega Planet. Both sell at around $350-$400 in the used market. I wouldn't spend a lot of money on cables if I were you. A Kimber PBJ interconnect or an Audioquest Ruby would do you just fine. Speaker cables would be right along these brands too. Good luck!

Thanks for the quick and informative responses.
Zspradlin: I'll put that on my x-mas list.

Gunbei: Yes, I enjoy it very, very much. More than my wife; that's why I started with the speakers I've got and why they are placed where they are since she is the decorator and is only beginning to appreciate the value of better sound quality. My speakers are placed in the "long side" corners of a 12.5' x 25' living room. AFAIK they would be better placed on the "short side" corners but that's where the "decorating decisions are competing.
I've got Kimber Kable 8PR speaker and PJB interconnect wires.

My current preferences would be to have better lows and sound envelopment than notice the speaker locations at lower volume levels.(insert correct jargon here)

Gemini: Bummer learning on the Rotel player, that's my newest component, but I still appreciate your input. I've always been wary of buying used.

Jetson, I posted a similar question last year when I got into HiFi. Here are the links:

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Thread 2