Complete newbie needing guidance/purchase advice

R-man9 - Don't apologize for your budget. It is what it is. You can put together a satisfying system on a limited budget at almost (almost) any price point. So what if it isn't equal to the ultra-bucks systems posted here. You won't be a-b'ing at home. If you enjoy it, comparative performance becomes theoretical. Nobody has to like it except you. On the other hand, if you are so inclined your "ear" can be educated. You've received a lot of good input so far. If you haven't already, definitely check out "budget minded systems" on this site. Listen a lot- especially (if you can find one) at a friendly audio dealer who has your best interests in mind and is more interested in cultivating a long term customer rather than making a quick kill. Buy used. Before you buy anything, however, it might help to have an idea about your "ideal" but realistic (total $-wise) future system in mind...that is have the overall system in mind from the start and build towards it. Personally, as a first step, I'd probably upgrade speakers. Follow up with a better amp, then source. That might not be orthodoxy but it is how I'd go. Amp/speaker pairing can be an interative process (actually, over time, the entire process is). One change leads to another. FWIW - my first glimpse of "good sound" was from a Superex headphones and an HH Scott receiver back in 1970. Kid in high school. No money and my folks weren't about to buy a stereo for me. Spent a lot of time listening to "underground FM" back in the day. Good luck. I'll be interested in reading any future posts as to what you end up doing.

PS - Dude! My apologies!! An oversight on my part. I did not completely read your post. If you've been working in the biz that long, your ear probably don't need no educatin'. Trust it!

OK - posting additional opinion and further cause for immolation by the audiophile-elite that reside here, I'd recommend working towards efficient 2-way floor standers and an integrated tube amp. Integration of a sub w/monitors can be a PITA. "Used for all" is the operative phrase.

Renaissanceman9, If you ultimately decide to spend the money you have now on speakers (I would), please remember two things.
1. Shop for speakers that are efficient and an easy load for your receiver and,
2. Don't damage your new speakers by overtaxing your receiver. You will be tempted to play them loudly. Be careful until you upgrade your amp.

Oh wow, you guys have basically written a comprehensive buyer's guide as a reply to my original post! Thanks so much for all the insight!!! This is exactly what I need. Now that I've had a couple of days to digest some of this info, if you'll indulge me I'd love to share some more of my objectives with you to see what you think. (BTW Rok2id and Musicpod, I did read the '10 Snafus' thread in its entirety and it was very enlightening. Thanks for the tip!)

Here's some of what I had posted in response to some other questions in another forum; hopefully it helps to further define my goals for you:

The listening room will be our 'bonus room', which is roughly a 13'x19' rectangle with an asymmetrical vaulted ceiling. the system would be placed against one of the long walls. In other words, I'll be listening from the 'short' side of the room. We have an l-shaped sectional basically placed in the the center of the room. The distance from the seating position to the wall is approximately 8.5', so I'm assuming I'd be about 7' away from the speakers when listening. There are windows on the right side and rear of the room. The left side of the room is open to the staircases leading to the downstairs and bedrooms. Floor is carpeted, and the walls have no acoustic treatment.

The room will also be used to watch movies, HOWEVER I'm not as concerned as much with an audiophile-quality movie experience. My priority is on music, and that's where i want most of my investment to go. We have a little Logitech wireless surround system with tiny speakers and a sub that we can keep setup for watching movies that is small enough to stay out of the way... At least, that's my thinking for now.

As for musical genres, I'll mostly be listening to jazz, jazz/fusion, funk, rock, and classic r&b... I would love to ultimately listen to vinyl on this system, but as I'm going to have to build this over time I'm fine with listening to cd's for now. I'd at least like to have a way to get them sounding better, and my understanding is that a good DAC would help accomplish this...

My short term budget is about $2k. My 'medium-term' budget is $5k. Beyond that, we'll have to see how things develop and how much I end up enjoying this hobby. :) I'm basically starting from scratch. The only components I have are an old Yamaha RX-V690 A/V receiver, a Sony RDR-GX315 DVD/CD player, an XBOX 360, and a pair of Bose 301 bookshelf speakers. :green:

Up to now my plan has been to start with a nice pair of speakers, because at least I'd have something temporary to play through them, even if I won't hear their true potential until upgrading source... However, I'm open to whatever feedback y'all can provide. I'm leaning in the direction of floor-standing speakers, as I'd like to not have to use a sub and also I'm ignorantly assuming that they might contribute more to the experience I described.

As far as aspects that I yearn for, I'm looking for a listening experience that has me feeling like I'm actually 'inside' the music. That's the best way I can think to describe it. I want to feel like I'm listening from 'the inside-out', if that makes any sense at all. The last time I felt that way was when I listened to an old mono recording of Coltrane on vinyl on a friend's smaller-sized audiophile system at a healthy volume. It was incredible.

Thanks again for all of your help!!! BTW, I'm in the Nashville, TN area.

R-man9-
What were the components in your friend's system? Maybe if you post those, they will give some here a better idea about how to guide you.

Your $2K initial budget is larger than I expected. If you buy used I'm pretty sure you'll be able to put something together that will sound great. I know I said go for speakers first, but with that amount I might be tempted to split it and see what options $1000 each for amp and speakers gave me.