Helping a friend build a new system


A good family friend has recently retired and is looking to build a system for his home office. He used to own a nice sound system some 25 years ago but hasn't been actively pursuing the hobby. He was visiting my home a few weeks ago and I guess listening to my system must have inspired him to finally build a new one. He asked me to help set up a new system (new to him, he's willing to buy used). I asked him a bunch of questions to find out what he wants and how much he is willing to spend. His responses are summarized below:

1. Budget -- since he's retired he wants to keep the total system budget to around $7-8K (including cables)
2. Components Needed -- bookshelf speakers, integrated amp, cables. He already has a CD player which would do for now, but he might get into streaming later on. He owns a few hundred CDs.
3. Room size -- around 10x12 with 10 foot ceilings. Fully carpeted with some furniture.  
4. Music genres -- jazz, blues, vocals (he's a big fan of Frank Sinatra, Chet Baker, Billy Holiday, etc.), and R&B
5. Listening preferences -- he is looking for an 'intimate' and cozy experience and wants to try tube amps with high sensitivity bookshelf speakers. He mostly listens at a moderate volume and can be sensitive to high frequencies.

He also mentioned that he has some hearing loss since he's in his early 60s and suffers from a mild case of tinnitus. I'm not sure if this plays a role in the choice of components but I thought it's worth mentioning just in case.

I will really appreciate it if you guys can provide some pointers. Please remember that he is retired so $8k is absolutely the max he can do. System synergy is important. And, please no Tekton or class D recommendations. He really wants to try some affordable tube gear as a starting point.

128x128arafiq
Unreceivedogma has a good idea in buying a Dynaco 70.  This is a good beginners tube amp.  Tubes4hifi have bern rebuilding and modifying these amps for decades.  Their rebuilt & custom built Dynaco 70 ampsate essentially brand new amplifiers.
The VTL ST85 is not the warmest sounding tube amp.  Its sound is very similar to a good solid state amp except in lower frequencies where it is inferior to a good solid state amp.  I have read in this forum that customer service is not good though I have not used such myself.
i would agree that fritz speakers should be seriously considered, as they are easy to drive, tube amp friendly and in a small room, can present music fairly full range or close to it (always can add a rel sub later if the listener feels he wants a more solid bass foundation)... remember, close to walls, small room means bass reinforcement from the boundaries - win/win! :)

fritz's carrera be's and https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649769956-ayon-orion-ii-tube-integrated-amplifier/ - or any of the other used integrated i posted earlier would be very nice together
The Spendor 4/5 is worth looking into. I have owned the Spendor 3/5 R2 and it was an outstanding shoe box size speaker! Here is a review!
https://www.avforums.com/reviews/spendor-classic-s4-5-standmount-speaker-review.18041