What's the best approach?

Thanks for the responses so far! One clarification, I did update the CD player about 4 years ago to a Sony CD/DVD player of medium quality. And, I plan to replace all the components.

As for a goal, 2-channel first and foremost, but may expand into HT later. But HT should not be a consideration right now.

As for budget (my wife's not reading this...)
Speakers - $2800 (new or used)
CD Source - $1500 (new or used)
Pre - $1500 (used)
Amp - $1800(used)
Or some combination that totals about the same.

Mrwigglewm,
I've been doing a tremendous amount of research and listening as much as possible. Best I've heard so far is Proac Response D15 with Naim electronics and CD5, very realistic (gave me that "being there" feeling). So far, the D15 would be my speaker of choice.

But I digress. The question is really about the process one follows to build a quality 2-channel system from scratch, since the choices for components are beyond counting…

Thanks so much!

With limited exposure to various electronics, It would be wise to consider a system based an a single manufacturer. This would in theory resolve the issue of component matching. For instance, If you plan to go with the Proacs, you should consider the ARC products at your price points. Likewise, since you pleased with the Naim products, why not go all Naim. A CD5/82/250/D15 system would be quite awesome. Used gear would only extend your budget a little.

Good luck and welcome back to the High-end fray.

Matt

Matt,
Good points on going with a single manufacturer. BTW, what are ARC products? As for Naim, it just happened to be what the dealer had driving the Proacs. Not a big Naim fan, in fact, the gear seems rather proprietary and esoteric, although the CD5 did sound noticably better than a less expensive Arcam. Think the Naim gear just allowed the Proacs to sing their *real* song. Other components could do the same, perhaps?

Glad to be back in the fray.

I'd go out and find a really nice pair of speakers first - even if you hadn't posted a price, I would have suggested $2-3K used. Then I'd build up behind it until you were convinced they are the weakest link. This should take a while, and every step you'll hear a significant improvement.

By ARC I was referring to Audio Research products. There is wonderful synergy between these two product lines.

Source first v. Speaker - amp first. This will always be debated. Most Naimers tend to be first source folk. You should visit their forum at Naim-audio.com for some interesting discussions on this topic. My view is that within a budget the law of diminishing returns occurs at a lower price point with digital products than with other gear. For instance, the sonic differences between my Audio Note CD3.1x cdp($2400) and the CD2.1x($1400)are minimal. In retrospect I could have used that extra $1000 elsewhere in my system.

Likewise, It would not be unreasonable to allocate 40-50% of your total budget on the amp/speaker combination.

I would like to add that I have auditioned the D15 with a Manley Stingray. This was an extremely musical combination.

Matt