Your budget - $20K - best system for a small room

For musical, refined and smooth - you are probably looking at tubes (YES!!). Since your room is small, you can look at some lower powered more refined amplification.

Without knowing what gear you have previously owned or auditioned and loved, this is going to be tougher. Can you give us a hint what speakers in particular have done it for you? I am inclined to mention Kharma, Merlin, and Audio Note off hand. Each offers something that could fit your description with appropriate other components.

No matter what (given what you've said so far), I am going to recommend an Audio Note DAC - in my opinion, they are oh-so-musical, can be tailored by changing the 6dj8 equivalents, and are a good deal for the price (one.1x 2.1x or 1.1x) when bought used.

I will await further feedback before I would suggest particular amps, a cable match, and some tweaks (particularly room treatments which will be essential), though...

Hey - this is a fun question!

Hope that helps so far and looking forward to part 2.
Jacob

I'd spend the $20K on renting/purchasing a decent listening room.

Are you serious?

Thank you all for your great and helpful responses. Dekay, my listening room is a home office where I spend a fair amount of time. Wish I could make it larger, but not in the cards right now.

I will start researching some of the recommendations with an emphasis on good integrated tube amps.

Joel

I've thought about your criteria. Everything in the following list would be purchased used, except for the PS Audio 300:

- Audio Research CD3 (+/- $3,000) or Accuphase DP-75v (+/$4,500)
- Magnum Dynalab 102 tuner (+/-$1,500)
- CAT SL-1 Mk. III linestage preamp (+/- $2,500)
- VAC Renaissance 70/70 Mk III tube amp (+/- $5,500)
- Dynaudio Special 25 speakers (+/- $3,000, including stands)
- Kimber Select 3035 speaker cables (+/- $1,750 for 10' runs)
- Kimber Select 1021 interconnects (+/- $1,500 for two 1 meter pairs and one 2 meter pair for pre-to-amp run)
- OPTIONAL: Belden 83802 electric wire from 20 amp breaker to 20 amp outlet for amp (+/- $125).
- OPTIONAL: One PS Audio "20-amp High-Current Ultimate Outlet" for amp, one "15-amp High Current Ultimate Outlet" for power regenerator (+/- $600)
- OPTIONAL: PS Audio 300 power regenerator for pre, CD and tuner ($1,150 w/ 10% dealer discount)

Leave EVERYTHING powered up 24/7 except for the amp (yes, leave CAT preamp on 24/7, with volume turned all the way down and mute engaged when not in use).

Trust me :)

$20,000 huh? For some reason, that's a magic number. A lot of people are willing to spend $20,000 on audio, but not more... kinda interesting...

Anyway, what I would do...

BAT VK-3iX w/ remote and phono card-- $3500
BAT VK-220 amp-- $2500
Vandersteen 3A Signature-- $3500
Vandersteen 2Wq subwoofers-- $2600
Vandie crossover-- $800

That's $11,300, leaving you over $7,000 for sources, cables, and accessories. Should be plenty. And buying the speakers used would save you even more...

The Vandie 3A's may be a little bit big for your room, though... in which case I'd simply jump down to the 2CE sigs. But I'd try the 3A Sig's first in hopes that they would work.