What do you recommend for less than $3000

DT:

$3000 is a lot of money for a system that should cost no more than 2/3 of that amount new. I would recommend the following:

NAD C320BEE integrated amp at $400 new. If you would prefer a receiver, go with the Rotel RX 1052 at $900 new.

Music Hall MMF CD25 cd player at $540 new. From personal experience, the NAD/Music Hall combination is magical.

NHT SB2 at $400 new or the Omega Super 3 at $540 new. The NHT are acoustic suspension design and can be placed near rear walls, on top of dressers, etc. and perform very well. Their sound is musical, warm, and rich. The Omegas are a one speaker affair (no crossovers), are not very fussy with placement, and sound musical and detailed. Both speakers sound excellent when played low ... a huge plus for a bedroom system.

Decor wise the Rotel and Music Hall pieces come in a very nice looking silver finish. The NHT's come in a glossy piano black finish. You have at least 10 finish choices with the Omegas that range from several wood to several laminate finishes.

Price wise, you are in the $1340 to $1980 range for a really superior set-up. For cables, stick with Signal Cable or Better Cables. I currently own all the above with the exception of the Rotel and have been extremely pleased with these components.

If you want to go really small, try this combo for $800 ... the TEAC Reference Series 500 receiver & CD/DVD player for $600 from the Needle Doctor and the NHT SB1 at $200. I just put this system together for a friend. It features well made, quality pieces; looks great; and does a superb job at reproducing music ... I have rarely heard Sinatra sound better.

Regards, Rich

Guys, thanks for the replies.

I've managed to catch a listen to both the Spendor 3/5 and Totem Model that was recommended by Gunbei and at the moment these speakers interest me the most in terms of performance, size and availability (saw a used pair Model 1 for about $1k and I also got an offer for the 3/5 for about $550).

As far as I know these mini's take some amount of power to drive them although I am not too sure about how fussy these speakers in terms of placement will be, I would not have dedicated stands in the bedroom so they'll be on a shelf.

Do you have any recommendations on the electronics that would best match the Spendor and Totem's.

I would 2nd the ProAcs, either Tablettes new for $1200 or 1SC's used for about the same price. The Arcam CD73 was the product of the year last year for Hi-Fi Mag I think, for $700. And the Arcam A65+ for $600, or the A80 for $1200 are great integrated amps. I also agree the NAD is a good integrated for the money, but prefer the Arcam sound. I was at a Christmas party last night, we were listening to jazz, mainly Coltrane and Miles on Tablettes, with a CD73 and A80 and I'm always amazed how good they sound together. The 1st time I heard that setup was with a Rega P3 TT playing jazz and you get an amazing smooth picture painted before you. Not the most dynamic, and won't play the loudest or go the lowest, but really detailed and smooth, especially for horns.

Good luck whatever you decide,
Friz

I picked up a Rotel RX-1052, rotel RCD-1072 cd player and a pair of Dynaudio 52SE speakers and have been very please with the set up, very easy to listen to, very musical. the CD player to a little time to smooth out. I find that I am listening to the tuner, jazz on public radio, more than I expected, thought the primary source has been CD and vinyl.

"dtanclim@hotmail.com":

Since you only listen to jazz instrumentals and vocals, then this would be the system I would look into:

Speaker System: Totem Model 1 -- $1,000.00
Integrated Amplifier: Music Hall Mambo -- $1,300.00
Compact Disc Player: Rega Planet -- $300.00 (used)
Cables: Cardas 300B -- $96.00 (new) or you can probably get these used for about $48.00 or so at "www.usedcables.com"

Speaker Cables: Cardas Twinlink -- $120.00 (new) or you can probably get these used for about $60.00 or so at "www.usedcables.com"

And if you either have enough left over in your budget, or if you can stretch your budget by about another $200.00 or so, you can factor in some decent stands for your Totem Model 1's as well.

Good Luck and Happy Listening!!!!!

--Charles--