Dave - Welcome to the quest for better music. Your question is very broad and can't really be answered as stated. You'll need to provide more information for the people here to consider and comment on. For instance, what is your total budget for audio gear? What kinds of music do you listen to? How big is the room where you will be listening? And what sound qualities will be the most important to you in the music you will be listening to (e.g., impact/slam, lots of detail, warmth, clarity, big soundstage, bright or polite, etc.)? Keep in mind you can't have it all -- there will generally be trade-offs. So I would suggest picking 3 of the qualities you most desire, and then seek some recommendations on which particular pieces of equipment provide these qualities for prices that are within your budget. Your local hi-fi dealers can also offer some guidance here. I suggest visiting as many different dealers, selling as many different brands of gear as possible, to ensure you get a good cross-section of views and listening experiences. This will let you start to hear some of the personalities and sound qualities of different kinds of gear, how $500 speakers compare to $5000 speaker, how tube amps sound compared to solid state amps, etc. In terms of sound advice, there is no better source than your own ears, and some things may sound great to you even though others think it's not so great, and visa versa -- ignore them, trust yourself. It will also be quite instructive to read some of the other threads on this site. There are past threads on things like budget systems, good bookshelf speakers, cheap CD players, reference CDs, etc. (just go to "more chat" and do a search). Some of the regular posters on this site live and breath audio; they have many years of experience in this adventure; they have owned and auditioned all kinds of gear; and they'll offer their advise for free (provided you remain respectful of others and ask meaningful questions). You may also want to pick up a book by Robert Harley called "The Complete Guide to High-End Audio" (2nd ed.). It can be ordered in paperback from your local bookstore. It's well written and has a lot of good information about what different components do, what kinds of sound qualities to look for or avoid in gear, what a DAC is, the difference between balanced/XLR and unbalanced/RCA cables, how to set up your listening room, and so on. For your starter system, a decent CD player, pre-amp, power amp, speakers and cables (interconnects and speaker cables) will be enough (assuming you don't listen to FM or records). Buying an integrated amp would eliminate the need for a separate pre-amp and amp, and would also reduce the need for one pair of interconnect cables (the ones that would run from the preamp to the amp). So this is an option you should consider if your budget is fairly small, though it will reduce the flexibility of your system somewhat. At the other extreme, I would advise staying away from 1-box-does-it-all systems (e.g., CD/tuner/tape deck/integrated amp/...) since these generally have poor performance. If your budget is limited, my belief is you should first find the best pair of small- to mid-sized speakers that satisfy your musical tastes. (A full-sized/floor standing speaker for the same price will generally have poorer performance since more of the manufacturing cost will have to go into a mediocre woofer and larger box -- which means the quality of mids and highs will be sacrificed.) If you want more bass, then get a separate subwoofer to fill in the bottom end with a pair of smaller speakers (the sub can then be used for home theater too). An important thing for you to know is that some speakers are very revealing while others are more forgiving. Revealing speakers are usually very detailed which can be highly rewarding, but the down side is they will also reveal the flaws in bad recordings and will sound poor if you don't have money to buy a very good CD player, preamp, and amp to feed them. So for a low-budget starter system, I would suggest getting a more forgiving speaker to begin with so your music will be enjoyable from the outset. Then, as you gradually get better gear upstream, the speakers will keep sounding better and better. You can also get a good sounding CD player for a few hundred dollars these days and an exceptional sounding deck for about a grand. Get one with a digital output in case you decide to get an external digital-to-analog converter at a later date (this is an easy way to significantly improve the performance of a CD player as digital technology improves). If you buy a pair of good, forgiving speakers along and a good quality CD player, you can probably get by with a modest (but not crappy) integrated amp or amp/preamp -- perhaps even a good receiver -- for a while until you get a better sense of where your musical tastes are pulling you. Shop for cables after these steps are done to fine tune your system. People who are spending a lot on power cords and the like have already made substantial investments in setting up complete high-end systems, and they are now in the process of trying to squeeze the very last drop of performance out of their gear. Not for you if you're just starting out -- focus on the nuts and bolts first, then shop for washers and lock-tight later. Finally, where to buy: You should support your local dealer(s) to the extent that you can and to the extent that they are actually being of assistance (some dealers pushy or prissy or arogant, some will treat you as an annoyance - if they don't remember that they are there for you, don't give them your business). At the same time, here at Audiogon there are some GREAT deals on gear selling at half (or less) of suggested retail cost. You can get a lot of bang for the buck this way. Before committing to buy a used piece, though, always be sure to ask the seller whether the gear they are selling is in perfect working order, has ever been damaged or defective (sold as B-stock, irregular, etc.), or has ever been repaired or serviced (e.g., resoldered or reterminated cables). Once in a while, a lemon will show up for sale (sometimes unbeknownst to the seller), and you don't want to get stuck with it. Some things like tube gear and turntables can also be a little tricky to buy used, and I would caution against running out and buying such gear used unless you get someone with more experienced to guide you while you're learning the ins and outs. Another audio-related website you may want to visit is Audioreview.com. It contains user-posted product reviews of many kinds of different gear. Some of the reviews are vindictive or are off-base, but most are honest and sometimes surprisingly accurate; be sure to pay attention to what kind of associated gear each reviewer was using and what similar products they've used before for comparison. Therefore, you should be able to get a fair sense of a particular product's characteristics, merits, and shortcomings by reading the reviews collectively and ignoring the odd-balls. In response to your question posted above, other people here on Audiogon may advise you differently than I have, and their points will also have some merit. Therefore, in the end you'll need to go to out and start listening for yourself and deciding which approach is best for you. The hunt is a big part of the fun in this hobby. Exceptional music and exotic gear make it truly wonderful. Hope this primer helps. Two last things you should always remember: (1) trust your own ears, and (2) this is about the music (if you can manage to keep the ego out of it, you'll enjoy the music a lot more). Happy shopping. Don
