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Please recommend components for newbie with $1K

I currently have a late-90's Sony cd player, a pair of old Realistic speakers that are hand-me-downs from my father-in-law, and a Scott 418-A integrated from the mid-70's (I think) that I acquired at a pawn shop when I was an undergrad. Sounds pretty bad, so I want to upgrade. I can put in $1000 now, so I want to get speakers and an integrated amp or a receiver. I guess that gives me around $500 for each. I need the amp to have A/B speaker switching. A phono stage would be nice too, although I'm not opposed to getting a separate phono preamp in the future if necessary. This system will be a smallish room, about 14x10, 8' ceilings.

Unless I can find something used, I'm leaning toward the Marantz PM7200 integrated. Local shops have also suggested the Integra DTM 5.3 receiver. I would buy the NAD 720BEE today but it's $540 before tax.

Thanks for reading. Any amp and speaker recommendations will be greatly appreciated.
reanalyst
swampwalker's avatar
swampwalker
5,138 posts
 
Used Vandersteen 2ci and Audio Refinement Complete would come in right around $1K and give a real taste of the high end. Not really heavy metal rockers, but perfect for blues, folk, bluegrass and most of the rockers you have listed are not hard-core. That pairing might be a little bit polite, but very listenable and forgiving. Might accommodate a little bit forward CDP pretty well.
cdc
1,773 posts
 
Epos M12 or ES11 speakers. Try them with your Scott tube amp before chucking it. Integra is really bright to my ears. Creek A50 integrated sells for ~$500 used at Audiogon and is voiced for the Epos.
mechans
3,048 posts
 
Get the NAD. The NHT speakers are a good suggestion. For floor standers,the Von Schwieckert VR2s are a great choice but they exceed your budget used you may find a pair for $1200. They are worth the investment. Did you consider the NAD 320cbee (I think thats the name) Its a real bargain for an amp.
reanalyst OP
3 posts
 
Would the Vandersteen 2c's pair well with an NAD integrated?
siliab
362 posts
 
I think that the Vandersteen 1s might sound better than the 2s in your room. Their are two primary reasons for this. First, the 2Cs are prone to overloading small rooms due to their prodigious low bass output, and their rear-firing passive radiator. Second, you need a bit more distance from the speakers to get the three forward facing drivers to work together optimally. This may have something to do with the first-order crossovers.

I have played around with both speakers in small, medium and large rooms. While there are significant performance advantages associated with the 2Cs, their use in small rooms creates several problems that do not exist in larger rooms, or with the 1s.

Both speakers work well with NAD integrateds. As I said above, the 1Bs sound awesome in a room with dimensions that are close to yours.

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