Help a newbie on an entry two-channel system

I would take a look for one of the Blue Circle integrated's and the Green Mountain Audio Europa's. Many CDP's mentioned above.

How about a Rotel RB1080 power amp--RC1070 pre amp combo, $700 to 800 used. ACI Saphires,again $700 to 800 used. This leaves you $400 to 1100 to play with.

What TweekGeek said! (He said it very WELL, imo.)

Might want to consider the offerings from Klaus Bunge in the Odyssey line in addition to the other excellent suggestions offered.

Our guy asked about 3 pieces (int. amp ss, cd player and monitor speakers, maxed out at $2500. I would try to save 4-5 hundred bucks for some decent cabling and p. cords. So you have roughly 700 bucks to spend per component. Right?

I totally agree with the poster who says it is best to listen and buy what pleases your ears. But if you live in an area that makes that difficult and/or you don't have the time to commit and feel you have to rely on advice/reviews etc. to make a decision, here is a shortcut:
Blue Circle int. amp 21? ($800-1000) is a champ. IF you can find used but you may have to skimp elsewhere. But it would probably be a flagship piece you could live with for years. The Jolida CD player ($600-700 used)would allow you to change your sound by some tube rolling. You can't go wrong with these two coices but you have not much left for speakers and cabeling. Go with these two and either live with your current speakers of maybe pick up a pair of Epos M5s ($350 or so) and trade up later. For cabeling call Frank at signal cable and get his entry level PCs, speaker cable and interconnects. You should be very near budget if you follow this plan.

In the range of these components you can try a piece if you buy used and sell it later for roughly what you have in it and try something else. Lots of choices. Good luck and good listening!

Thanks for all the tips and suggestions, This is really a great site!

I feel somewhat overwhelmed about the zillions of components and configurations after having read up a bit on hi-fi stuff. I figured that I might tap into some of you guys' knowledge here so that I can narrow my choices down before I start checking out stuff. I live in central Indiana and there are not many hi-fi dealers around, except in Indianapolis, which is quite a distance from where I am.

I noticed in Audiogon ads there are a few integrateds around $900-$1000, such as:
a. Musical Fidelity X-150
b. Plinius 8000 series

How about them?

Also for speakers, I read that Dynaudios have been regarded highly, but the contour series I am looking at are at least $1500 used. I may forego upgrading my Denon CD player for the time being if I have a chance to snatch up a pair of these.

I prefer a somewhat neutral to warm sound, esp. in the mid to high frequency range - the bright/metalic sound hurts my hears. I do not care that much about the so-called full/strong bass. Also I do not listen to full-scale ochestral music such as Malher and Bruckner's symphonies. The only orchestral works I listen to mostly are those featuring solo instruments (violin, piano, cello concertos, etc.). I do not turn the volume up that much, usually up to 12 o'clock mark.

I have already received valuable advice, which I will check out. Hopefully I can report back one in a while.