New or used???

On second thought - In spite of the occasionally heated rhetoric, I've always thought of my fellow Audiogoners as family. In keeping with that sentiment in which I'm sure many of us share, I hereby call upon audiogon to post obituaries of it's deceased members and... Oh my!... this is just too sad, I'm overcome with grief, I can't go on.

Wow ... I didn't expect my question to cast us into a moral quandary. However, all this mention of surreptitious slithering and other sibilant descriptors does get me really interested in delving into the dark side of audiophilia :)

On a more serious note, thanks to everyone for responding. This is the first true high-end system I'm purchasing for myself (I'm still using the old Bose 550 receiver I bought more than 20 years ago with my paper route money - it may not be high-end, but it's served me well for a long time), and it's a bit intimidating when there are so many choices and a huge spectrum of prices.

Thanks, Tiger for the formula, and Bongofury and Phaelon for the additional suggestions. I'll see if I can find those brands locally (I'm in Denver) to listen to them.

Rather than putting $5,000 toward speakers, you may want to consider putting something like $2,500 toward a good integrated tube amp (example: used VTL integrated IT-85) and the other $2,500 toward a used pair of Sonus Faber Grand Pianos or something similar. I fear your Bose 550 receiver may not be up to making music of $5,000 speakers and for that budget there are a lot of combinations folks could recommend. IHMO of course. Jeff

Jhkear,
Your initial post suggested, to me at least, that a speaker purchase was just your starting off point and that appropriate supporting equipment would be forthcoming. If your entire budget hovers around $5000 then Jj2468 is absolutely correct. Don't blow your entire budget on speakers. Use the audiogon classifieds and keep asking for help on these forums - there are some knowledgeable people here. IMO, the synergy between your equipment is more important than the equipment.

Regards

Tvad, this post screams for your input.

Jhkear,
If budget for everything is $5k (though your post explicitly states speakers only to start with), by all means spread it around. If just speakers, you will get a lot more bang for buck out of used than new.

I have bought almost everything used - speakers (twice), amps (3x), CD player (2x), preamp (1x), turntables (4x), phono (1x), crossover (1x), cables (several). The only stereo equipment I've bought new in the last 25yrs are a few odd accessories, a cartridge, a tonearm, and a phono stage. That and LOTS AND LOTS OF MUSIC.

If you want to spend your hard-earned money and keep what you buy for a long time, spend some time listening before you buy. Do a search of audio clubs in your area and see if you can't get invited to some members' homes for a listen. There are very few things which show up only once (so you can afford to wait), and there are certainly lots of choices in that price range if going used. For that money, definitely listen first. One could get large Thiels, nice Magnepans, Merlins, older Soundlabs, the Shahinian Obelisks (cheaper than $5k but I'd love to listen to them), you might find some used horns in that range, some electrostats such as Innersound or MartinLogan, and the list goes on... [disclaimer: no affiliation with anyone selling anything]