Best upgradable system components for under $6K

To your question about the Moon amps, they're made by Simaudio in Canada and are great products, impeccable build quality, ergonomics and sound.

I've owned three of their integrateds and two DACs and they've been among the most satisfying pieces I've had in 40-something years of swapping out audio gear.

Used BAT VK51se -> Event Opal active studio monitors(near 500w per each) will get what you need ez.

I like the approach recommended by ZD. I am surprised he didn’t suggest getting the Ayre preamp 1st and use your NAD as the amp until ready to buy newer speakers. I would think he would think it would make the biggest improvement in your system as it currently exists.

If I had $6k to spend on a 2 channel system, Emotiva XSP Balanced preamp mated to some Emotiva XPA1L Class A/AB monoblocks. They have *plenty* of power for almost any speaker and deliver the 1st 30 watts in pure Class A mode.

The pre is $999 and each amp would be $599. The total is $2200. The preamp is a very nice piece indeed with plenty of connection options and fully balanced cirsuitry. These products have a 30 day in-home trial and 5 year warranties. And they are built to last several decades, one of your priorities.

This leaves you about $4k for speakers, a source, and cables. Expect to spend about $3000 on the speakers and the rest on your source and cabling.

The obvious source choice is the Oppo BDP-103, an excellent CD/DVD/Bluray/File playback/Streaming universal player. The Oppo products are VERY well built and Oppo has some of the best customer service in the world. The BPD-103 is $499

Speakers are far too personal for anyone but you to decide what sounds best. And they MUST be mated properly to your room.

The Vandersteen 2CE Signatures are about $2700, a good fit for your budget. I've also read very good things about the GoldenEar Triton 2s at $1499 ea.

I would strongly recommend you get out and audition speakers and see which ones "speak" to you. But if you assemble a system using the components I suggested I believe you will be VERY happy for many years to come...

-RW-

03-26-15: Mesch
I like the approach recommended by ZD. I am surprised he didn’t suggest getting the Ayre preamp 1st and use your NAD as the amp until ready to buy newer speakers. I would think he would think it would make the biggest improvement in your system as it currently exists.

Yes, ZD has frequently emphasized the criticality of the preamp to the sonics of a system. But one reason for his amplifier-first suggestion in this case might be that the OP's present speakers are nominally 4 ohms, and most likely dip to significantly lower values than that at some frequencies, while his NAD integrated has the same 80 watt continuous power rating for 4 ohms as for 8 ohms (although its "dynamic power" rating for 4 ohms is somewhat higher than for 8 ohms). That being suggestive, of course, of the likelihood that driving low impedance speakers is not its forte.

While there are always multiple paths to success (and to failure :-)), given the OP's stated preferences and intentions I can't imagine he would be going wrong by following ZD's Ayre recommendations.

Best regards,
-- Al