How do you plan to use the system? If it’s for a combo music & TV/movie system then I’d lean towards big floorstanders that can deliver deep bass. If it’s for music only and your musical tastes don’t mind lacking a bit of bass and lower volumes, you might be better off with a highend bookshelf speaker.
For the former, I’d go Goldenear Triton 2s, but there are lots of solid contenders including Kef R900s, PSB Imagine T2s or those Revel F206s. For the latter, Harbeths or DeVore Gibbon 3XLs are on my personal wishlist. Either way I’d spend $2500-3500 on the speakers since they affect system performance more than any other component and I’d try my best to listen to a pair before buying if at all possible.
I’d then look for a good integrated amp with built-in phono input, DAC, and headphone output for somewhere around $1k...$1500 max if you were closer to the lower end of the price range on speakers. Peachtree nova150 comes to mind and one is available now for $999. The Hegel mentioned by soix would be an awesome choice but is listed as “local pickup only” so include the price of a trip to Minnesota in the budget if you can’t talk the seller into shipping it :).
I’d definitely include a chrome cast audio as mentioned above...can’t be beat for $35
Next I’d pick out a turntable somewhere in the $500-$1k range to leave just enough for budget cables, interconnects, and a surge protector (the latter to keep from it going up in smoke more than for any sound quality benefits). If you don’t mind lacking a dust cover I’d go VPI Cliffwood...if you do, Rega Planar 2 or 3 or something from the Pro-Ject lineup that works for the remaining budget.
All that said, I didn’t build my <$5000 system that way at all. It’s:
KEF LS50s ($1000)
Creek Evo100a w/ Ruby DAC module (~$2500)
Chromecast Audio ($35)
VPI Nomad Turntable ($600 on sale)
Pioneer CD/DVD player I already had ($?)
Furman power conditioner/surge protector ($200)
Entry-level Audioquest cabling and interconnects (couple hundred dollars tops for all of them)
.... and it sounds fantastic to me.
For the former, I’d go Goldenear Triton 2s, but there are lots of solid contenders including Kef R900s, PSB Imagine T2s or those Revel F206s. For the latter, Harbeths or DeVore Gibbon 3XLs are on my personal wishlist. Either way I’d spend $2500-3500 on the speakers since they affect system performance more than any other component and I’d try my best to listen to a pair before buying if at all possible.
I’d then look for a good integrated amp with built-in phono input, DAC, and headphone output for somewhere around $1k...$1500 max if you were closer to the lower end of the price range on speakers. Peachtree nova150 comes to mind and one is available now for $999. The Hegel mentioned by soix would be an awesome choice but is listed as “local pickup only” so include the price of a trip to Minnesota in the budget if you can’t talk the seller into shipping it :).
I’d definitely include a chrome cast audio as mentioned above...can’t be beat for $35
Next I’d pick out a turntable somewhere in the $500-$1k range to leave just enough for budget cables, interconnects, and a surge protector (the latter to keep from it going up in smoke more than for any sound quality benefits). If you don’t mind lacking a dust cover I’d go VPI Cliffwood...if you do, Rega Planar 2 or 3 or something from the Pro-Ject lineup that works for the remaining budget.
All that said, I didn’t build my <$5000 system that way at all. It’s:
KEF LS50s ($1000)
Creek Evo100a w/ Ruby DAC module (~$2500)
Chromecast Audio ($35)
VPI Nomad Turntable ($600 on sale)
Pioneer CD/DVD player I already had ($?)
Furman power conditioner/surge protector ($200)
Entry-level Audioquest cabling and interconnects (couple hundred dollars tops for all of them)
.... and it sounds fantastic to me.