Help a confused newbie build his first setup...


Hello everyone,

After saving my pennies for the last few years, I have finally saved up the money to buy some speakers but to be honest I am confused with two thing and would love everyones opinion. First off, what would be a better bang for the buck, floor standers or monitors?. I am a musician by trade with good ears that listens to everything and love to hear things as truthfully as possible. To me accuracy, neutrality, musicality, and soundstage are very important. For instance, I am not concern about bloated, unrealistic bass, since I know exactly how a bass should sound like. I need a speaker that can handle different situation effectively. Additionally, my living room is connected to a dinning room and kitchen. The living room itself is 20 X 12 with 10 foot high ceiling.

My other concern is how much do I need to spend. Right now all I have is a dac going going to airport express. I was thinking of buying a good speaker first then buying a fairly cheap amp and upgrade later. Is that the right way to go about it? I do know I want to use SS amp for this setup since it is overall easier for me. All this being said, I have collected $1000 so far but am not sure if this would be enough to get a good setup. I do not mind saving up if I have to.

What would be your ideal setup for the following price points (amp included if possible).

$1000

$2000

$3000

Thank you in advance and let me know if you would like more information.
aldres
What is going to be your source? Since you mention a DAC are you going computer based or do you have a DVD/CD player to hook to the DAC?
Mostly a Dac into an airport extreme or my friend just gave me a squeezebox so might go that route with flacless audio files. Eventually do want to buy a dvd/cd player but that is way in the future.
OK here is a suggestion: Find used on audiogon a pair of Quad 11Ls and a Blue Circle integrated amp. Speakers are book shelves around 350 used a the Blue circle CS goes for 750 give or take a bit..