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Newbie to the awesome audiophile world

hi all, i'm a new member here and looking to learn from here of starting a stereo system. I'm thinking a basic 2 channel amp that can power a pair of floor standing speakers. I'm currently eyeing a pair of bowers & Wilkens cm9 or kef iq9 both used of course (my budget is around 2k for the setup) so around 1000 for the speakers or about 1000 for the amp. Given the speakers, what are your thought on amps to pair with them that provide the best sounding? I'm looking for high fidelity sound over raw power. 

thanks all for viewing and helping this newbie out.
retsameht01
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
Speakers with around 95dB sensitivity will be a big help, as much below 90 and you need a lot more watts. And don't spend half your budget on speakers. Or amp. More like 25%. You need source, amp, speakers, and wire. Four equally important components. 25% each.
arcticdeth's avatar
arcticdeth
1,572 posts
 
damm,2robtenambunchmofmstuff,8t deleted, darn iPads!

 Get 300 RMS, NO LESS, YOU WILL BE HAPPY!

tons of good gear out there!

enejoynthe hunt.
sfar's avatar
sfar
1,758 posts
 
It's going to take time and effort to sort through the possibilities and one of the difficult parts is sorting out the good information from the bad on forums like this. Go slowly, read as much as possible of the often conflicting information and advice you'll come across and trust your ears. Resign yourself to not getting it just right the first time, which argues with sticking with mainstream brands with excellent reviews that have good potential resale value, possibly used. 

uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz
13,381 posts
 
Just way too many possibilities and variables to even begin to put together a useful answer.
Instead I suggest you read a lot of the current threads and get a feel for what others are doing/ have done.
Good luck and stay safe.
frogman
7,442 posts
 
You say you want high fidelity and not just impressive sound. One idea that I have always gone back to: source, source, source! Always remember, any information lost or distorted at the source cannot be retrieved or corrected further upstream. Oversimplification to be sure, but the idea has been essential to get closer to my idea of what high fidelity is. Good luck and have fun.
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