Looking for a good system for my apartment. Any advise?

@mesch  Thanks for the sage advise! As for the neighbors, we only share (1) wall.. so a non-issue.

I agree that with a $5000 budget you can put together a very nice system. Are you willing to purchase some items used?

- Yes of course! Any way to bring that 5k down a rung or two, the better.

For the same sound quality, vinyl is more expensive that digital. Which is most important?

Good question. I prefer vinyl (the sound is just richer and more flavorful in my opinion). That being said, it'll be a healthy mix of the two since (as of now) the majority of the music i listen to is "streaming" from the internet or from my own dig. library.

I would limit my choices of speakers that would play well with 50-80wpc into a medium size room. What is room size?

Room size is: roughly 13' x 25'. Good to know. I read that.. "As a general guideline, it is better to get an amplifier that is slightly more powerful than your speakers are rated for. " So perhaps go w/a 150pc amp in this case?

Consider integrated amplifiers. There are many that have both internal DACs and phonostages. A great way to get started within budget. If desired an external DAC or phonostage can be added at a later date as funds become available.

Good suggestion.

Select speakers that have reasonable sensitivity and not difficult to drive impedance wise (therefore fitting the 50-80wpc power restriction).

What is a good example of this?

Well, I need to get a bird on, happy Thanksgiving!

I should do the same .. but I'm trapped in this sonic rabbit hole. I'll need a lifeline if I can't pull myself out on my own.

Enjoy have a great holiday.

Happy Turkey Day to one and all!

I just googled "great HiFi system for $5K" and there's a lot of sites and threads that came up which should keep you busy for the holidays. 

All the best,
Nonoise

Seems to me you want amp/pre/radio/cd/tt/speakers.  And you want a system that (1) sounds good. (2) is of interest (in some way) to audiophiles.  Now lots of us have systems under 5K that sound fantastic.  But to get what you want on point 2, you're pressing it here:  every component you get means a bit less you can spend on another one, and there will be compromises throughout that system (which will become apparent as/if you upgrade).  Why not look for a reconditioned tube receiver, which will only set you back say 1-1.5K.  Then you don't have to worry about which phono-pre-amp and DAC converter you need or that your $300 interconnects mean you have to downgrade the speakers you want, or go through the whole 'which should I spend on? pre- or power-amp).  You'll have plenty left over to buy the best tt, speakers, and cd-player you want.  And the whole set up will look cool as hell.  (You'll have plenty of power--my amps run from 8-20W and they fill rooms  bigger than that).  And I've found they sound just fine either with modern speakers or old KLH ones.

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Preamp/dac/streamer 1500
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Dave and troy
Audio intellect nj

Rega nuprime nad dealers