A rookie with 10K, seeking advise

You’ve been given a number of good suggestions and a number of different directions so you most likely have a lot of thinking and research ahead before you make a decision. When you do narrow down some of the components you are interested in and are looking to the second hand market take a look at tmraudio.com. You will pay somewhat more than buying from an individual but they offer a two week trial period and if you are not satisfied you can return and pay only the round trip freight. 

rok2id

7,379 posts

08-17-2022 at 12:51pm 

@rok2id   BRAVO to the last suggestion on this list... 

buy:

Yamaha integrated amp 701 / 801

Polk speakers Lsim705 (used) or R700 (new)

Blue Jeans wire

The rest in a Vanguard mutual fund.

I will spend money wisely by adding a subwoofer to your system to begin with.  I had Linton that, as you know, the low end goes down to 40 Hz.  When I pair the nimble bass from Linton with a fast subwoofer (down to 24 Hz), it really enlightens my ears and the overall listening experience with a variety of genres of music.  In addition to taking advises from this forum, look for useful information from reliable reviewers.  REL has a good 60 days free trials / return policy and that might be a good place to start. 

I'd hate to be a newbie looking for advice on this forum.  Lots of crap in this thread.  

For the OP listening preferences, a tube amp would be great.  But his speakers are not sensitive enough to take full advantage. 

Good full size speakers with great midrange would be your best bet--Tekton is a controversial brand, bashed by those who have never heard it, but they are very linear with great midrange and pair well with tube amps.  Awesome for classical music, jazz, and vocals.  Just don't post here that you bought them.

For a tube amp I highly recommend Decware.  There is a 2 yr wait but they pop up on the used market about twice a month and sell immediately.  I've been alert and bought 2 in the past 6 months.  

You can get the speakers and amp for under $10k.  You won't need a preamp.

On the other end of the spectrum is electrostats, also excellent with your music choices but a power hog.  I have a pair of CLSs and a Kinki Studios integraged amp which is an undiscovered gem.  You'll need a sub with CLSs.  There are a lot of used MLs on the market. Try hard to listen to them before you buy them and do your research.

Jerry

Go have a listen to the KEF LS60 (Baby Blades) and see if the sound and the utter simplicity of the system appeals to you.

You only need to plug the 2 speakers into the wall outlet and connect any analog sources you have (if any) to the preamp in the speaker. This is KEF product and not a one person shop so you are getting some top end gear made to spec.

Placement options are the most flexible since it has built-in DSP.  You can put them against a wall if required.

I have a poor man's version of this with the passive KEF LS50 Meta and KEF KC62 sub. It sounds excellent. The LS60 should be better than what I have.

A local Best Buy with Magnoloia should have these speaker available to listen.