Recommendations for HiFi Listening Room


Newbie here.  Wife and I are looking to turn our Great Room into a listening room.  It’s roughly 21’X’19 and has a cathedral ceiling that is 11’ tall at the wall and 20’ tall at the apex.  Spoke to a good hifi dealer in the area who made the following recommendations/proposal and I’m curious if this group may have any input for getting maximum bang for my buck.  Basically, with a budget around 35k (or thereabouts) would you buy something similar or are there any components you’d add or swap out?

Paradigm Persona 3F

McIntosh MA8950

Pro-Ject Xtension 9 w/ Ortofon Black Cartridge 

Sony ES DSD Music Server (this one concerns me a touch in that it appears to be an 8 yr old product line).

Thanks so much in advance for your collective expertise.  My wife isn’t going to let me drop money into this for another 15 years so I need to get it right the first time. 

If it matters, our musical taste is quite varied: classical, jazz, classic rock, alternative, hip hop.  My mother complained in my youth that if i had 10 bucks I would just buy a CD with it.  She is still right. 

128x128brewerslaw

+1 on working with a local dealer, you can go over to the store, listen, get help if you need to bring something back. 

I think a good system, with no shortcuts, can be put together for 12-15K (I wouldn't know, my budget was way lower), What the OP can do for his generous budget is go for the aesthetics and high-end models of the mid-range boutique brands. With a car metaphor: not a Porsche but a Golf R, or if you like Italian better, not a Ferrari but Alfa Quadrifoglio.

"We all know" what a pain it is to park Ferraris :)

fwiw i personally agree with @spenav over ​​​​​@grislybutter regarding speaker selection should be done first

op’s budget as stated is 35k ... not putting together a budget system

done well the op doesn't need to choose 1 between a great set of speakers vs a great amp... both well within reach

@jjss49 every situation is different. I watched the last 20 or so Darko podcasts on speakers, he said and explained it several times in great detail: DON'T buy the speakers first.