A good friend of mine is in the process of moving from a house to apartment, so doing pretty much what you're after. He settled on a Musical Designs amp & preamp he got used for <1k total and is going to upgrade the caps in the pre. He's getting ready to purchase some Fritz Carbon 6's and he already has some stands. He's also going to downsize his VPI TT and keep his CDP.
There are definitely some deals to be had out there and it may take a bit of experimenting on your part to come up with a system you're satisfied with.
If I had to put together an apartment rig, I would prob opt for something like a Cary integrated and maybe Fritz spkrs. Again, so many choices to make there is no correct answer.
Good luck!