Separate Components

Take any specific brand recommendations above with a grain of salt, as well as any that come after this post. These recommendations are useful only to the degree that you might want to include some of them on a short-list of gear that you want to audition. In the end, remember that the only thing that you can trust is your ears. But do listen to as much gear as you possibly can, decide what you like, and then buy it used here or in a similar forum.

While people are well intentioned, consider that when someone raves about a specific product, it's probably because they own it, and how objective can they really be? After all if you asked them if their wife/girlfriend is ugly, how many would respond with an objective "yes"? And believe me, I've listened to plenty of gear that people raved about here that left me cold.

Finally, recommendations that you buy used tube gear, and you'll get plenty, should be considered with a jaundiced eye. This is because you must periodically replace the tubes and this can cost a bunch of money, especially for power amps --- a real problem given that you stated that you are on a tight budget. It's similar to a friend asking you to recommend an economical car, and you recommend one that you know requires an engine replacement every 30,000 miles. It' just not a real budget friendly recommendation. Good luck.

I agree with Docwarnock about the listening to as many things as you can. But not on the part about then buying them used. Do not go and take up your local high end dealers time with no intention of buying anything from him, if everyone did this he or she would no longer be around. As far as tubes go, if you stick with just a tubed pre-amp you only replace them maybe once a year. Going with Sugerbrie's suggestion of PV-10a this will run you around 60 bucks. Good luck hunting down something that makes you smile :)

No money makes a valid point about supporting local hi-fi dealers. The problem is that a person on a tight budget, such as Johnny7, can seldom afford to assemble a full system using components sold at full retail by high-end salons. Many consumers just give up and go to BestBuy and buy whatever crap fits their budget.

In a perfect world, high-end dealers would recognize the demand for good, reasonably priced used equipment and start stocking a reasonable inventory of such gear. This would allow them to capture customers like Johnny7 and expand their sales. It might also mean repeat business as these customers' income increases over the years and they can afford better gear. However, the reality is that at least in my area, the high-end salons have no used gear to speak of other than the odd trade-in. They really almost force people with a tight budget constraint to take up their time, yet go elsewhere for the purchase.

I am fortunate enough to have a dealer that has a small room filled with used equipment. Some of it is crap, some of it is actually nice stuff. I picked up my ARC LS-15 out of that room, I could not have afforded it new. I still think it is wrong to demo with no intention of buying. If you buy it used and don't like it you can just re-sell it for little or no loss.

In response to the reply that some of us are just saying some gear sounds good just because we own it, I say pooh to you! I posted the first response about AMC above, and yes I own an AMC solid state preamp, but I have owned others as well, and my AMC has given me the best performance and flexibility of them all. Look at their ratings on Audioreview.com and you'll notice everyone has only good things to say about them. I have also owned numerous NAD components, Rotel, Denon, and others, so I do have some idea about comparing budget equipment. Buying used gear is a good way to go, as you won't lose alot of money if you decide you don't like it and sell it. I typically buy used gear anytime I find a reasonable deal. Anyway, good luck on your quest...