Best 5K HiFi system for Cwlondon

given cwlondon's description of his malady, which must have been brought on by years of self-denial--no, dammit, i'm a music lover, not an audiophile- here's what i'd suggest he do with his hypothetical $5,000 audio budget: (1) purchase a used airtangent reference airbearing tone arm (original MSRP $14,000- but i know where i can buy a mint used one for ~$5,000); (2) buy a tivoli audio henry kloss model one radio ($100); (3) listen to music only on the kloss radio, nightly, whilst scrutinizing the airtangent tonearm, unmounted, in its fitted aluminum flight case; (4) wait. in about a month or less, cw's audiophile instincts will take over, imagining the turntable that'll best mate with the sensuous tone arm, the perfect multi-tube phono to drive a koetsu onyx platinum, the speakers, the amps, the wire, the cable, the conditioner. and the quest will be on again. will it lead to bliss or skepticism? that's practically a cosmological question: will the expansion of the universe continue or will it slow down, collapse and end in a singularity? damned if i know. but i do know that cw suffers as an audiophile, a condition that won't allow one, if he has the means, to live long with a $5k system. course that's just my opinion, FWIW. -kelly

Don't know about CW, but what you so aptly say, Cornfed, would surely happen to me. You put a huge smile on my face. Thanks!

the source! the source!
digital: sony SACD 777-ES $1600 street price
amp: decware zen $600 or so
speakers: the "hornshoppe" speaker $700 (thehornshoppe.com)
spend the rest on CDs and SACDs
OR:
Rega Planar 25 w/decent cartridge ($1500+ total)
Audio Electronics PH1 phono amp $575 or $400 as a kit

Yes Garfish:

I have a couple of options here in fact.

Option #1: I would start out with a system such as my own, but I would substitute a couple of pieces within the system. My own system consists of a pair of KEF Reference 102 Speaker Monitors ($900.00 back in 1988..... if they were new today, they would probably cost about $1,300.00), an Adcom GFA-545 MkII ($250.00 used.... purchased in 2000), an Adcom GFP-750 ($1,250.00 brand new.... purchased in 1999), Magnum Dynalab FT-101 FM Tuner (about $600.00 used..... also purchased in 2000), JVC XL-509TN CD Player/Changer ($400.00 new..... purchased in 1994..... and was used in an older system before I have begun upgrading to this one), and MITerminator 2 (Interconnects and Speaker Cable) and 3 (Interconnects only) ($610.00 total..... spanning from 1999 to 2000.... and all purchased from Audio Advisor). A Meridian 506 CD Player will join the system in June or July (approximate cost -- $2,100.00 if I decide to purchase new at my local dealer, or $1,000.00 used if I should find one and purchase it off the internet). If I were buying this EXACT system brand new today, I would opt for either an NAD or a Rotel CD Changer. That would be about the only change I would make. I am going to either have a stand custom made, or I am going to go to a woodmill, select the wood(s) I want, and make the stand myself (an option I am leaning toward to), and then go to a marble and stone dealer and purchase a slab of marble and then put it on top of the stand and use other vibration deadening materials for the other shelves within the stand itself. And I am going to purchase electrical cords and a power conditioner soon afterwards. But these items are going to push the cost well beyond $5K, and thus, I view them as secondary items and not primary ones. This system would be one option to go with.

OR

Option #2: Start out with a Classe CAP-101 Integrated Amplifier ($1,395.00) and a Meridian 506.24 CD Player ($2,095), or go with an NAD S500 CD Player (a pretty good alternative...... for about $500.00 less) and then, go with the Vandersteen 2Ce's (if you want a "Rock and Roll" or a "Get Up And Boogie" system..... price -- $1,300.00), or a pair Totem Rokks (if subtlety is more your strong suit.... price -- $895.00). And then in either case, I would tie it all together with MITerminator 2 Cable (pretty damn good cable if you ask me..... I am still amazed as to why it costs so little??? Interconnect is $80.00 for a one meter pair. And the speaker cable is $120.00 for a eight foot pair. And that's provided if you buy it from Audio Advisor).

Well my friend. I've just given you two more options in which to ponder over. Let me know what you think about these as well.

Good Luck.

--Charles--

You guys are great! Don't know where the $5K came from, but I find it a very tricky budget that perfectly illustrates my theory of the audiophile dead zone. That part of the price/performance curve, in my experience, is the crack cocaine of our hobby. Everything is just good enough to reveal its limitations, but not really good enough to touch nirvana, resulting in a deeply unsatisfying experience and neurotic preoccupation with the placement of shakti stones and cable risers. My next entry level, "budget" system , therefore, will be along the following lines: Audio Research SP-10/11 ($2000) Audio Research VT100 ($2500) Magneplanar MG 1.6 R ($1800) VPI TNT ($3000) Sony SACD ($1500)With cables and cartridge, more like $15 K used, but I really would, otherwise, rather listen to the radio and stare at an airtangent arm in its fitted aluminum flight case. Let's up the budget and remember the music!