new system for beginner

Masdm: Please provide the approx. size of your room, your real world budget (high and low) and whether you would prefer larger (tall, as many of the better ones are narrow) floor standing speakers or stand mounted monitors. A good system, IMO, is one that will sound good on all types of music, but if you want bass slam, just let us know as it's easy to add with the right selection. Ballpark, I would say that $1500-$2000 will buy you sound that will amaze most of your friends and which will give you many hours of listening pleasure.

Masdm; Room size is very important when trying to pick out a system. First thing is do NOT buy a piece buy reading reviews and other peoples opions.Everybody hears a little differently and you have to consider room size and the other brand of equipment that will be used. As said earlyer,the most important piece is the speakers. take your time, listen around. If you have a small room you might want to listen to some smaller speakers ( Revel Gem, Thiel MCS 1, Wilson Cubs,etc) and buy a good subwoofer ( Genesis,Revel,etc). It would be of a great help to know how much you are looking to spend. What kind of music you prefer. The main thing is to buy what YOU like, not what someone else is telling you. Your paying for it so your the one who needs to be most happy with it. Look around!! Good Luck to you and have fun!!!

Masdm: My advice is to visit higher end dealers in your area and listen as much as you can. There is lots of good advice here, but only you know what type of sound best suits you. If you can dial in a preference, this will help you to reach your audio dreams. Most folks on Audiogon have their own preferences (myself included) and advice will naturally be based on this to varying degrees.

One thing is certain...if you are willing to buy used, you can wind up with a significantly better system for your money. I have bought used gear here at Audiogon and at dealers, with good results. I have found amazing values from dealers with whom I've developed relationships over the years who've taken trades on new equipment. So don't discount dealers as a source of good deals.

Best of luck.

My advice is run screaming in the other direction. Before you spend hours comparing descriptions of 12AU7s (vacuum tube) only spend $100/per for a 40yr. old device smaller than your thumb, Before spending the tiny gaps of time measured in days between perpetual upgrades second-guessing your last purchase. Before you decipher the acronym "SET" or - GASP! Shudder!, your immortal soul imperiled beyond salvation - "VTA"!!!
If you ain't afraid by now, you're too dumb to listen to mass-market crap and deserve what you get; a good hobby and great music.
Depending on your budget, your best bet may be any one of a number of integrated amps, a decent set of speakers and an inoffensive player. Then you can work your way into vinyl (i.e. real highend) and become a VTA guru.

thanks for all the help so far. allow me to answer some questions. the room i was planning it for is 18'x 20'. i listen to jazz (mostly), rock and other assorted genres from time to time. i listen to a great deal of live music. i am definitely willing to buy used equipment because, in many ways, i view this system as training and i do not want to feel wasteful if i part with the components after a short time. as far as visual appearance is concerned i have no true preferences, yet. i am really interested in the sound no matter what it looks like. i would be willing to spend upwards of $2000. advice about everything from speakers to cables to cabinets is welcome. i want to learn as much as possible.