Nice looking - for living room?

revox sc22 and sc25 cd and integrated amp (1500-2000)neutral, detailed, dynamic, with phono board just in case ...castle howard (2700)great sound and heirloom furniture....the balance on a turntable or spend on the boss.

a Consonance Droplet to a Wavelength Duetto feeding a pair of Cain and Cain speakers ... there are used of all on the market and you would be under the $8k mark. with the droplet, no preamp is needed

I am not selling any of the above

Jeff

You have lots of options, but you will first need to decide on the speaker in order to determine what kind of amplification you need. For instance, there are lots of great amplifiers that are nearly invisible, like the Redwine Clari-T or Scott Nixon Chip amps. The are tiny and can be hidden easily. However, they are low power and would require an efficient speaker.

If a small discrete system that sounds great is the goal, it can be done for well under your $8000 max budget. Here are a couple of choices:

1. Arcam solo driving the speaker of your choice (Disclaimer: I haven't heard the Arcam, I'm going off of reputation)

2. Decware Zen Select tube amp, cd player of your choice driving a pair of Parker Audio 95s. The Parker speakers are designed to work with the 1.5 watt Zen tube amp and they are very good and they are a narrow floorstander. The stock speaker is not the worlds best looking speaker, but it is also available as a kit and could be built in your choice of finish.This system could cost well under $3000 and it might be much better than you would expect.

2. A quality CD player w/built-in remote volume control driving a pair of Active Speakers. A nice combo might be a Resolution Audio Opus 21 driving a pair of Quad 12L actives. This system would be discrete(hide the CD player, no amp required) and would likely sound fantastic. Used price would be less than $3200.

Personally, I think it will come down to the speaker you require to meet your esthetic requirement. From their, the amp/souce choice can be decided.

If you happen to choose a MUCH LESS expensive option, the Redwine Audio modified Sharp SD-EX111 is excellent and is an all-in-one. If you can find one, it might cost under $500. Add a decent speaker and you are set! It also has a tuner as a benefit. I own the stock Sharp SD-EX111 and it is possibly even sufficient for the low-volume requirement. They cost under $200 if you can find one.

Enjoy,

TIC

I was in the same boat, and found the following setup. The wife approves, neighbors and friends are in awe (total speakers + cd + integrated amp priced around $4000):

- Jolida JD100 & 1501RC = about $1,500 new for the set (looks great and matching looks for cd and int amp keeps wife acceptance high)....plus can upgrade to multi-channel Jolida setup with DVD player in future

- Tyler Accoustics Taylo 7U in Rosewood (used for about $2500)...thin design, front ported floor standers w/o need for black stands (my wife factor would not allow black stands...wouldn't match cherry furniture)

- Bob Timberlake cherry finish furniture (GREAT match with the Rosewood Taylos)

For speakers, I will suggest Diapason Adamantes I, used,
if you can find one.They are musical and beautiful
looking.