Recommended one make systems?

I have a one brand system and I am neither simple nor lazy. Neither do I think the question is odd. It is the question of a person who is interested in music more than in components. This is a dichotomy which is well established among the Audiogon members. I see no superiority in either position. It's all a personal decision as to what aspect of the hobby a person finds most interesting and satisfying.

When I think of one brand systems, the names that immediately come to my mind are Arcam, Linn, Meridian and Naim. There are of course many others as the posts above identify. You have many avenues that you can investigate as budget and availability permits.

I don't think your question is odd at all. System synergy should be strong when you match electronics and sources by the same audio house. If you like a manufacturers "house" sound, then it should make a very good start on a satisfying system. I would never even hint that someone might be lazy in this hobby. At this level, no matter what you do, putting together a pleasing system for the love of music is seldom ever easy, unless you're one of the few that goes into the hobby without caring about the quality of the end product, the sound. And who does that? Audiophiles care about the sound, oftentimes too much. That's what gets us into trouble and into spending thousands of dollars on something that others would think is needlessly wasting money. Synergy is elusive and I feel it's a great idea to try and match the source with the electronics of the same manufacturer. Heck, if you could find reasonably priced audiophile component systems that had speakers, electronics and sources from the same audio house, and all were individually good and collectively very good, to me, that would be ideal. The main problem you run into is the speakers. The companies that make quality electronics and sources seem to rarely make loudspeakers that are up to the standard of their other gear. At least, that's my impression. I'm sure there are exceptions to this, but I'm new in the hobby (4 years) and I may be uninformed. Plus, you're probably talking about mega-dollar high end audio. Are you familiar with Cary? I've heard and read very good things about them and their "house" sound. From what I've heard and read, they are known for smoothness and being involving. I don't know anything about Cary speakers but the ones on sale look like a possibility. If the Cary speakers suggested by Jax2 are actually good, and they might be, you could go, Cary SLI-80 integrated, a Cary cdp (303/300) and those Cary speakers. This would not be an unreasonably expensive system, although I don't know your budget. The price sure seems good for those speakers. That could make for a nice setup all from one company.

Audio Note, you can begin with their basic system and upgrade to your hearts, if not your wallets, content(s).

I also grew up in the South with plenty of music all around, though primarily spritual. Yes, it seemed like everyone preached, played an instrument, sang, or a combination. And that was just my family. There was always singing and playing around, and I eventually participated myself, though I pretty much gave it up when I decided that I was not capable of being the best singer that ever lived.

Though some may criticize and/or disagree, I am fairly basic when it comes to listening to music, especially appreciative of equipment that just puts through what comes off the source. The reproduction of the energy, emotion, and the altering experience is what drew me to high end audio in the first place. And no processed to be beautiful reproduction can replicate the true live music expereince. Of course, not all performers or performances are going to result in a magical experience (some are really boring).

Although there may be many brands that can boogie, I will mention Odyssey. I think their preamps, amps, and speakers are capable of reproducing that intangible aspect of live music that many miss. It is good stuff, though not particularly expensive. For a digital source, I thought the Rega Apollo could really scrap, and I assume the Saturn would be the same but better. I have also been very impressed with the musical capabilities of the Ayre CX-7. In fact, it is pretty good in various audiophile parameters too, and not sterile, flat, and unexciting as most digital gear I have sampled.

For cables, I have been through the combine as many others, though am not rich enough to have tried the very expensive fair. For me, the overall best I have found is Shunyata: The Aries IC is neutral, energetic, resolving and smooth. And the PCs all seem to let the components do what they can do, with added refinements and extension seeming to come as you go up the line (never tried the Anaconda).

As far as I can tell so far, none of the items mentioned above (especially the Shunyata, Odyssey electronics, and Ayre) are going to be good for adding color, weight, or anything else if that's what you are looking for. But IMHO, they will reproduce the essence of musical performance when it is on the source.

I listened to an all in one system that sounded good and wouldn't break the bank. Rega is known for good budget stuff. They would match and you can audition them in one place. Turntables, integrateds, tuners, speakers, cd players. They are always for sale here- usually someone is working their way up in this crazy hobby. Seems like they have a synergy from the get go. Good luck