GIRL NEWBIE

You (and everyone on the budget. And those open minded audiophiles) should check out new digital amp by name Little Dot T150. Here are some of its spects:
The integrated vacuum tube pre-stage (EF91) adds warmth to the mid-range and sweetness to the treble to accompany the dynamic, and razor-sharp bass.
At $499 It is a steal. It is base on technology similar to Trands Audio TA-10.1 - which was awarded Blue Moon Award from 6moons. But that is where the similarities end. T150 is a 145Wpc in 4/Ohm and 80Wpc in 8/Ohm with THD+N=0.1%.
Four analog input (Trands-only one).It uses a new highly-linear, ultra-low distortion Wolfson WM8816 Volume Controller (0.001% THD+N, -100dB crosstalk).
If $499 is still too much......check out his little brother(not that little) T-100 ($299) which puts out about 40Wpc less then T-150.
I can bet that this amp can squash almost any amp or integrated amp up to a $1000........and even some moooor expensive ones. Get the right speakers and you have a winner that will not only be a GIANT KILLER but will provide you with a first class system that will put to shame some systems costing double and triple the price.
Speakers........well, if you could put your hands on some nice second hand Ushers, Omegas, Quads (all monitors) or can increase your budge to get new Unity Audio's Inner Spirit bookshelf speakers (93db)(go down to around 59Hz) at $419 pair.....you could have completed your search, right there and then.

Cheers and good luck
Mariusz Stark

Just a suggestion, if you could squeeze a little more into your budget and are looking for some decent gear you might wantto take a peek at the following two vendor sites, I am not affliliated with either DMC-Electonic and Audio Advisor (the latter is a A'gon Guild member)- DMC has new and or re-furbished NAD integrateds and PSB (blemished)at good prices (PS I bought a pair of PSB 'blemished' speakers and still lookig ofr the supposed blemish). Audio Advisor sometimes has Cambridge re-furbished integrateds.

It is a little unconventional, but for a sound that would far surpass any of the commercial integrated solutions, look for a Berning MicroZotl used here on audiogon. Match that with your ipod headphones until you can buy a decent pair of headphones. Then, when you can afford a good pair of small and efficient speakers you can add those to the mix. When ready to buy a good amp, you can convert the MicroZotl into an excellent preamp. You can also use the MicroZotl with your ipod in addition to your turntable. If you want to move toward really good sound, IMHO you will not get there even when spending several thousand dollars building a system around the usual solid state integrateds. IMHO, YMMV, etc. Good luck. Jeff

Do not ever hear a very good put together system. If you are like me it will never end. I'm looking at the Vandersteen 5a's now 17,000 speakers OUCH !!!!! And if U in Michigan Can I have a Date? Just kidding sorta LOL.