any advice appreciated

Drew,

I think you are on the right track with most of the budget into the speakers you like. You may find 50 watts of power is a bit light given you have a large room, however, that can be left for a future upgrade...

Agree with above post.You are on the right track.As time goes on and money permits you can pressurize that space a bit more.Those components are fine,good luck,Bob

At your stated budget, the NAD is a good choice. You might consider spending a little more on the CD player and a little less on the speakers. A $200 CD player will not get you very near to what the NAD and a $1200 speaker can do. There are no makeup calls on the musical signal once it leaves the source. Good listening!

I will definitely be upgrading components as I move further into the hobby.

A few more questions:

ON THE SPEAKERS: I chose the Vienna's because it is one of the few speakers I've had a chance to spend any time listening to. My local Best Buy has a Magnolia section and I spent about an hour listening to the Viennas vs. Martin Logans. I preferred the Viennas for their smooth warm tones. Maybe a bit less crisp than the Martin Logans. Will the Vienna Acoustic Mozarts be too small for a room as big as mine? The demo room I listened in was much smaller. Are the Harlechs really better than the Mozarts? I feel like I'm getting a pretty good deal on the Mozarts, plus I've heard them before.

ON THE AMP: The NAD is obviously a compromise. I chose it because there is one conveniently available to me at a reasonable price. The reviews look good online, and it is relatively inexpensive. It also should not be hard to sell once I have another $1000-$1500 to spend on a good amp. Does anyone have a better recommendation on an integrated amp that would suit my needs better? I just need something to get me by for 6 months or so.

ON THE CD PLAYER: I'm on the tail end of my budget here. Don't have much bread to work with. Any recommendations would be appreciated. Again I'm just looking for a transitional unit. Something to tide me over until I can squirrel away money that my wife won't mind me spending. I could use a decent DVD player. Is it sacrilege to play CDs through a DVD player?

Again thanks for all your input. There are so many angles to consider, it's a bit overwhelming.

I think that will be a great system. You will need to nearfield listen in that large room. The Mozart is a great speaker, I have a pair in a second system. If you have an Ipod, use that instead of a cd player for now and save for a USB dac.