Your best bet is to go listen to what the pro's , ie. dealers , have put together . If they are good at it...you will know . If they are not , well you will know ! Bring your own favorite and well known cd's for a test listen . Take your time , a lot of stuff sounds real good for 10 - 15 minutes then starts to get fatiguing .
Try to listen within and outside of your budget level . Many manufacturers have a house sound and the mid level stuff is very close to the upper end stuff .
Then copy it .
I would buy the speakers new at the dealer where you found the best sounding 'system' as they are the hardest to deal with when shipping comes into play . Then do the rest used . Cary makes some nice CDP's that will have two outputs , one SS and one tubed , switchable on the fly via the remote . They also have digital out so that you can try different DAC's later on . And stick with an integrated amp for cost savings . If you are married to the Sim int. , then find a Sim dealer in your area and see what he is using for speakers to demo his Sim pieces . The amp and speaker combination is the most important to get right .
Try to get a big area rug between you and the speakers as well as other things in the room that can absorb some sound at reflection points such as plants , books , tapestries , pictures etc . Just be aware that your room will probably never sound the same as the dealers showroom . But take note on how he has treated his room and set up the speaker and listening positions for a starting point .
And don't be afraid to take your Sim piece to other dealers to demo with their speakers . Finding a dealer that will work with you can be invaluable . And ones that won't are telling you something !
Good luck .
Try to listen within and outside of your budget level . Many manufacturers have a house sound and the mid level stuff is very close to the upper end stuff .
Then copy it .
I would buy the speakers new at the dealer where you found the best sounding 'system' as they are the hardest to deal with when shipping comes into play . Then do the rest used . Cary makes some nice CDP's that will have two outputs , one SS and one tubed , switchable on the fly via the remote . They also have digital out so that you can try different DAC's later on . And stick with an integrated amp for cost savings . If you are married to the Sim int. , then find a Sim dealer in your area and see what he is using for speakers to demo his Sim pieces . The amp and speaker combination is the most important to get right .
Try to get a big area rug between you and the speakers as well as other things in the room that can absorb some sound at reflection points such as plants , books , tapestries , pictures etc . Just be aware that your room will probably never sound the same as the dealers showroom . But take note on how he has treated his room and set up the speaker and listening positions for a starting point .
And don't be afraid to take your Sim piece to other dealers to demo with their speakers . Finding a dealer that will work with you can be invaluable . And ones that won't are telling you something !
Good luck .