I have a Pass Aleph 3, B&W Naultilus, Pass P and Meridian 508.24 bit. I suggest that you buy an Aleph 3 and the Pass X-2 preamp. You can get a used / demo Aleph 3 cheaply. The Aleph 3 is stunning, it plays music without ripping out the emotion from it. You'll like it if you like music. If you're into huge bass and an electronic sound then look elsewhere however.
Advise Needed for Speakers and Amplifier
I have $8,000 to 10,000 budgeted for speakers and an integrated amplifier (to keep cost low). The equipment selected will be used with a BAT VK-D5 CD Player. I have listened to the Jeff Rowland Integrated amp and the ProAc 2.5 speaker. This combination is very good except the base seems limited. Another speaker is the Dynaudio Contour 3.0 (sounds very good) with either the Krell KAV-500i Remote Control Integrated Amplifier or the new The Mark Levinson No383 Integrated amplifier due out sometime in November. Comments and suggestions are requested. Thanks