I am certainly still an audiophile neophyte. I have a very modest system compared to most on here. I recently moved to an integrated hybrid tube amp. The Rogue Audio Sphinx 2. All I can say is "wow". I feel like I have not been listening to music the same way before. It only runs about $1400 new and for that price is impressive. I think that could give you lots of room for speakers, dac, ect.
Friend needs advice for $8,000 system
My friend is starting out from scratch with an $8,000 budget. He listens to all sorts, but mainly indie rock. He's keen on the Magnepan .7 speakers and lives in a small apartment, so listening room about 4x3 metres. Don't worry about cables. We just need a power amp, a turntable, a cartridge, a phono stage, NOS tubes, and a DAC.
How do we achieve:
Truthful tonality/timbre
Truthful harmonics
Liquid sound
Transparency
Speed/Dynamics/Pace/Rhythm/Timing
Soundstage Coherence
All for $8,000 new.
Cheers!