room size is about 14x12, 8 foot ceiling. Its in the basement and two walls are concrete foundation. When it comes to volume, I like it kind of loud, typically working while listening to the dial set from 9 to 11 o'clock. Power cord and decent ICs will have to come later. Right now I use audioquest G snakes, and I might be able to swing a couple hospital grade outlets and Jewel power cords from PS Audio. The changer is just as old and under-performing as my Yamaha amp, but one thing at a time.
integrated or separates...on a $1200 price point?
I am running B&W 685s and a HSU sub in a 2.1 system, and I need to upgrade my 15 year old Yamaha receiver. I have been advised to purchase a high-end integrated rather than separates in my price range, which is around $1200 or so. So I am looking at: Creek 5350SE, Exposure 2010s, Parasound Halo A23/P3 (used), or used NAD gear (like the 2200 power amp). Looking for great sound reproduction across several genres, not all of which are easy to reproduce: rock, classical, some dense IDM, and other heavily layered music. I am wondering if the lower wattages of the integrateds leave enough head room to punch through the entire frequency spectrum.