Need Help Starting from Scratch


Hi Everyone,
I've been reading as much as I can and thought I could use more input from people in which direction to head and less of this is better than that. I have no components at the moment other than my PC which outputs digital. I think I might need a DAC.

I have a small living room in my apartment which will be my primary listening area. It's about 12x12. I'm looking for a 2 channel setup. This will be just for music. My budget is 1000 to tops of 2000(if it really gets me that much more. Used/old is great). I don't know what route to go(integrated amp--> speakers vs pre-amp to amp to speakers). I'm by no means an audiophile but I really enjoy music and my current logitech 5.1 speakers aren't cutting it. I listen to mostly rock of sorts and do love finding a good female vocal.

I guess where i'm lost also is what components I really need. I.e. computer outputs digital so I hook that up to a DAC to pre-amp to amp to speakers? I also don't understand how I can make sure every component will work together. Would a receiver make it that much easier? I'm concerned about the sound of a receiver for music. Thoughts/comments are much appreciated. Thanks
stephenhdmrs

Showing 3 responses by mceljo

There is a great deal on the Pioneer website for a nice 2 channel receiver SX-A6-J for $280 instead of $500. The matching SACD players appear to not be available anymore. I have the SACD player and have been very impressed with the product. If I were in the market for a 2 channel receiver I'd strong consider this as an option. The main downside is that it doesn't have a subwoofer pre-out, it's intended for pure 2 channel listening.

I'm a big fan of Focal (very efficient) speakers and really enjoy listening to my father-in-laws 706v bookshelf speakers. I think they would be a great match for the Elite reciever. Paradigm (very efficient) and Monitor Audio also have some great products as many other companies that others will mention.

I think that a monitor/bookshelf speaker can sound great as long as your music choices are not bass heavy. If they are look for a floorstandig model or consider a subwoofer.

I know nothing about DACs beyond what their function is so I can't say anything about them one way or the other.

I'd recommend taking a day to visit a few local stores, if they exist, to listen to different speakers to see what you like. When I took my father-in-law shopping we visited three stores and listened to everything that was visually pleasing for the WAF and was in the budget.
You're getting some great advice so far from what I can tell.

The only potential advantage to the Elite Reciever would be that the cost might allow you to push more of the current budget towards other items and then you could upgrade to a better 2-channel amplifier at a later date. It does have a pure audio mode that shuts down the unnecessary circuitry (my CD player shuts all digital circuits off including the front panel display) so it's almost a 2 channel amplifier and I'd suspect that you'd be very happy with it's sound, maybe not.

It also depends on if you're thinking that this is your one chance to get your system or if you think it's the beginning of a journey. I recently replaced just about everything, but am not done for a long time when it comes to components.

I don't think you can go wrong with any of the other suggestions.
Here's my devils advocate question relating to the active Klipsch speakers. Your relying on Klipsch to not only build a quality speaker, but a quality amplifier. Would you consider purchasing a Klipsch amplifier for passive speakers? I don't know if Klipsch even makes amplifier, but I don't remember anyone ever recommending one on the forum. Obviously, the sale price is a significant factor, but considering retail pricing shouldn't one expect a better sound out of a $1,500 pair of speakers and a $1000 amplifier?