Newbie looking for system suggestions

I always start with a good look at the room I'm going to be dealing with and any placement issues I'll have in this room...speaker setup is critical to good sound.

Sound pressure levels, setup issues within the room, your budget, are a good place to start.

Why do I start there?, well because I'm going to pick the speakers as my place to begin the system build.

The rest of the components fall into two categories:

1. Mandatory...ie, their task is assigned by specific needs but with some overlap into #2 (tweaks)

2. Tweaks...ie, components you pick because YOU like the way they sound in YOUR system...cd players/Dac's/cables come to mind.

I never worry about the old argument for starting at the source "crap in, crap out". Why would anyone build a system only to top it off with crap?

Research, listening and a good plan with some degree of flexibility should build you a system you can enjoy for a long time.

Dave

I just love the assertions on this site about Bryston not being high-end gear. Have any of you guys actually taken the time to assemble and then listen to a Bryston-based system, with good speakers, in a home listening environment? FWIW, Stereophile, The Absolute Sound, Hi-Fi+ Magazine, and other audio publications have consistently rated Bryston equipment as "Class A" or "Class B", and a number of their reviewers own Bryston amps and preamps. Bryston gear is also used by MANY of the leading recording studios, as well as for mastering the sound tracks of MOST of the major motion pictures of the last 5 years (see Bryston's web site for specifics).

If your personal preference in audio gear is not inclined toward Bryston, that's cool -- this is a hobby, after all. But I think it's misleading to suggest to a newbie that Bryston gear is "mid-fi". Both the audio quality AND the build quality of Bryston equipment is competitive with some of the most expensive high-end audio equipment made today, and the 20-year warranty is merely very nice frosting on the cake.

So, Steve, by all means consider Bryston gear, but you should also take a hard look at Rotel, Parasound, Creek, Musical Fidelity, Arcam, and other makers of moderately-priced high-end audio gear. And, with due respect to Mapleleafs3, speakers are VERY important. Unless you plan to buy an analog front end, your speakers will be the only transducer (an electrical component that converts electrical energy to mechanical energy, or vice versa) in your system, and thus subject to the widest variability in sound quality. Every component in a system is important, but the speakers will ultimately determine whether you like the SOUND of your overall system.

After 40+ years in this hobby, I usually suggest to newbies that they start by choosing their speakers first, and then select their amp and preamp (or high-quality integrated amp). If you select highly efficient speakers, then you will not need as much amplifier power, which may leave more money in the budget toward other components. The reverse is also true.

Interconnects and speaker cables are perhaps the most debated topic in our hobby. Given your budget, you can afford good quality cabling, and a good starting point are the products made by Kimber Kable, and by Alpha-Core. Both manufacturers make excellent, reasonably-priced products (and Alpha-Core has a 30-day money-back home trial of their Goertz speaker cables). Kimber Kable's "Hero" interconnects are a good choice and value, as is their 8TC and 4TC speaker cables. And Alpha-Core's Goertz MI2 speaker cable is hard to beat, even at twice the price.

You might spend some time looking through the Audiogon archives, as all of these topics have been "cussed" and "discussed" before on this forum. Most importantly, however, is the advice to "trust your own ears" -- oh yes, and its corollary: HAVE FUN!

I would think about building around:

ARC LS-7 (tube linestage preamb, used about 700; need a phono amp if you want to go vinyl)
MacCormack DNA 0.5 (ss amp, used about 700)

This is one of the steps I took-it was quite satisfying and both components hold their value well (I should admit that I never got rid of the DNA 0.5... it's now a Platinum Revision by SMC Audio).

This will leave you a lot of room for sources, speakers & wires. (I'll let others weigh in there).

Happy listening...

Steve,

Here's a possible scenario to consider:

Ayre AX-7e Integrated (SS) -- can purchase demo/used @ audiogon for $2000
Ayre CX-7e CD Player (SS) -- can purchase used @ gon for $2000 - 2200
Proac D15 Speakers -- new or used (new = $3500; used = $2500)
Run balanced Cardas cable from AX-7 to CX-7 -- $250 (demo)
Speaker cable -- $1000

You are well within your budget. If you can splurge a bit, I would go with new Proac D25s ($5500 MSRP).

This system will last you quite some time.

I will second Kotta. For newbies, Bryston wins handsdown in my book. I have Lamm reference 1.2 amps, and they are great but you will spend $11,000 new for these. It is almost impossible to drop so much right away on stuff until you have listened to lots of stuff over years. Do not get overwhelmed, there are no right answers for all people here. If you want to get a whole system for $6000, I would go used Bryston 4B-ST amp with BP-25 preamp and then spend $3000 on speakers and pick up a good Universal player from Sony maybe new here. Speakers are a personal choice but I would look for used Avalons and I think you would be very happy.