Are you planning to put the speakers on actual bookshelves, or on speaker stands? If on stands, then there are many small footprint floor standing speakers that would occupy about the same space as a mini-monitor on a stand. For example, the Gallo Reference 3 or 3.1 has a footprint of 8"w x 14"d. The Totem Hawks are less than 7" x 10", but 34" tall.
06-10-08: Chicagodrummer
...I need bookshelf speakers because of space restrictions. ...
If you go with small speakers, there are so many good ones at reasonable prices. I saw a review of a $500 pair of PSB Image B25 compacts that had astonishing smoothness and linearity.
But again, Totem has quite a lineup of compact speakers that produce surprising bass and power handling in the 100-150w range (a good match with the Marantz 2325).
Another candidate would be the Paradigm Reference Studio 20.
As for turntables, you said,
The search has been kind of intimidating. I want something I can set up, not have to mess with often and get a lot of mileage out of (Leaning against the Linn for that reason).Given that you want something rugged, reliable, dependable, and non-fussy, you may want to consider something from the Technics SL12x0 family or the Denon DP500M. Yes, they're direct drives with removable headshells, but that makes cartridge installation and swapping easier. They have smooth, silky controls, are built to really close tolerances, have speed accuracy you won't find elsewhere for anything near the price, and the tonearms are not too shabby.
If you go for the Technics, I suggest you order from www.kabusa.com, and get the tonearm rewire, tonearm fluid damper, Isonoe feet, and possibly the fluid damper. If you get the SL1210 M5G, you don't need the tonearm rewire.
As for "audiophile" belt drive turntables, it seems that the Regas are the least fussy. You could get a Rega P5 and put on a Rega Exact cartridge, and alignment would be automatic. I heard the Exact cartridge on a P7 and was very impressed. Incredibly listenable.
Would a phono pre-amp running through the built in Marantz phono pre-amp cancel out the impact of a good, dedicated phono pre-amp?Actually, since the Marantz already has a phono section, if you got a low-output moving coil cartridge, all you'd need is the stepup transformer, and Denon's own AU-300LC transformer is a perfect match for the DL-103 or Zu-103. You would plug that into the Marantz's phono input.
If you use an outboard phono preamp, however, you'd plug that into the Marantz's "Aux" input, or you could plug it into a tape input and listen by activating the corresponding "Tape Monitor" button.