I just spent a little less than $15K on my new system. I did pretty much exactly what these people suggest. I listened and listened and listened. On the fist day alone, I think I went thru about 10 pairs of speakers and about 5 amps in just about every combination of them.
The difference was greatest in the speakers and that's where I spent most of my budget, $6.5K. I didn't want many components and went with an integrated at $2.8K. So you can see, I followed Mordante's advice and spent the bulk on the speakers.
The rest was spent on a CD/DVD player, cables, stands, and a power regenerator.
With your budget, you should be able to buy a highly musical system that will play classic rock like a champ!
The difference was greatest in the speakers and that's where I spent most of my budget, $6.5K. I didn't want many components and went with an integrated at $2.8K. So you can see, I followed Mordante's advice and spent the bulk on the speakers.
The rest was spent on a CD/DVD player, cables, stands, and a power regenerator.
With your budget, you should be able to buy a highly musical system that will play classic rock like a champ!