Where to start? sonically balanced system ..???

forget stereo audio stuff go to live concerts all these people in audio are wackos

Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of "Guide to High End Audio" by Bob Harley. It is a fairly popular book among audio wackos. Also, try auditioning and listening to as many different combinations as possible, ie. dealer demos, friends systems, etc. You will gain a knowledge of what you specificly like and expect from your own personal system. Remember there is no one best set up for everyone and avoid the hype and trust your ears. And BTW never stop checking out live perfomances.

Hi Jinmtvt.

Choose 1-2 CDs (since that's yr s/w) that you know well and like. Use these for auditioning equip with YOUR speakers.

*1st, amplifier-speaker matching: a)qualitative: good quality tunes emanating fm the speakers AND you should LIKE that sound. b) quantitative: the amp must have sufficient power to drive those speakers well, at least at (your) normal listening levels and deal with dynamic peaks at those levels, too.

Depending upon your budget, an integrated amp or separates (pre+power); integrates can range from average sounding to excellent -- so, do not rule them out by any means.

Tube or SS: only your ears can be the judge. Bryston & Classe have nice offerings IMO; a quick search under integrated amp, here, will give you lots of insight & ideas.

Last, not least, you do need the help of a dealer in order to audition the equipment.

*2nd, source. There's a number of excellent sounding, value-for-money used cdp's. IMO go for one-box. Again, try a search (there are current threads on the subjects) on A'gon.

*3rd, accessories: you'll need to put some money on the side for cables, power cords, and some support for your equipment. While this doesn't have to be mega$, good supports, simple tweaking and "wiring" will give you improved tunes for a little investment in time & money -- and lots of fun!

Finally, try not to worry about offsetting what you don't like (say, "dark") in one piece of equip with counter short-comings (say, too "bright") in another. A well matched system will play well & give you pleasure w/out compromise at home.

Concerts are great, but for outside home.

Good luck and enjoy!

BTW, quite a few good responses to yr CDP thread already!

You hit on an excellent point. Getting components that work synergistically together is one of the most difficult aspects of piecing together a satisfying audio system. It is an ongoing trial and error process with few hard and fast guidelines. I struggled with this for years before I decided to give up the fight and go with components specifically designed to be used together. Accordingly, my current system is Spectral/MIT/Avalon in the precise configuration recommended by Spectral. Essentially, I let them do the system matching work for me. The results are much better than any previous results I have achieved trying to mate components not specifically designed to work together. Short of this approach, my next recommendation would be to look at how manufacturers are showing their products at trade shows (they usually have the best idea of what works best) or extensive in-home auditioning to ensure that any move you make is really a step forward.

Someone once wrote that you need to find a dealer you can trust and I wholeheartedly agree. If your dealer won't let you take things home to try overnight (at least) then find another one. The dealer can also (if trustworthy) give you advice. Non - online audio shopping has its merits. You will pay extra for the above but you'll have someone there to help you out if you run into problems. Once you've got the stuff home, play music that you're very familiar with so the differences will jump out at you. It's going to be up to you whether these differences are good or bad. Don't let other people tell you what's right. And by the way, have fun with it, this is all about TOYS, no?

1. Get speakers that sound great IN YOUR ROOM (treat IT, too!, with a neutral amp and source.

2. Get an amp that drives these speakers well, either integrated or monos with pre.

3. Get a front end that you LOVE the sound of with this "driven system"

4. Fine tune it with cables and isolation shelves, etc.

NOTE: Keep going to live acoustic concerts to remind yourself how ravishing and shrill, even, live music is!

Have fun and trust your ears.

PS Nice affordable system I recommend to friends starting out: Audio Refinement Complete Integrated ($800) driving Revel F20 or F30 or the like ($1500-$3k), with whatever $500
CDP synergizes well in your room.
Nice, neutral system to start with, with eminently sellable parts if you get itchy.

Subaruguru: tanxs :)

here is my current system ..

Mirage OM-10
and an old Akai receiver ..

should i start with source or amp ?

how to know what will work good togehter
and
also ..

in my region..it's almost impossible to get demo gears that u can bring home and test..
there is only one good gear dealer i know of..and it's not really close and they don't demo big $$$ stuff cause not enough $$$ ..

what to do in thoose case?
whould i try to find some people with the same speakers ?
or arrange a listening session with dealers i can try to find farther in city .?

tanx