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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
buconero117
2,311 posts
 
$700 on the speakers paired with a good Denon or Oryko receiver would be a good start. the receivers will have docks.
maineiac
649 posts
 
Look for a good integrated amp that is designed for 2 channel music that match the type of speakers that you end up liking after some audition time. Some receivers can be decent but there are a lot of integrated amps that really shine at the purpose they are designed for. Not knowing what your musical preferences are, it might be good to look at something like used maggies or martin logan that will have a very high performance/cost profile.
mceljo
1,348 posts
 
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?
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zanon
114 posts
 
Amp on Decco2 or iDecco (or even Nova) is not bad. More importantly, it works well with DAC, pre-amp, and "smooth" vs "sharp" filter. You do not have a big room, you will probably have enough power. And you do not need to worry about testing components together.

And if you want to upgrade to better amp in future, you can do that with peachtree product. It is MUCH better than receiver (I know I did head to head test a few week ago) and excellent support for computer source.

Output digital from computer to Decco, then wire to passive speaker.
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