I'm going to go in a different direction from most. It is almost impossible to establish a "budget" without answering a few questions for yourself.
1. How much of a music lover are you? Do you really sit and listen to music, use it as background music or both?
2. Do you know what real musical instruments actually sound like? and if so, do you want your system to accurately reproduce such sound?
Once you answer these questions, then go to as many stores and friends houses as you can and listen to your favorite music (music you are intimately familiar with) and hear the differences and determine at what level you can "live" with the reproduced sound.
That way, now you can establish a real budget. This may mean that you can only purchase one piece of equipment at one time and upgrade slowly. For example, say you already have a relatively inexpensive Yamaha system, comprising some bookshelf speakers, receiver (tuner, pre-amp and amp in the same box), and CD player. once you've established your price point, you might want to purchase a pre-amp and amp to replace your receiver. You can still use the tuner output of your receiver to plug into your pre-amp. Then later when money comes along, purchase some speakers, then a CD player or CD transport (takes the digital information only) and a DAC (digital to analog converter). All of this will be within your established listening appreciation range and price range over time. Avoid the impulse of purchasing everything at once. That is typically a huge mistake people make when getting into this field. So, go listen to your music and determine the level of sound reproduction you really like first. There will some that is not so good, some that is okay, some really good and some that is rediculously great. Which most people short of kings, queens and stupidly high paid entertainers can't afford. Once your music appreciation level and subsequently your "budget" is set, you might want to look at the used equipment market. For your "Budget" for new equipment, you can buy some really good used equipment that will be better than the more expensive new equipment.
enjoy
1. How much of a music lover are you? Do you really sit and listen to music, use it as background music or both?
2. Do you know what real musical instruments actually sound like? and if so, do you want your system to accurately reproduce such sound?
Once you answer these questions, then go to as many stores and friends houses as you can and listen to your favorite music (music you are intimately familiar with) and hear the differences and determine at what level you can "live" with the reproduced sound.
That way, now you can establish a real budget. This may mean that you can only purchase one piece of equipment at one time and upgrade slowly. For example, say you already have a relatively inexpensive Yamaha system, comprising some bookshelf speakers, receiver (tuner, pre-amp and amp in the same box), and CD player. once you've established your price point, you might want to purchase a pre-amp and amp to replace your receiver. You can still use the tuner output of your receiver to plug into your pre-amp. Then later when money comes along, purchase some speakers, then a CD player or CD transport (takes the digital information only) and a DAC (digital to analog converter). All of this will be within your established listening appreciation range and price range over time. Avoid the impulse of purchasing everything at once. That is typically a huge mistake people make when getting into this field. So, go listen to your music and determine the level of sound reproduction you really like first. There will some that is not so good, some that is okay, some really good and some that is rediculously great. Which most people short of kings, queens and stupidly high paid entertainers can't afford. Once your music appreciation level and subsequently your "budget" is set, you might want to look at the used equipment market. For your "Budget" for new equipment, you can buy some really good used equipment that will be better than the more expensive new equipment.
enjoy