Home Stereo System

[steve simmons]

I am in the process of setting up a separate system for audio only. I have purchased a set of Boston Accoustics VR-M60 speakers (sorry Polk, but they sounded soooo good to me) and am undecided about where to go from there. I have been into HT for about 10 years and have used one system for both movies and music since then but I feel there is something missing. I would like to go with either an integrated amp or modestly priced separates and a decent CD player or maybe a SACD player. That would be the only source component I would need. I am looking for the best bang for the buck. Any suggestions? I am willing to put up to $2000 in this but would prefer to go less (much less). I am willing to go with used equipment for the amp and preamp if it in good condition and the manufacturer is reputable. Thanks in advance for any advice........

PS: I do have Polk's all around in my HT system :)

[George Grand]

There is so much stuff out there on the used market, you should easily come in under your max. Unless you go bananas on a SACD player.

Carver, Adcom, Rotel, NAD, Parasound, Audio Alchemy, HK to a certain extent, Yamaha. The list is endless. Are those Boston Acoustic's big acoustic suspension jobs, with 10" woofs or bigger? Wouldn't hurt to put 2-300 watts into something like that. I'll bet you can find a nice pre/power amp combo (at least Carver) for under $600. Maybe 5. I see noteworthy Adcom preamps that go for peanuts now. They sounded good, and were state of the art 10-15 yrs ago, and they still sound just fine now.

George Grand (of the Jersey Grand's)

[RuSsMaN]

Along with what George said, check out Creek, Roksan, AMC, Cambridge Audio, and Mucic Fidelity for amps/cd players.

Taking Adcom from George's list, and adding to this one, you can get good product info and pricing at audioadvisor.com

If you do go used, check out audiogon.com

Cheers,
Russ

The VRM60's are small bookshelf jobs.

[steve simmons]

Thanks for the replies. The Bostons are bookshelf speakers so I don't need huge amounts of power going into them. I had thought Carver, NAD, Parasound, and Adcom for amp/preamp combo. It looks like I am on the right trail anyway.

Source component I am still unsure of. I may go with a something along the line of a Sony ES level CD player and wait until SACD matures and/or comes down in price. I don't have golden ears although it is easy to get caught up in the hype surrounding so many things in this hobby.

[Aaron]

Sony is supposedly coming out with a 5-disc SACD player for $299 this fall. I would think that's gonna be a tough player to beat for the money.

Aaron

[PETERNG]

I believe the one (Sony SACD) that Aaron mentioned is for the 2 channels SA sound, not the multichannels... good prices anyway, depend on what you want...

[kn505]

I have a Lexicon preamp, and 3 Musical Design amps (75w per channel). They are in very good condition. Give me an offer if you want them. My email is kn505@yahoo.com.