Quote:
I keep reading here to pick out my speakers before my amp, so maybe I'm getting ahead of myself.

The reason for knowing your choices in speakers is to avoid selecting speakers that your ampifier is unsuited to drive. On a budget - or not - your best route here is IMO to narrow your speaker choices down to models that are undemanding of high power and certainly of high current delivery from the amplifier. That would mean keep the rated sensitivity as high as possible unless you are only going to listen at low levels and you know that going in. Don't bother with four Ohm nominal speakers, "nominal" simply means average and average in such cases can be stretched quite a bit by the manufacturer and you'll find a budget amplifier not well suited to speakers that aren't telling the truth about their specs. Even "eight Ohm" speaker systems can be difficult to drive so do some research on what will suit your needs. Consider speakers that you can determine are as close to eight Ohms over their impedance range as possible without any dips beneath about six Ohms. Any speaker reviewed by Stereophile in the last dozen years will provide the information you need for making such selections. JA provides a brief description of how the impedance/electrical phase angle of the speaker affects the load on the amplifier and will give a clue as to how difficult the speaker will be to drive. Simply avoid any speaker that is not "easy". If you have a speakers that interests you but has not been reviewed in the magazine, call the manufacturer and ask questions.

After you've narrowed down your selections in speakers you can progress by starting with your source player and determining what aspects of sound reproduction you find desirable and which you can live wihtout. Deep bass is typically the first thing to give up when on a budget as it can be addedd later by way of a subwoofer. Loudness is normally another fudge on a budget though finding speakers that are highly sensitive and efficient is not a bad idea. The higher the snsitivity of the speaker the more likely it will be considered "easy" to drive. High sensitivity has its trade offs though - quite often ragged and irregular frequency response - and you'll want to know whether a highly sensitive speaker that requires little power to drive will be to your tastes. Here's a speaker line you might consider that has plenty to offer and room to grow in your system; http://geocities.com/rbrines1/#Pricing

http://www.madisound.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=271

http://geocities.com/rbrines1/Pages/FB-16/Main.html

The NAD is a decent choice as are a few other brands such as Rotel, Cambridge and Vincent. Each line adds its flavor to the sound and you need to determine what flavors you prefer as it is nearly impossible to avoid some amount of trade off when you are on any sort of a budget.

Try piecing together components which complimment each other rather than those which place a BandAid on the problems of each other. IOW, if you prefer a "warm" sound, don't put it with a component that is described as "cool" or "analytical" and expect one to balance the other. Try matching warm to warm and don't overdo the whole effect.

http://www.stereophile.com/reference/50/index.html

I'm not sure of the availability of these amplifiers at this time; http://www.tnt-audio.com/ampli/trends_ta10_e.html. If they are in your price range, you could pair this up with the speakers I mentioned above and an outboard phono section from NAD or Bellari to give yourself a very nice starting point with plenty of room to grow.

http://www.tnt-audio.com/sorgenti/mmf2_bellari_e.html

John-

Other than the Polks, in my opinion I think that you are on the right track. To my ears the Polk speakers are overly "warm", lacking in detail, or boring to listen to. A bit listless sounding. Speaker brands in the same range that you might want to check out Paradign, Energy, and PSB. The Canadians can do amazing things with speakers for very little money.

I know a lot of people that have the Project Debut III and are very happy with it. They make a solid product at an affordable price.

On a separate subject if you have the original CD I'd recommend re-encoding the music in some kind of lossless file format because the better an audio system the MORE you notice the flaws of compressed audio formats such as MP3.

First off, no one is laughing.

You've been given some great advice so far. I assume your current receiver/integrated amp has a phono input? That is, you don't have a phono preamp? If so, you'll want to budget for one or get an integrated amp with a phono input (I don't think that NAD has one). You can get a decent phono pre for somewhere around $100-$150 (Pro-Ject, Music Hall, and Rega are brands that come to mind).

Hey, welcome!

The search for a kilodollar system is noble and exciting!

Starters: Not knowing what city you live in, if you can, check your used marketplace - stores and Craigslist/Ebay - for speaker and electronics choices. These products hold up well over time and you can get more bang for your buck going used.

For the turntable and cartridge, I'd go new, just to eliminate the worries associated with wear and tear on used ones. (However, a good used table may also be a local used-market option!)

Next, watching Music Direct Audio Advisor, Acoustic Sounds for clearance gear. You don't need this year's model to get good sound.

I don't have anything specific in mind right this minute. You've already had good suggestions fired your way by the others. We can proceed as you find and listen to things.

Quote:

Yesterday I took an in-store listen of the Polk Audio RTI A1 speakers. They are in my price range and I've seen some decent reviews.

well, there is your answer... get em!!! really..speaker opinions garnered online are basically worthless. you sound like you are on the right track, and very resourceful.

for a table, though...id reccomend something from Rega..theyve been around forever.. great customer service, not chinese made.. you will find no shortage of information on the rega tables either...so many people have them...

the rega p2 is a great table that is very upgrade-able.

Ive tweaked mine to the hilt, and have not heard a table at any price that I like more..

I also suggest that you read a bit on room treatment. you will not hear what your system really sounds like until you basically remove the room from the situation...

www.realtraps.com

www.gikacoustics.com