I've got the go-ahead (from the missus) to retire our old shoddy living room audio system. I'm hoping to keep the initial components to around $1000 give or take (likely give), and hope the smart folks here can point me in some directions to investigate. Certainly for this budget it will be a starter kit, but ... gotta start somewhere.
Details ... looking for a 2 or 2.1-channel system to listen to music (everything from jazz to classical to folk to electronica), no movies etc. Essentially all of our music is now on CD or digital-lossless. We don't long for chest-pounding volumes, but it is a fairly large room (living room and open kitchen).
Perhaps one of the greatest challenges - my wife's requirement is that she is loath to have big black/brown square components and speakers sprayed around the room. She wants the audio components to be as deserving of space as the other art/furnishings in our living area. Not that it needs to be invisible, just that she wants it to be visually interesting like everything else in there.
For the above reasons I've been looking at some of the charming tube-amps and now see several have optical or USB inputs (e.g., Glow Audio Amp One, and Neuhaus Labs T1/T2). The glow audio gear is very striking in appearance and seem to be favorably reviewed.
So I'd be grateful for comments on the above gear, or suggestions of other options to look at.
C.
I've got the go-ahead (from the missus) to retire our old shoddy living room audio system. I'm hoping to keep the initial components to around $1000 give or take (likely give), and hope the smart folks here can point me in some directions to investigate. Certainly for this budget it will be a starter kit, but ... gotta start somewhere.
Details ... looking for a 2 or 2.1-channel system to listen to music (everything from jazz to classical to folk to electronica), no movies etc. Essentially all of our music is now on CD or digital-lossless. We don't long for chest-pounding volumes, but it is a fairly large room (living room and open kitchen).
Perhaps one of the greatest challenges - my wife's requirement is that she is loath to have big black/brown square components and speakers sprayed around the room. She wants the audio components to be as deserving of space as the other art/furnishings in our living area. Not that it needs to be invisible, just that she wants it to be visually interesting like everything else in there.
For the above reasons I've been looking at some of the charming tube-amps and now see several have optical or USB inputs (e.g., Glow Audio Amp One, and Neuhaus Labs T1/T2). The glow audio gear is very striking in appearance and seem to be favorably reviewed.
So I'd be grateful for comments on the above gear, or suggestions of other options to look at.
C.