[mca]

I have a long time friend who has decided to take the plunge and buy a nice system. He has always been into music, but has never had the funds to put together a system. He is looking to spend about 5k max on full range speakers and an integrated or possibly separates. He bought my old Ah Tjoeb CD player that he will use as his source. I know he is not interested in getting the last ounce of detail from music, just wants to be able to listen and enjoy it. His music tastes are mostly old rock, punk, new wave and some jazz and blues. With all that in mind, what sort of gear would you all recommend for him? Oh yeah, his room is about 15' x 20' basement and he likes to listen loud 

[WGH]

His music tastes are mostly old rock, punk, new wave ..... and he likes to listen loud 

Well, after eliminating the obvious Cerwin Vega speaker suggestion, I would think equipment that was not too revealing but sounds great on everything.

Does you friend want to go with all new equipment (with warranties) or is used OK too?

Have you seen the basement? How is it furnished?

[Russell Dawkins]

A pair of Duke LeJeune's Jazz Modules:

http://www.audiokinesis.com/product/content_audiokinesis.htm#jazzmodule

and a Vincent Audio SP 331 puts him $500 over, but would probably sound very nice, and provide max sustained levels of 113 dB and only 1 dB of power compression at 112 dB, plus you save on stands: 

http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=VISP331

The same with an ART SLA 2 provides the same power but brings him in $200 under: 

http://tinyurl.com/ywr5qq

The same with a Winsome Labs Mouse might be a tiny bit smoother than the ART, $100-150 under budget with max continuous loudness capabilities reduced to about 107 dB.

I would suggest interconnects and speaker wires from Blue Jeans:

http://www.bluejeanscable.com/

[TONEPUB]

A used pair of Klipschorns and a Prima Luna ProLogue 1.  That should
blow him out of the basement!

[Zero]

The Klipschorns is a good recco , although I would personally err to the Vista Audio i84 for amplification duties.

Polk Audio's Monitor 10B's is a super affordable way to get some rockin' sound.  Or he could step it up to the big daddy Polk Audio SDA SRS 1.2's   -  Give them some old Threshold power and you're set.

I also found the Vandersteen 3A Signatures / 2CE Signatures to sound pretty good with that genre of music

[TONEPUB]

Used pair of Vandersteen 2's, about 700 bucks.
Used Vandersteen 2Wq sub, about 700 bucks.
Used ModWright 9.0 preamp, about 1600 bucks.
Used big solid state power amp of your choice, 1000-2000 bucks

Get the sub too and that will really rock!

[hdspeakerman]

Altec model 19
used McIntosh amp

Worked for me!

[opaqueice]

Outlaw Audio RR2150 receiver ($600 new)
bluejeans cables (<$100)

That leaves ~$4,300 for speakers.  For that kind of money there are many very good options available.  The Jazz Modules suggested earlier look  interesting, but I haven't heard them.  Since it sounds like your friend doesn't want a lot of tinkering or headaches, I'd suggest something boutique but with a good reputation for service (like the Jazz Modules) or from a major manufacturer, maybe a Revel or a Dali.

Here's a Dali Helicon 800 (demo) for $3,850:

http://www.spearitsound.com/dali/dali_home.htm

[mca]

I think I may have pegged him as just a massive headbanger, which he is not.

He is interested in mainly used or demo pieces.

Russell, have you heard the Jazz Modules? Just curious why you suggested them? I don't know anything about them and there does not seem to be much info out there.

He is traveling down to a local dealer to hear the Vandersteen 2 and 3 this weekend.

Opaqueice, it's interesting that you mentioned the Helicon as I also thought that might be a good choice. I was leaning toward the 400 paired up with the Valve Audio Predator hybrid integrated. Have you heard the Helicon speakers?

[TomS]

Whenever I go to RMAF Klaus always has a great sounding Odyssey system for $5k or less.  This years was a Candela, Stratos Mono's, and the Syren speakers making very nice sounds. 

[Russell Dawkins]

I have not heard the Jazz Modules - it's just everything I have read on them is uniformly flattering at least and often very flattering.

I believe Lynn Olson is someone worth listening to regarding speakers and he has been very impressed with Duke's speakers, and I find this significant.

I thought the intent was to suggest something with that little extra "je ne sais quoi" that only comes from some insider information from enthusiasts.

I do think that dynamics are the new thing and the way to get them is either with an efficient speaker like the JMs or with a regular speaker with tons of power, but this won't sound as good, because power compression is a real factor.

Speakers are the one item I think it makes sense to buy new, or at least of recent design. I believe there has been a lot of meaningful advance in design made in the last 3 years.

Anyway, perhaps I should have prefaced my comments with "if it were me, I'd ..." 

[opaqueice]

Opaqueice, it's interesting that you mentioned the Helicon as I also thought that might be a good choice. I was leaning toward the 400 paired up with the Valve Audio Predator hybrid integrated. Have you heard the Helicon speakers?

I've heard the Ikon 8's and something from the Euphonia line (I've forgotten the model) - I liked both quite a lot.  I haven't heard any of the Helicons, but they are well reviewed and built along the same lines so I would guess they are very good.

[Steidl Guitars]

you mentioned the Helicon as I also thought that might be a good choice. I was leaning toward the 400 paired up with the Valve Audio Predator hybrid integrated. Have you heard the Helicon speakers?

I own the Helicon 400s, so I'd be happy to help if I can.  In general, I find them very revealing, very detailed, and they reveal changes in gear and cabling much more so than other speakers I have owned and auditioned.  The ribbon tweeter lends a certain air to the upper frequencies that make them somewhat novel sounding to my ears (that I like), at least relative to dome tweeters.  I think they are a very good speaker, with very pretty cabinets too if that matters.

 I drive them with tube gear, so I am not sure how they sound with a SS amp.  They are 4 ohm, 89 db, with a pretty benign impedance curve, so they can be driven nicely with moderate power. 

[Zero]

Actually, the suggestion of going with the Odyssey Audio system is not a bad one at all.  In fact, those particular genre's of music seems to be what his speakers do so well!

There are literally hundreds of options one can select from in this category. The upside to the Odyssey is that all the ground-work has been done for you. It's system synergy galore. All you'll need to do is locate a source. The down side is, Klaus isn't the fastest man on planet earth so your friend may have to wait a good month or two until their system is at the door.