[hermione]

I'm looking to set up a good startup audio system for not too much $$. I listen to mostly classical and jazz and acoustic, mostly from CDs and wireless from Macbook. I now live in a city where there are no audio stores except big box (Best Buy), so I have to order via Internet. I was just on the Classical Music forum and read the term "resolving system" in reference to good fidelity, especially with respect to classical, but I am not sure what that means or how to achieve it. I have read good things about the Infinity 162, 163, but not sure what to get to drive them. Any help appreciated!

[JLM]

Welcome to AC   

Lots of possible solutions, but we need to know a few things:

What's your budget?
What would be your source(s) (computer, CD player, turntable, etc.)?
What is your room like (size, shared with significant other, etc.)?
What audiophile attributes do you crave (deep bass, loud, imaging, detail, etc.)?
Do you listen to orchestral/symphonic or primarily smaller ensembles?

[jupejones]

While I do not profess to be an expert at all, a fairly typical starter system on a budget would be a pair of 2-way monitor speakers, a moderately powered integrated amp, and a CD player. Definitely stay away from the home-theater-in-a-box type of things. The reason I mention smaller bookshelf speakers is because they tend to be a better value than tower speakers, the large cabinets tend to hike prices a lot.

If you can afford it, possibly check out NAD or Cambridge Audio for CD players and integrated amplifiers. There are a number of good speaker manufacturers (Selah Audio is what I have, they have some wonderful smaller speakers) out there.

I had bad luck with an old set of Infinity speakers, can't say how they are nowadays.

[Tyson]

A nice tubed integrated amp with a pair of VMPS or Magnepan speakers would be a good choice.

[JLM]

A good place to start is goodsound.com

[Sam-fi]

Answer these questions.

What is my budget? How much am I willing to spend?

Who will be listening to these? Just you? Your wife? Your friends?

How loud will you listen? Do you like to crank it for Mahler? Or would you like to keep things quiet for Brahms?

How big is the room and how far from the speakers will you be?


A more advanced question would be - what flavor do I like? Warmth? Easy listening? or Intense and dynamic?


 


If this is you first start up don't bother with tubes or even vinyl unless you have a patient dealer or some experience.

I would recommend focusing on an amp/speaker combination - these tend to make the most difference in the sound. I would also recommend buying a cd player so you can start accumulating physical media and have a great sound.
I don't recommend external DACs or Computers yet - they tend to be a pain and don't often perform well with out hours of tweaking.

Get back to me with some answers,
Sam

[dvenardos]

Not my experience. A squeezebox and external dac is a fabulous combination and it is really hard to find a CD player that can match the performance for the price. I use the Channel Islands VDA-2 DAC, no tweaking required. YMMV

I don't recommend external DACs or Computers yet - they tend to be a pain and don't often perform well with out hours of tweaking.

[Sam-fi]

Corrected - the squeeze box is also a great idea.
Though I would not recommend a PC - Dac combo is what I was getting at.

The most important thing though is the system matches your needs and OP hasn't provided us with those sorts of things.

Sam

[Noseyears]

Lets hope the Op come again and post more details about....

Otherwise, go for a squeezebox.