Been doing a ton of reading this forum and all the awesome links posted here (procrastinating), and this is what I'm looking at for an entry into the world of awesome sound...
My budget is under $1000, and as small as it can be for now, I realize that this is a lifelong process
Only looking for 2/2.1 channel, as I'm not big into super duper surround sound for movies and such. I'll be moving in the fall down to Duke, so theoretically waiting would be good, but on the other hand, I might be able to swing some of this as a graduation present
Toshiba 3960... don't see how I can pass this baby up for $50 with apparently a nice DAC inside and possibility for substantial upgrade in mods. On a side note, for anyone interested, there is a very in depth discussion of the unit
here. There are actually 2 different builds, both with the same DAC, but with very different video chips, the earlier one with a high quality Toshiba, changed in July '04 to a crummy cheapo with no difference in model #.
pre/amp combo of Y-S Symphonies and B&K ST-140... seems to be a popular and very well reviewed combo
Speakers... not sure on that yet, since I've got a sub and want to stay on the cheap end of the market, I'm thinking some quality bookshelves. The Ascend Acoustics look to be getting some nice fluffing here, I may give them a listen, any other recommendations? We have a pair of Klipsch KSF 10.5 in the media room downstairs at my club, and their treble seems thin and harsh to my ears through a Denon receiver... looking for something a little warmer if that gives you an idea of my tastes, though obviously my amp setup would influence that
My only reservation with this is volume... this may be a stupid n00b question, but it seems the only place to adjust volume in that setup would be gain on the Symphonies, which has no remote? Seems a bit inconvenient possibly...
Otherwise, seems perfect, got room on the YS for CD/DVD, TV audio, Phono (eventually!), and Tuner
What do you guys think??