Owlbass

Thank you, like I said all my knowledge has been gained in the last 72 hrs from the internet. I'll look more into tube amps. It seems like for the sound I'm looking for tube amps are the way to go. I know there's a dealer in Indiana that sells Jolida and will upgrade them before sending them out. I guess it will be a one time upgrade and then I wouldn't think about it, unless I messed it up. I had this idea that I would tinkering with a tube amp all the time, which was misguided. Thank you very much for all the info. Regarding the speakers, The RF-7 II look very tall. The reason I had decided on the Hersey was reputation and aesthetics. I think that the Chorus or Forte's would look nice in my living room. Do you think they would be large enough to accommodate the large dynamic range of orchestral music? I need the wife to approve all of this too. She's the one that wanted the stereo system in the first place, but now I'm obsessing over what is the best value. I'll look into those tube amp suggestions. If I'm patient I'm sure I could find something and not go too over budget. Although the more I read the more my budget is increasing. Thanks again for everyone's help,

Ideally I'll find the Heresy 3's for that much but the 2's seem to be much more readily available, and for significantly less. People seem to think that upgrading the 2's with Bob Crites stuff brings them almost up to the 3's. I've been looking at the forum section on tube amps but it is bit overwhelming. What are some reliable tube amp brands and models for under $700? I've read that tube amps require more maintenance. Another option would be to buy the Cambridge Audio CXU blu-ray player (which I could also connect my computer to) and pair it with a vintage tube amp. I'm still leaning towards the Cambridge Integrated amp and Cd set up but I'm open to all ideas. I'll look into this. I could always use it to get started and then flip when I want to upgrade. Thanks again for everyones help, and sorry if I'm completely misinformed on certain topics.

Thank you for the reply, I think I prefer a clean and punchy bass. I'm a double bass player and I think this type of bass would be better for orchestral music. I'm in the Denver area and I'm not sure if the local Klipsch dealer has any of the heritage models (they do have the Cambridge and Marantz I was interested in). I'm going to take in some Cd's and test them out. Tubes amps sound nice but I don't want to think too much about maintenance. Which is why I'm leaning towards buying the amp and Cd player new.

Thanks for the suggestions. Unfortunately, aesthetics is a big concern. The Heresy blend in a bit better, at least in my opinion.

Hello, I'm new to the audiophile world and I was hoping to get some help choosing an integrated amp and CD player. A bit about myself, I'm a professional orchestra musician, so although I don't know much about speakers and amps my ears are pretty well trained. I'm looking for a set of 2 speakers for my living room (12'x'20). Right now I'm leaning towards the Herseys. Not sure if I want I, II, or III. I think I'm going to find some used II's (I'd like to keep the whole system under $1500. I would mostly be listening to Opera and classical music. There would be the occasional pop music but I don't like a lot of bass. Listening levels would low to mid volume(max), I never turn it up that loud. Do you think the Hersey would be a good fit for my listening tastes? For the amp I was thinking about the Cambridge Audio CXA60 or Marantz Pm6006, with a matching CD player. I've been reading a lot about tube amps but still don't seem to know anything about them. My brother recommended I look into Jolida, the 301BRC looks good. I like the idea of having a warm sound but I don't want to sacrifice clarity. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. I've learned so much from this site in the last 72 hrs. Thanks, I forgot to mention, I will most likely only be using a CD player and my computer to play music.