Newbie $3000 to spend

[jackstraw1965]

Buying my first stereo/surround system not counting a rack system that I had
along time ago. The system is going to be used for music(me),movies(wife & son) and gaming(son). My musical interests vary from Springsteen & The GratefulDead(IMHO the two best live bands there ever was for raw emotion and showmanship) to bluegrass, folk and classical. My basement is 19X15x7(Drop Ceiling). I'm would like to get a 5.1 surround system with the thought being anything more would to much considering my room size. I have a Mit 65734 and Oppo DV981 DVD Player. The budget is for a receiver and speakers then adding a stand alone CD player later on if necessary. Went to the Big Box stores and tried the HTIB and it seems to me something was missing when listening to those units. Also went to Harvey Electronics today just to get a feel for prices and listening to some speakers, the cheapest pair
of speakers was $900 and it seemed everything else was over $2000. So it seems for my budget I just touching the surface. I live in North Jersey and work in NYC and need to find more stores to visit. J&R comes to mind. Any suggestions for equipment will be greatly appreciated.

Regards
Stephen

Goin home, goin home
by the waterside I will rest my bones
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
to rock my soul

 

[newb]

What I'm looking at.

I too am buying my first system. I don't have a HD monitor yet so am concentrating on the sound. I'm getting the Aperion Intimus concert 533 5.1 system. Check out Aperion on the web: great quality(have been reviewed here), great service (free ship, 30 day trial with free return, discounts on accessories, good build quality); 2379.00. I'm also getting the Marantz SR 4002 receiver(90x7, HDMI 1.3 out/in, lots of composite,S video, etc outs/ins) 549.00 here at the audioholics store(free ship, extended warranty after man. warranty).
Just IMO.
Happy listening

 

[Davemcc]

I too am buying my first system. I don't have a HD monitor yet so am concentrating on the sound. I'm getting the Aperion Intimus concert 533 5.1 system. Check out Aperion on the web: great quality(have been reviewed here), great service (free ship, 30 day trial with free return, discounts on accessories, good build quality); 2379.00. I'm also getting the Marantz SR 4002 receiver(90x7, HDMI 1.3 out/in, lots of composite,S video, etc outs/ins) 549.00 here at the audioholics store(free ship, extended warranty after man. warranty).
Just IMO.
Happy listening

I've got nothing better than that. It's hard to beat a 30 day risk free trial with free shipping both ways. I would suggest to keep auditioning in store to get a feel for how speakers in your price range sound, so that when the Aperions arrive you have a basis for which to fairly compare their value, apples to apples.

 

[rnatalli]

Like Davemcc suggested, speakers are key. Listen to as many as possible. Once that's out of the way, you can start looking for the electronics. Plan to spend at least $2k on the speakers and sub alone.