I posted a while back on the receiver board about my evolving system dream. I was going to buy a receiver of some sort that I would use as a dedicated stereo for a while, then slowly expand. After listening to some advice (thanks Jan, John, James, jet2001, and Stu!), I decided to go with an integrated instead since I am most concerned with music. Here's a little update. I've been obsessively watching Audiogon, reading reviews, and going on listening expeditions. I ended up buying 2 integrateds. Ahem. I do have a weak justification: I "need" an office system. Of course that means I will have to get another pair of little speakers.
BUT, I am still within budget ($1500 for amp and speakers). I listened to some Rotel equipment (RA-02 and RSX 1067 in different rooms) on Revel, Klipsch, and B&W monitors of various costliness. The Revel M22s were incredibly rich and detailed. I was expecting them to be more analytical, but they were almost lush. The RA-02 was impressive -- fast, and detailed. A touch forward, but half of me likes that (the other half is satisfied below). I managed to grab an RA-01 on Audiogon for a nice price. This is the office unit.
On another listening binge, I heard a Rega Mira 3. Wow. I fell in love with it. Very different character from the Rotel--involving in a different way. More spacious, warm, details seem to be finer without being harsh. Beautiful sound. This is not to detract the Rotel at all--its just a very different animal. I found a Mira 2000 on Audiogon and snapped it up, gambling that it will not be significantly different from the Mira 3. I am hoping that it will at least clearly be in the same family. Since the Mira has a lovely phono stage, I have even convinced my parents to give me their unused Marantz 6270q TT.
So, I am up to $700 on amps (450 for the Mira, 250 for the Rotel). I picked up a pair of very cheap ($85) Mission M70s on a whim, and I have an old pair of Infinity reference 3s that are going to have to serve until I find a pair of monitors that I want.
Oh, and I am in the middle of making some DIY cat5 speaker cables for myself because I am too cheap to buy good cables. (If anybody from the Ling board is reading this--Tim, for example--I will test the cables on the Missions before I hook them up to the Lings!)