Okay everyone. Being a newbie I have now collected (with a lot of pain and cursing) a little money for my starter system. I have about $2300 which I can stretch to about $3000 if the upgrades are worth the money. However, since I am totally new, I do not know where to begin. I am okay with buying used gear, but here in Pakistan where I live there are no shops with used hi-fi gear, and very few with new entry level gear which is way overpriced compared to US or UK costs. So, I am looking for any and all options, including if any of you is nice enough to guide me to a system I can import from abroad, whether new or used (can be a used complete system one of you might be looking to offload as well ).
I am the kind of guy who listens to a vast variety of music genres in at least 5 languages, so need a system which is very natural and neutral in its reproduction, with a little warmth if possible. I normally use CDs or mp3s (320 kbps or vbr especially on my laptop or in the car) to listen to music, which I would like to switch entirely to CDs for SQ but want to have the capability of playing mp3s whenever I feel like it. What I need is a stereo system that plays these CDs and gives me a significantly better experience than what some Japanese high-end units (Sony etc :P) are able to offer in single packages, whether compacts or components. My living room has a tiled floor, and is about 20 ft by 30 ft in size.
Waiting for your help people just to let you know, I bacame an audiophile wannabe when I listened to this system in the UAE (consisting of Naim, Sugden and maybe two other companies I am not familiar with) and I was BLOWN AWAY!!! Please help me get blown away yet again, and convert my friends who love music to this passion as well...