Hello people of What hifi? forums.
I am looking to purchase a nice basic starter system for around €1500-~2000 which still offers the performance I want.
I am mostly interested in an amp and 2 floorstanding speakers. A CD player would be a luxury but if I can get better components for the other parts I would prefer to perhaps get a CD player later, or perhaps not at all.
'Not at all' because I intend to mostly play (lossless) audio files from a computer. This is where it gets tricky. I can't find many amps that accept digital input (thereby bypassing my computer's audio card DAC) which is what I want.
The products I have been looking at and listening to so far are the Kef Q500s (auditioned driven by a CA 840A+C editwhich sounded superb to my ears by the way)). And I'm quite interested in the Marantz PM6003/7004 and maybe the Cambridge Audio 650A/C (but these are quite pricy in my country, the Netherlands). Now, I also saw the Yamaha A-S500 recommended with a 5 star rating here, but I'm not sure about the compatibility with perhaps a CD player and, correct me if I'm wrong, there's no digital input.
I'm open to any suggestions or tips since this will be my first hifi purchase apart from some Sennheiser HD595 headphones.
As for the musical styles I listen to, they're just very widespread, ranging from classical to rock to ambient to 'dance' music (I'm only a college student). The room for this is either a 3x4 meter dorm room or a 5x4 room.
Of course, I am aware that I should buy what I think sounds best. But there are also some technical issues I don't specifically trust the local retailer with to answer, as most here have a penchant for a certain brand.
Please let me know if you want additional information, till then, thanks in advance.
I am looking to purchase a nice basic starter system for around €1500-~2000 which still offers the performance I want.
I am mostly interested in an amp and 2 floorstanding speakers. A CD player would be a luxury but if I can get better components for the other parts I would prefer to perhaps get a CD player later, or perhaps not at all.
'Not at all' because I intend to mostly play (lossless) audio files from a computer. This is where it gets tricky. I can't find many amps that accept digital input (thereby bypassing my computer's audio card DAC) which is what I want.
The products I have been looking at and listening to so far are the Kef Q500s (auditioned driven by a CA 840A+C editwhich sounded superb to my ears by the way)). And I'm quite interested in the Marantz PM6003/7004 and maybe the Cambridge Audio 650A/C (but these are quite pricy in my country, the Netherlands). Now, I also saw the Yamaha A-S500 recommended with a 5 star rating here, but I'm not sure about the compatibility with perhaps a CD player and, correct me if I'm wrong, there's no digital input.
I'm open to any suggestions or tips since this will be my first hifi purchase apart from some Sennheiser HD595 headphones.
As for the musical styles I listen to, they're just very widespread, ranging from classical to rock to ambient to 'dance' music (I'm only a college student). The room for this is either a 3x4 meter dorm room or a 5x4 room.
Of course, I am aware that I should buy what I think sounds best. But there are also some technical issues I don't specifically trust the local retailer with to answer, as most here have a penchant for a certain brand.
Please let me know if you want additional information, till then, thanks in advance.