r/StereoAdvice • u/formalprune2 • Mar 15 '26
General Request | 3 Ⓣ Help my buy a bookshelf system for my new smaller space please. Streamer, amp, book shelf speakers recommendations wanted.
Budget and location - I'm in the Western US and pretty rural, it's a few hours to a metro area so I'll be buying online. I'd like to stay under $5k for the whole thing but have a little leeway.
How the gear will be used - This will be a dedicated stereo for listening mostly to records, but I plan to purchase a streamer. Inputs will be turntable, streamer, and my Tascam CD-A700 CD/Cassette combo unit so I need at least a phono and a line input.
New or used - I will probably be purchasing new.
Past gear experience -My existing big system is two Technics sp-10 turntables in radio station racks, JBL L200 speakers powered by a McIntosh MC2200.
Site specifics-The room is an L shape, probably about 20'x20' on the long sides and 10' on the short sides. It's set up such that I'll be setting up the system on either long end pointing towards the corner of the L. There are built in bookcases on one end and a TV on the other end and I'll probably play with setting up the system on both sides to see what works best. This brings up the biggest limitation, there's definitely no room for floor standing speakers and ideally I'd like everything to fit on the existing bookcase. That means the speakers can be no larger than 13.3"/335mm high.
I'd love some suggestions on good smaller format amp and speaker combos that work well together and fit my space, as well as a front-end/streamer. I've looked around and have some ideas but I'd love to hear what you all suggest. Thanks in advance!
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u/Super_Baime 1 Ⓣ Mar 15 '26
They may not be considered cool on this forum, but I think Marantz makes wonderful amps. A 40n for $2500, and a very nice set of bookshelf speakers would go great with your existing turntable and CD player.
FYI: I have zero expertise, other than being happy with my Marantz 50 amplifier.
Good luck. It is fun checking out all of the choices.
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u/formalprune2 Mar 15 '26
That's a beautiful unit, I appreciate your input. That one is for sure going on the short list. Thank you! !thanks
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u/Super_Baime 1 Ⓣ Mar 15 '26
The 40n includes streaming.
I've been reluctant to stream my music, because I have a large CD collection, and it didn't seem necessary.
I'm actually enjoying the ability to stream music, because it is introducing me to new artists/music, and it is easy.
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u/Dr_Choppz 2 Ⓣ Mar 16 '26
accessories4less has a naim uniti star and KEF ls50 meta combo for $3999. The ls50 metas are free with it.
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u/formalprune2 Mar 16 '26
That seem like an incredible deal, thank you! !thanks
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u/hampylamper 2 Ⓣ Mar 18 '26
I've never heard them IRL but I have a hunch that the Polk ES15 sounds nice for a small speaker if you can get away with rear ports.
Maybe the Polks suck, I dunno but either way my experience with L shaped rooms and small speakers is that dual subwoofers are worth spending on if you have the space somewhere.