Just for fun, I decided to work out what I would buy at around $5k from Stereophile/TAS recommended components.
Harbeth HL Compact 7ES Speakers
Arcam DiVA A75 Integrated
VPI Scout Turntable
Grado Black Cartridge
Sony SCD-CE775 CD/SACD player (if needed)
Whatever Interconnects/Speaker wire the dealer will throw in to make the sale!
I actually own a pair of the Harbeths, a high standard of natural tone with sufficient bass and levels for a normal sized living room. The VPI gives you a quite fine record deck to play into the Arcam, which, while not a miracle worker, is a steady performer in the Arcam tradition. The Grado will exhibit organic wholeness over transparency, but is actually pretty nice for a budget saving $40. The Sony machine will play CD's ;=)
Regards, Kevin
