i am moving soon and priority #1 in my new house is that i want some proper speakers and a proper receiver. i am willing to spend some money. tell me what to do. oh, and i don't like modern new-fangled shit. vintage or retro is preferred.

well first questions- dedicated music room or not? how are the acoustics? size of room? are you going to stay here for a while, or is it rather temporary.

size, dedication, acoustics of room will give you a pretty good indication what requirements in terms of power for speakers and amp/preamp/integrated.

And when you say retro, what do you mean? tubes? Not sure here - because if you mean used, thats one thing, but if you mean 'old' then Id ask why- technology just gets better which usually means you get more for your dollar. But I would definitely not shy away from used especially if you have a good reliable high-end audio place- audiophiles are notorious to trade-up often, and you are left with high qual stuff for a great price.

Anyhow, read forums, read reviews and set your realistic standards in terms of price and components. I.e. Are you simply going to run integrated amp--> CD player --> speakers, or are you going to go preamp-->power amp-->dedicated transport etc. Because "willing to spend some money" is all relative.

ok, well the room is going to be pretty big. not a dedicated music room. we're looking at 32'x'12 with about 14' ceiling. when i say i don't want it new-fangled, i think i am talking purely aesthetics. new technology is acceptable. i would like to pimp it out pre-power-so on, but i think that 'some money' is definitely not 'big money.' definitely under 2k. under 1.5k would be even better.

Not easy to find in greeat shape, but if you really wanna go the retro receiver route, you could grab one of the old Fisher tube ones like this:



Never had one myself, but have wanted one for a long time...maybe someday.

Maybe with some vintage Klipsh speakers and one of many nicely made older turntables like a vintage Thorens or the like and you'd be in business.

Just hide whatever CD player you hook up to it under something.

You could maybe get a set up like that under 2K if you shop around.

Not the most user friendly things in the world, (no remote, tubes need to be changed occasionally, no fancy video switching or surround stuff) but if ya want vintage, you'd be talking the real deal.

Go to an audio store, give them your price window, and listen to systems. Ask them what they have used. Then go shop around.

But the biggest thing shouldn't be how it looks, it should be how it sounds.

Talking brands is moot, once you're in that price range, you'll get something solid.

OK if you are talking less than 2k, I would honestly say go with an integrated amp instead of a pre/power combo unless you intend to upgrade in the near future. Also, if you go with an integrated amp now and make sure it has a preamp output, you could always then upgrade. Im not saying that you cant find a nice combo but Id imagine your money being better spent with an integrated-- 2k in the audio world wont even get you 'hi-fi' (i.e. they will call it 'budget' audio- which is ridiculous and done, primarily I think, to guilt middle aged men with penis complexes into spending upwards of 20-100k on a sound system).

Unfortunately, your room dimensions suck auditorially- especially the ceiling. Of course you could cut your losses by positioning your primary listening space closer to the speakers- but even then you have to worry about reflection. Look for articles like this: http://www.mhsoft.nl/SpeakerPlacing.asp or http://www.soundfountain.com/amb/speaker.html which can help you get your thinking about it straight- honestly, Id say most people can get more out of a system by placing your speakers and listening area correctly.

OK so Id imagine you are also asking about product here. Unforunately, most people end up buying whatever their nearest audio dealer has to offer. This isnt the best route because companies differ in terms of their aural philosophies- i.e British vs. American sound. Usually most people prefer certain companies to others. Try to listen to as many setups as possible- my bias, given your price range, is to pick a good reliable integrated amp and then audition speakers using that amp. The NAD C320BEE might be acceptable to you (I enjoy mine and NAD is notorious for underrating their apps, the 320 is rated at 50 watts per channel- I dont remember why this was the case (essentially the wattage they stop at depends on a very conservative threshold for distortion) or you might want to spend more here and less on speakers- for around this price, check NAD, Rotel, Cambridge Audio, Creek, Arcam, Marantz, etc.. the usual culprits that make good affordable budget hi-fi. Amps are a good place to buy used, they arent really abused- I used to buy my stuff from http://www.audioclassics.com/ when I was living in NY. Im not sure how their mail order is.

Personally, Im of the opinion that speakers are where you can get the best value (price/performance) (others say that since your sound system is essentially a chain- it will be as good as the weakest link).

I dont know much about newer speakers, but check out Tannoys, B&Ws, Whafedales maybe, KEFs, (Polks.. I dont like them but some people do)... check out forums like audioasylum.com for gearheads that know a lot more than I do, but take it all with a grain of salt- there are some very strong opinions which often defy reality