Lot's of great ideas here for you Dave. Personally, I like Sugarbrie's suggestion of the Blue Circle separates, because that's what I happen to own. There are some VERY viable combos mentioned here too, such as the VK3i with the McCormack DNA 0.5, and ARC combos. I would also offer up the Rogue 66/88 combo as well.
Redkiwi's idea of getting a good integrated is a great plan as well. The Plinius is an awesome machine. I used to own the Simaudio Moon I-5 and also the Electrocompaniet ECI-3 integrateds, and can vouch for their quality.
Go out and sample as much as you can. Everything depends on your taste in sonic reproduction as well as your accompanying equipment, so listen to as much as you can. But the suggestions listed previous to mine are a great place to start looking. Have fun and happy hunting!
Redkiwi's idea of getting a good integrated is a great plan as well. The Plinius is an awesome machine. I used to own the Simaudio Moon I-5 and also the Electrocompaniet ECI-3 integrateds, and can vouch for their quality.
Go out and sample as much as you can. Everything depends on your taste in sonic reproduction as well as your accompanying equipment, so listen to as much as you can. But the suggestions listed previous to mine are a great place to start looking. Have fun and happy hunting!