Here's a basic breakdown:
$400 for a Tuner. You NEED a tuner whether you think so or not. You WILL use it a lot more than you think you would. Look for a Magnum Dynalabs 101. These can be found for $3-400 if you look around. These are both sensitive and sound pretty good. Some cheaper yet worthy alternatives are the Musical Fidelity E-50, Sony 730 ES, Yamaha TX-950, etc... These can be found for $150 - $250 and will free up money for other things that you may consider more important. The MF is not as sensitive as the others but sounds warmer.
$500 for a DAC. I would suggest an EVS Millenium 1A if you can find one. These typically run about $4-500 used. These are 24/96 capable and sound far more musical than most SS pieces and is more accurate than the majority of tube units on the market. The best of both worlds for pennies on the dollar.
$5-600 for a Transport. You be the judge. If you want to play / watch DVD's also, then factor this into the equation. Personally, i would NOT use a DVD player as a transport except if you REALLY want "double duty" and are willing to sacrifice musicality. This statement includes units modified by "professional tweakers". I would suggest something along the lines of either a Parasound CBD-2000, CEC 5100, Theta Pearl, Theta Data Basic II, Rega Jupiter, etc... You could also resort to using a cd player as the transport only i.e. a Parasound CDP-2000, Pioneer Elite PD-65, Rega Planet, etc...
If you want to stick to a one box player, combine the prices of the DAC and Transport plus the additional amount that a digital cable would've cost you. A possible alternative is to pick up a Sony SACD player from Oade Brothers and have Ric from EVS modify it for you. This would put you in the same price range, reduce jitter and take up one rack space instead of two. It would also offer the benefit of being SACD capable should that format ever really take off.
$1250 for "backbone" components i.e. a preamp and amp or integrated amp. TONS of good used stuff on the market. Keep in mind that you can also consider a passive line section since you will be using only line level sources. While i prefer the versatility of seperates, you might prefer the "less clutter is better" approach and opt for an integrated. Another factor is SS vs Tube. A lot of personal choices to be made here.
$1250 for speakers. Since the tonal balance of the system will be dictated by your speaker & amplification choices, you would be wise to consider these two factors hand in hand. You also want to make sure that you have more than enough REAL power to meet your listening demands for the specific speakers that you choose. You also need to factor in the types of music that you primarily listen to, the volume levels required and the size of the room. Obviously, large speakers work better in larger rooms and smaller speakers in smaller rooms. Don't fool yourself either way.
$1000 for "incidentals". This includes a rack ($225), speaker cables ($225), interconnects ($225) and a PLC ($200 ). This leaves you with some money to put towards supplies to build some very simple yet highly effective DIY room treatments. For that info, see http://www.geocities.com/jonrisch/index.htm
While you're there, i would look at some of his cable designs also. A couple of hundred dollars on DIY cables will go WAY, WAY further than spending the same amount retail.
You'll have ended up spending about the same amount of money for your major components ( CD, preamp/amp, speakers ). This approach takes into consideration that the system is only as strong as its' weakest link so try to use a bunch of links that are "equal". On top of that, you'll also have something that looks decent ( neat and orderly on a real audio rack ) without overlooking the importance that "accessories" like good quality cables and room treatment play in achieving good sound. Of course, you can fudge an amount in one category for another to suit your specific goals and desires. Hope this helps and gives you a basic idea of how to construct a balanced system. Sean
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