Apartment Dweller's Paradise - The Ideal 2 ch. system?

I agree that unit size is an important factor for most apartment dwellers. As is combining functions into an integrated plus sources or an all-in-one unit to save space and wiring. Perhaps half size units from Cyrus, Bel Canto, or TEAC would work. Of these, the British-made Cyrus is my clear favorite. Unfortunately, distribution is spotty in the U.S. 

April Music offers the Aura Note 2, an unusual desktop all-in-one unit with a Class D 125-watt integrated amp, top-loading CD player, FM tuner, and a host of digital inputs. Was a Stereophile Class A product just a couple of years ago. Saves hassle and cost of cables. Just need speaker cables and a USB cable for digital input. and an optical digital cable. 

And a longtime audiophile favorite just got a major upgrade: the Rega Brio R integrated with phono preamp. But no digital inputs. Mates beautifully with the Rega Apollo R top-loading CD player. Both half-size units.

ClairAudient makes two bookshelf/desktop speakers using single drivers that sound extraordinarily well in small or nearfield. environments. The ONE and the slightly larger V2 1+1.

For floorstanders, I would audition the Totem Arros and the OHM Microwalsh speakers.

I am not a fan of wireless speakers, so I am not the person to recommend. 

@erik_squires said:  "I'm waiting on someone to bring up small, horn loaded speakers."

I have a reasonable, 3- or 4-way "hybrid" (or partial) horn system in a small apartment in Brooklyn with a 12' x 12' (with 9' ceiling) living room:

Altec 3000G (with integrated horn) tweeter

Altec 804A 1" compression driver on Edgarhorn 650Hz Tractrix horn

Altec 414Z 12" woofer in modern Altec 614 cabinet

Cain & Cain Bailey subwoofer

At the moment, I amplify all three Altec drivers (including mid-bass unit) with a Type 45-based single-ended power amplifier.  And with this, I use a homebrew passive crossover.  (The subwoofer has an integral plate amp and its own crossover network.)  This is pretty far from ideal, though, for someone like me with so little crossover understanding.  So, I'm in the process of converting to a more sophisticated configuration with an active digital crossover with a separate power amp on each driver pair or "frequency unit."  This will allow for lots of crossover experimentation; improved bass quality (by using a more powerful, perhaps solid state, amp on mid-bass); and time alignment, equalization, and room correction.

Of course, with these speakers and two racks full of tube gear and a large turntable, the system (at least visually) dominates the room -- which may not be to everyone's taste.  That said, it all fits neatly on one 12' wall, and (happily/strangely) appeals to my fiancee.  (She's a designer and completely unpredictable when it comes to aesthetics.  I got lucky on this one!)

I used to use (and still have) a pair of Cain & Cain Abbys, which might work for a similar apartment-dweller.  Although almost 6' tall, they have a tiny footprint.  And they were made (by a simple driver swap) in two versions, including "nearfield," which allows for a very close listening position.  As Voigt Pipes, these are in the horn family, I guess -- or at least not too far removed -- so I figured I'd mention.

Anyway!  Lots of ways to do this, as all of the excellent posts above prove...

There is always a pr of Sennheiser HD headphones and an Woo or Pangea headphone amp .
In my bedroom I have a pr of HD 650’s driven by a Pangea HD 201
which uses one 12AX7, using an Amprex Holland on mine ,
NAD 565BEE as source
All bought used except the Pagea , I have less than a grand in it and truth be told, it sounds so good it would be my only system were I a young man just starting out in Audio .
I would use the money I spent on my other system(s) to either buy a new
Mercedes 550 or make a nice donation To "Save the Children Fund " .

I never really liked " phones but I was surprised how quickly I adjusted to them when I actually spent time required to adjust !

I had a Woo headphone amp and naked Sennheiser 600s and an uber modded Oppo 103 two years ago. Sweet!

A System for an Apartment Dweller? For around $10K??

Okay..... Here Goes:

Wireless (For Smaller Apartment):

Speaker System: KEF LS50 Wireless (Wi-Fi/Bluetooth Operation; Wireless Remote Control; Built-In Amplification -- 200 Watts For The Woofers/30 Watts For The Tweeters; Analog/Digital Connectivity; etc) -- $2,200.00

Speaker Stands: Sanus Steel Foundations SF26B (Sand/Lead Filled) -- $130.00

Powered Subwoofer(s): VTF-1 Mk3 (x2) (250 Watts Continuous/1000 Watts Short Term/10" Woofer/2 Ports) ($380.00 Each) -- $760.00

Digital Music Player: BlueSound VAULT 2 -- $1,200.00

Phono Stage: PS Audio GCPH -- $500.00 (Used)

Turntable/Arm: VPI Scout w/JMW-9T Tone Arm -- $2,000.00

Phono Cartridge: Sumiko BPS-EVO III -- $550.00

Splitter RCA Jack: AudioQuest Hard RCA Splitter (Plugged Into Subwoofer Output On Rear Of KEF LS50 Wireless Speaker System To Accommodate Two VTF-1 Mk3 Powered Subwoofers) -- $13.00

Power Cords: Pangea AC 14SE MkII -- (x4)($65.00 Each) -- $260.00

Interconnects: Cardas Crosslink (x3) (For VTF-1 Mk3 Subwoofers; VPI Scout Turntable; PS Audio GCPH)($170.00) -- $510.00

Digital Toslink Optical Cable: AudioQuest Pearl -- $40.00

Tablet: Apple iPad Mini 4 (128 GB) (Additional Music Source) -- $400.00

Smart Phone: Apple iPhone 6S (2015)(64 GB)(w/KEF LS50 Control App) -- Free

System Total: $8,563.00


Component Hi-Fi System (For Larger Apartment):

Speaker System: Vandersteen 2Ce Signatures (In Rosewood) -- $2,560.00

Speaker Stands: Sound Anchor (For Vandersteen 2Ce Signatures) -- $400.00

Integrated Amplifier: Cambridge Audio 851A AZUR (Dual-Mono Design; 120 Watts Per Channel @ 8 Ohms/200 Watts Per Channel @ 4 Ohms; XLR Inputs (x2)) -- $1,600.00

Music Streamer: Cambridge Audio 851 AZUR Network Music Streamer (24-Bit/192 kHz. Capability; Upsamples To 384 kHz; Dual 24-Bit DAC’s; XLR Outputs) -- $1,600.00

Phono Stage: PS Audio GCPH -- $500.00 (Used)

Turntable/Arm: VPI Scout w/JMW-9T Tone Arm -- $2,000.00

Phono Cartridge: Sumiko BPS-EVO III -- $550.00

Speaker Cables -- AudioQuest GBC (Bi-Wired For Vandersteen 2Ce Signatures) -- $308.00

Interconnects: AudioQuest Black Mamba (RCA) (VPI Turntable To PS Audio Phono Stage) -- $24.00; AudioQuest MacKenzie Braid (x2)(XLR)(PS Audio GCPH To Cambridge 851A AZUR; Cambridge Audio 851N AZUR To Cambridge 851A AZUR)($190 Each) -- $380.00

Tablet: Apple iPad Mini 4 (128 GB) (Additional Music Source) -- $400.00

Smart Phone: Apple iPhone 6S (2015)(64 GB)(w/Cambridge Audio Control Apps) -- Free

System Total: $10,250.00 (Ooops.... $250 Over Budget.... Can Someone Spot Me $250.00? Otherwise... I’ll Put The $250.00 Balance On My Credit Card).

Happy Listening Everyone!!!

--Charles--