upgrade advice for budget-minded beginner

A good rule of thumb to follow when upgrading is to listen to the system in your room before you buy (if possible). I would also say that speakers determine the huge majority of what you hear, w/preamp, source, and amp coming in second, third, and fourth. (I would not sink any money into fancy cables, as cables are for the most part a ripoff.) Third, not all tube equipment has a warmer sound, and tube equipment can often be slightly noiser than SS. And above all else, trust your ears over the opinions of others, fancy ads, or reviews, as many an Audiogoner (myself included) has fallen for the ol' "If the experts think it sounds good, it must sound good" trap. Good luck!

If you're willing to buy used, and I highly recommend it on a budget, here are a few ideas of items in the classifieds right now. I would pair an original Rega Planet cd player at around $275-300 used (an outright steal at the current used prices) with a Naim Nait integrated for around $500. Or alternatively instead of the Nait try a vintage tubed integrated like one of the many Fisher Models for $350-500. With upgraded components you might find your speakers a bit more to your liking, and you can always upgrade them later when budget permits. Good luck and happy listening!

thanks for all the advice everyone.
The integrated tube amp idea was what I originally planned, and yeah, I was aware the XCD88 is identical to the Musical Hall player which is why I thought 1500 for a 40x2 tube amp, CD player, and two sets of monitors (Ref1 and Ref.5) seemed like a killer deal (if anything I could give away the cheaper pair of speakers for Christmas). The only reason I'm skeptical is because
1) I've never heard of "Onix" and am afraid it's some cheap, chinese crap.
2) My B&Ws seem pretty power hungry and I wasn't sure if 40 watts per channel would be enough. My Yamaha stays in Class A until about 20 watts but can go up to 160 and still more complex music tends to sound compressed at high-ish volume levels (could be due to the pre, but I'm not sure).
I know my Kenwood preamp is crap and needs to get the hell out of my system, so I'm really just debating on whether I should buy a bargain pre like the Eastern Electric or a CJ (was considering a Dared but I'm scared they're even crappier than I imagine them to be) and see where things go, or just spend the extra cash now and change nearly everything.
As far as cables go I figured as long the right AWG was used it didn't make a difference. I'm using generic 14AWG speaker cable and 3ft. car audio RCAs. I just figured there wouldn't be an audible difference from cables with a lower-end system like mine.
Again, thanks for the help and I'd be happy to hear any more suggestions.

Ethan:

As a side note, I have been using the Prima Luna Prologue 5 (power amp @ 36 wpc @ 8 ohms) with Acoustic Research 302 speakers. The AR's are a 3 way, 10" woofer; acoustic suspension design speaker and have an sensitivity rating of 85db's @ 8 ohms. In my living room which measures 25 X 15 X 8.5, the Prima Luna drives the AR's pretty loud without distorting. And granted my perception of loud may be different than your perception (comes from living in an apartment house).

I believe that your B&W's check in at 88 or 89db's. Doubling the sound output equates to 3db's, so your B&W's will play louder than my AR's with the same power (give or take). So, you should be OK with a 40 wpc tube amp. You will often hear that tube watts are different than solid state watts (which is not intuitive by any means), but in practice it does seem that a 40 wpc tube amp plays louder than a 40 wpc solid state amp.

Admittedly I am not a big fan of most B&W's, but I always liked the 600 series. If you do go with tubes, perhaps consider pairing them with high efficiency; no crossover speakers. A speaker like the Omega Super 3 , which lists for $540 pairs nicely with tube amps. There is not a lot of bass, but everything else is very musical and dynamic.

Regards, Rich

Ethan--

The Onix is not cheap, Chinese crap, at least not any more so than the dozens of other well regarded companies that have their manufacturing done overseas. Onix used to be a very well regarded British outfit, and made some really great gear, including the A60 and an almost legendary tuner. I believe the company went bankrupt, and the name and product designs were later purchased by av123. Obviously, the A60 and A120 still exist, but the other products are new designs by various people. The tube integrateds are actually manufacture and designed in Australia by Melody (the solid state integrateds are, I believe, still made in China), and I can't tell you about the speakers. However, if build quality is your concern, I really don't think you have anything to worry about. I've seen and heard a few Onix pieces, and they are great bargains, simple as that.

On a final note, cables will definitely make a difference, particularly when you upgrade your components as you are planning to do. It would be a shame to get great performing products, only to limit them by using inferior cables! There are, again, quite a few sources for excellent, budget cables. Signal Cables are available here for very reasonable prices, and Paul Speltz's Anti-Cables seem to be getting very favorable reviews. You could wire your entire system for less than $100 from these two sources.

Actually, one more final note... I have no affiliation with the above products and/or vendors. I've been a budget audiophile for several years now, and just passing on some of my positive experiences with these products.

Good luck, Ethan, and happy listening.

-Eric