Hmm, try this:

Pioneer DV45A DVD-V / DVD-A / SACD player, $400 at Harvey Electronics, Sound
by Singer, and Lyric Hi-Fi
NAD T752 7.1 channel AV Receiver, $900 at Harvey Electronics, Sound by
Singer, and Lyric Hi-Fi
Athena Audition F2 front speakers, $600/pr at Best Buy, or online from Audio
Advisor
Athena Audition B1 rear speakers, $180/pr at Best Buy, or online from Audio
Advisor
Athena Audition C1 center speaker, $180 at Best Buy, or online from Audio
Advisor
Athena AS-P400 subwoofer, $400 at Best Buy, or online from Audio Advisor
Total $2660

Now you need 6 decent interconnects, an additional subwoofer interconnect,
and a bunch of speaker cable for $340. 10% of system budget for cables is
about right. I would recommend Straightwire products in you price range,
they have interconnects for around $20 per meter/pair that are decent, and
speaker cables that are a good value. They are available at Sound by
Singer. Just take in the lengths you need and your budget, and they should
be able to set you up.
AudioQuest also has some good low price cables in their line, and DH Labs
cables are a good value, but a little hard to find.

The NAD is an outstanding value, they have long been making medium price
components that sound far better than their price suggests. My entry into
good sound was an NAD 3020 integrated amp in 1981.

The Pioneer is the least expensive player that has both SACD and DVD-A done
properly, and is part of Pioneer's Elite series which tends to have better
build quality and sound than their consumer line. Pioneer also has an
SACD/DVD-A for under $200, but it uses DSP to convert the SACD signal into a
DVD-A signal, so they only needed to include one D/A conversion stage, and
you lose the SACD advantage of a simple D/A conversion process. Pioneer's
list for this item is $700, but nobody sells it for that.

Athena is part of Canada's API consortium, that includes the brands Mirage
and Energy. Athena was created to bring decent sounding speakers into the
budget market, and are a very good value. I have not listened to the
Athena's but I am a long time Mirage owner, and the Athena's have gotten
good reviews, so I believe they would be a good value. The F2 is on
Stereophile's recommended component list.

I have not dealt with Harvey Electronics, but I know Lyric and Singer are
both very good dealers that have been in New York for decades. They were
both dealers of ours when I was with California Audio Labs, and were among
the best of our dealers.
$3K is entry level for them, but it is not wasting their time, otherwise
they would not sell NAD. If either of them has a speaker recommendation
other than the Athena's, you should seriously consider it as long as it
stays within your budget.

If you go to Best Buy for the speakers, don't let them sell you anything
else.

Lyric Hi-Fi http://www.lyricusa.com/
Sound by Singer http://www.soundbysinger.com/Home4.html
Harvey Electronics http://www.harveyonline.com
NAD http://www.nadelectronics.com/
Pioneer
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pn..._35168,00.html
Athena http://www.athenaspeakers.com/
Straightwire http://www.straightwire.com/
DH Labs http://www.silversonic.com/

"Michael Gerbasio" wrote in message
news:zBK5b.264403$cF.82971@rwcrnsc53...
Hi,
I'm not nearly educated in audio equipment and spent a lot of time reading
on the net only to be even more confused. My interest is in listening to
music, not home theater, but I'd like to try the SACD and DVD-A as more
music is released. Should I stick with stereo or look at multi-channel?

I'd also like to buy from a local store/dealer, but I really hate to walk
into a store and not have a clue as to what I should be looking at
especially when I see the prices on high end equipment, way out of my
league. Any recommendations in Northern NJ/NYC where I won't be wasting
their time with a $3k budget, that has a decent selection and salesman
that
can explain features to an audio equipment novice? Right now all I want
to
do is play CDs.

Generally, I purchase what you guys would probably call low end equipment
from an electronics store. I'd like to update my system but don't know if
spending $3k is going to get me any better sound than spending $1.5k at
Circuit City. My music tastes vary from classical to rock and just about
everything in between. I don't blast my music, like it at a comfortable
listening level.

Any suggestions on where to begin, maybe a good site or magazine
recommendation? Thanks.

Regards-Michael G.