You really shouldn't be asking for home audio advice on the Anandtech forums...its really the wrong audience. Try
Home Theater Forums or
AVS Forums for advice.
Anyway, here's my take for a basic 5K system.
Paradigm is a pretty good system, as is PSB. Great value for money. With 5K, you could go with their flagship reference and Stratus lines respectively. Personally, I prefer the sound of PSB after auditioning both.
Paradigm Reference Studio 40 - $900
Paradigm Reference Studio/CC - $400
Paradigm Reference Studio ADP 450 - $800
Total Price - $2100
PSB Stratus Mini - $900
PSB Stratus C5i - $400
PSB Image 2B - $300
Total Price - $1600
*Edit* Forgot to include the sub...no wonder I wasn't hitting $5000 yet with some of the combinations
For subs, the best price/performance are SVS and Hsu Research subs, although SVS has a larger following. A lot of people swear by them. Since you'd be more concerned with music, you won't need the most badass sub in the world, and their entry level subs should do pretty well for you:
SVS 25-31PC - $669
SVS 20-39PC - $749
Hsu Research VTF-2 - $500
Hsu Research TN1225HO w/250W amp - $709
The Dynaudio advice was also good, provided you have more money. Dynaudio's Contour series impressed me a LOT, but their entry level Audience series, which is what you would be looking at with your budget, failed to impress me as much as the Paradigm and PSB flagships.
Another brand you could be looking at is Diva by Swans...they've been widely heralded as the best bang for the buck speakers around now, but they're an internet purchase only brand, which makes it more risky. If you find out don't like the sound in the end, it'll be more troublesome to return.
As for amplification, a good receiver would probably be fine. I'd recommend the Denon 5800 or B&K 307, but unfortunateely your budget doesn't allow for that. Next down the line, Marantz receivers are probably your best bet, as they have been widely noted for their musicality, which is what you're looking for. The Denon 4800 is another choice within your budget. Your budget doesn't allow for a decent separate prepro/power amp setup, so look for a good receiver instead.
Marantz SR-18EX - $2500
Marantz SR-19 - $1700
Denon $1500
As for the CD source, Viperoni made an excellent suggestion. The original Rega Planet was already very good, and pretty cheap too. The Rega Planet 2000 is an improvement to that, and is only marginally more expensive, so you shouldn't even consider the original. Rotel and Marantz also make very good CD players(Marantz has the KI Signature line and O.S.E series which are tweaked versions, supposedly noticably better than the originals, but I've not heard them personally)
Rega Planet 2000 - $800
Rotel RCD-951 - $500
You didn't mention a DVD player though, so I'm wondering how you're gonna watch a DVD at all, much less 2?
Perhaps you should invest in a DVD player, as it will also be able to play CDs, albeit perhaps not as nicely...or even better, get both
Cable wise, don't spend too much on boutique cables. What I'd recommend for interconnects would be Belden cables(89259 for analog, 1506A for digital coaxial) along with some good true 75ohm connectors(Canare locking, or some WBT clones). They are broadcast quality and MUCH cheaper than the popular boutique cables. Monster cable is ok, but really very overpriced for mediocre performance. For speaker cables, generic 10AWG or 12AWG OFC speaker cable from homedepot would do. For short runs, even 14AWG or up to 16AWG would do without much noticable difference.
So, mix and match the above to get a sub $5000 system that would sound REALLY good, good luck and enjoy!
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