Setting up first system

[worf]

Hi, I'm looking to set up my first audio system and the more research I do the more confused I become.

For my system I'm thinking of an integrated amp and a pair of floorstanding speakers. I live in Hong Kong so there's not too much equipment to choose from and not really many places where I can test equipment. (I'm hoping to get second hand gear)

The room where the system will be is rectangular, concrete walls and has a tiled floor.(around 4 metres by 10 metres It's the main living area so I wont have much room to play with. (I guess a more social set up would be realistic, although I do enjoy listening to my music and take it seiously)

Speakers I've been looking into are B&W and KEF but am open to any brand. May be able to get a pair of B&W603 S2, but should i go for floorstanding of bookshelf? Not even began to look at integrated amps yet.

Musical tastes are indi, rock, jazz

Most of my music is on an MP3 player (I try to use a higher bit rate 192 - 320) Would this make a significant difference in sound quality compared to CD's?

So with all this in mind, what type/style of speakers (should i biwire) and amp should I be looking out for and what would you recommend?

[Music4Life]

If you can read chinese you can visit this site www.review33.com

They have alot of talk about local hifi. They even have a section for second hand stuff. I'm from HK as well. I can help you visit some hifi shops that give demo. They have alot in Mongkok, if you work near Central you can go to 1 Duddell Street (it's expensive there though). That building housed showrooms for really serious Hi Fi enthusiast. You can visit my crib to checkout my setup.

http://s185.photobucket.com/albums/x93/music4life_04/?action=view&current=IMGA0297.jpg

[dknightd]

I prefer two floorstanding speakers for stereo music. Some people like to use bookshelf (with or without sub). I thought HongKong had lots of stereo stores. It is worth taking your time to visit the ones you can find. I'd pick the speakers you like first, then find a suitable amp to power them.
I've yet to be able to detect 320 mp3 from cd in blind tests. I've been able to do it at 192 on occasion. You may or maynot be able to tell the difference (One other thing to consider is that the analog output stages of mp3 players are not always very good - If you are serious about music you might want to get a cd player - or use a computer with a good DtoA convertor and output stages). Again, these are things you are going to have to try yourself to determin what matters to you.