Stereo Purchase Advice

yeah that's what i'm thinking, except instead of an old amp, maybe one of these?

http://www.amazon.com/d/Selector-Switch-Boxes/Panlong-Switcher-Composite-Selector-Consoles/B00KXVBB3Q/

paired with this?

http://www.amazon.com/FiiO-Digital-Converter-Optical-Toslink/dp/B005K2TXMO/

can't beat the price ...

Do you know if the "specialized amp" wants line level? I think that DAC is fine, but I worry the source switch won't boost the signal for your "specialized amp" (it's not clear to me that you need it to)

yeah when i say “specialized” i just mean it comes w the speakers, i don’t think there’s much special about it, it’s just a super basic 15W t-amp

it is designed for line level ... we’ll see how it ends up sounding, the whole thing is turning into a real frankenstein’s monster but at least it’s been cheap

that should be fine then. I use that cheap DAC for my tv audio and the sound seems good. Cheap can be good!

i want to get a decent amp with integrated phono that has a smaller physical footprint. it doesn't need to be super-powerful, i've got bookshelf speakers and am in an apartment so i'm not going to be blasting my music. i'm mostly looking at the NAD D3020 v2 and the ps audio sprout, but is there anything else in that vein i should be considering?

I have and enjoy one of these (TEAC CR-H500NT), since discontinued but you may be able to find one used.