Best system you can assemble for peanuts ?

Hifi doesn't have to be the rich's toy - even students and the retired senior citizens on a budget can enjoy audio with a little bit of knowledge.

We also have need for a compact systems in the basement gym, kitchen, outside barbecue area, ect. Also it would be nice to be able to give it to our loved ones - kids leaving for college, our parents, etc.

Last weekend, I set out to assemble a system for about $100 and I am pretty happy with the result - in fact, I listen to it for many hours already on it despite having spent as much as a car on my other systems.

I was surprised at the quality of CD player in Aiwa all in one system, but I was not happy with the cheap colored sound of the speakers, and wondered what kind of sound I would get if I upgraded the speakers.

I was pleasantly surprised ! The CD is quite good indeed, and the amp section is not bad either. Also the clock, timer, and the remote functions are convenients not found on some hifi equipments.

I went to the Craiglist and saw many Aiwa systems for as little as $20. I got one last weekend, and hooked it upto Tannoy mercury series speaker which I also got second hand from www.audiogon.com

It's not the last word on detail, but it's quite listenable ... The color is basically right, and the sound is dynamic with enough power, the CD sound is deep and broad like a hifi piece, and the amp even has a bit of liquid quality to it.

All in all, quite listenable system - sure bits my first systems as a teenager !

I would go as far as to say, it even has some excitement to the sound ...

All kinds of music sound ok - even the picky classical.

Anyone on a budget can assemble such a system for under $100 and enjoy.

There are many speakers that will work with aiwa systems, so you can start looking for them in the craiglist for them - any speakers from these makers : paradigm, psb, monitor audio,kef, mordaunt-short, B&W, wilson (haha), Wharfdale, Athena, etc.
You can also check out this hifi magazine's review of speakers :

http://whathifi.com/Reviews/Hi-Fi-Reviews/Hi-fi-speakers-Reviews/Rating/

With a little bit of time and effort in searching for a good used speakers, you can have a tidy and good sounding system that doesn't take up a lot of space for peanuts - enjoy and share it with your loved ones.

If you would like to add your best budget systems, I would be very interested in them...