$1500 system for a friend

 Used equipment:

1.  Sherwood 7100 or 7100A receiver (about $100 on eBay).

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Sherwood-S-7100A-Japan-AM-FM-Stereo-Receiver-Tested/382999595665?hash=item592c8e0a91:g:wlgAAOSwdkxc~oJz

If you want tubes, look for a nice Fisher 400 receiver in place of the Sherwood receiver. Here's a Fisher 400 in excellent shape for $495 plus shipping:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Fisher-400-Vintage-FM-Stereo-Tube-Receiver/123871672928?hash=item1cd753ba60:g:WNoAAOSwl-ddUHd5

2.  Pioneer Elite DVD player (about $100 on eBay) Have a tech upgrade with premium caps. Total cost should be in the $300 to $400 range.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Pioneer-elite-DV-05-DVD-CD-Player-With-remote-TESTED-THX-dvd-player/264404510245?hash=item3d8fbca625:g:O3wAAOSwPlhdM0LK

3.  One pair of Audioengine HDP6 Passive speakers, new ($399).

https://audioengineusa.com/shop/passivespeakers/hdp6-passive-speakers/

4.  Here's a nice pair of speaker stands that I found on eBay for under 50 bucks.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Sanus-BF24B-24-Inch-Speaker-Stands-Pair-OpenBox/123874704924?epid=4022910308&hash=item1cd781fe1c:g:8HAAAOSwtYJdVDBH

Speaker and interconnect cables. Your choice to fit the budget. 

This will make a very nice system that plays emotionally involving music.

So, this totals up to $950 so far not counting wires.  $1,350 if you go with the Fisher 400. The Fisher would be my choice, however, the Sherwood is a very fine sounding receiver.

 
Frank

Canare, Belden and Mogami speaker cables and interconnects can be had for a very reasonable price from Blue Jeans, Markertek and Redco, among others.

@zavato how about a Marantz M-CR612 (all-in-one CD player plus streaming integrated amp) plus a pair of Internet-direct speakers (e.g. SVSound, Emotiva, Ascend Acoustics, Aperion Audio, etc.)?