Design an entire system for $800? ?

I posted this not to pass the buck but to make sure I was giving good advice in this price range. I try with any person who will lend an ear, to get them interested in high end. I do this for several reasons. To help my local dealer, insure there is a market for quality stuff, and to hopefully see them one day looking to up grade(helping the used market). Outside of hanging out in the local salon I have never meet an audiophile in my daily life. And try to tell someone with my meager income that $2000 dollars for an amp is a bargain,is meet with some odd remarks at best. High end is a learning process. You can't really tell someone what timber, soundstage, or imaging is. It is like describing color to the blind. As for him to search the used market having never heard quality equipment would be like telling someone who has drivin nothing but a bicycle to shop for a used car. Thank you to everyone, hopefully one day I can turn one person into a true audiophile and help our numbers grow. Louis

Follow - up Thats what I spent for my first audio system see above it was nearly 30 years ago and it seemed like a kings ransom I was so proud. Let us remember its the music not the hardware that makes this hobby what it is, so if you listen on a table radio, a walkman , or a full blown state of the art system enjoy the performance, as blasphemous as it sounds spend $400 on a system and take the other $400 and spend it on some live music performances
It may seem odd but I dont ever remember reflecting as much about a recording I heard as I did about a live performance I heard . The live performances are what gives us the baseline we use to judge everything else, just a thought.

goto http://www.jandr.com. Teac Ref 300 receiver for $299 or TEA AGH500 Ref 500 receiver $369.
Speakers:
Acoustic Energy Aegis EVO 1 $300 or the older Aegis 1 $200.
B&W DM601 series 3 $450 (ask for 10% discount)
B&W DM303 for $350 or so
Monitor Audio Bronze 1 $299
Souind Dynamics RTS-3 $250

Well Seajungle:

If I were stranded on an island, and I didn't have nothing but $2,000.00 to try to live on until I had other means of income, and if I wanted to build me a stereo system on the cheap, here's how I would go about it.

Speaker System: Sound Dynamics RTS-3 -- $200.00 (Pair).

Integrated Amplifier: NAD C350 -- $450.00 (New) or $250.00 to $300.00 (Used..... depending on whether it is in mint condition or not).

CD Player: Sony DVP-NS500V -- $150.00 (your friend should be able to get this one at this closeout price at your local Best Buy or Circuit City)(with this player, he will be able to have a DVD Player, a CD Player, and an SACD Player all in one player)(he can listen to his existing CD collection, look at a movie every once in a while (provided he hook up a TV), and try out an ocassional SACD every once in a while....... originally retailed for $300.00 when it was brand new).

Cables: Audioquest, Cardas, Monster Cable, or MIT (and in either case, the cables I would get from these manufacturers would be the entry-level models in their lines..... should be no more than $100.00 tops).

Power Conditioner: A Radio Shack model would be fine for this system. Shouldn't cost no more than $50.00 tops.

This would be the system I would put together right now if I either had no desire to shoot for the "state-of-the-art", or if I wanted a stereo right now, but did not have the money to otherwise put together a good one (not to say the one I've listed above isn't good...... so no pun was intended).

System Price -- $850.00 to $1,000.00 (depending on whether or not you buy some items used, and whether or not your friend cares about using quality cables or power conditioning).

Good Luck.......

--Charles--

This one is right in my wheelhouse. Tsugury and MWilson are both correct. The Cambridge CD player has uneven QC (I had to try three to get one that would open and close and spin, etc. Kind of makes you wonder about ISO9002) But it was worth it. The player sounds really good for the price.

For an amp, I would use an entry level 50-80 WPC power amp with level controls, e.g. the Audiosource AMP 2, about $300 new. Short signal path and great upgrade possibilities. I ran a CD direct into a Parasound HCA-500 for years and it sounded WAY good for the money. You can buy that amp for $100 here or on eBay.

For speakers, there are obviously many, many options. PSB Image 1B would work. Or, if you went with the Sony DVP-NS500V that others are recommending and the used Parasound, you could get the little Triangles. Sweet.

For inexpensive interconnects, I have found the Kimber PBJ's most satisfactory (about $70) and the 14 or 16(?) gauge Monster Cable is OK for speaker wire in a short run. Enjoy and don't be discouraged by the negative postings. You can get a pleasant sounding, reasonably balanced, system for less than a grand.