[Oggranak]

My friend's mom wants an all-in-one for listening to CDs. According to my friend, she doesn't have enough technological know-how to put anything together, so this will need to be really simple, and under $200. What is the best for these specifications?

 

[ickysmits]

 http://www.dakmart.com/product_info....oducts_id=6545

 

[Oggranak]

Thanks for the response. I'll research that option, though I'd like to see what its competition is. Can anyone recommend anything else around the $200 mark?

 

[ickysmits]

You should look around - I just threw that one out there only because I saw it recently. It sounds like you're just looking for a "mini-system" or a "shelf system" and there should be many for $200 or less. Just make sure it comes with a decent pair of speakers.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_e?...s=shelf+system

http://www.accessories4less.com/make...m-BLACK/1.html

 

[Oggranak]

The speakers matter, of course, but surely the quality of the DAC/amp in the CD player matter quite a bit as well? I don't know much about speakers, but I know a thing or two about headphones and I know that source and amp quality is very important. I would assume this would matter just as much or more with a speaker setup. I'm just not sure how much it matters in such a low-end system.

 

[ickysmits]

I'm not really sure but I would assume that an Onkyo or Denon mini system would be pretty good in that price range. Maybe you could get better information from the folks in the "2 channel audio" section. They might have some better ideas too.