Design an entire system for $800? ?

The key for someone like this is to keep the electronics costs to a minimum. You can sometimes buy a 2-channel receiver and a CD player made by a company you've actually heard of from a place like J&R for well under $300. That leaves you $500+ for speakers, with plenty of choices from the likes of Paradigm, PSB, B&W, etc. (Speakers are personal and room-dependent, so I wouldn't begin to recommend them, but these the manufacturers are well thought of, so they're a good place to start.)

And I think a few posters here owe you an apology.

I second the Acoustic Energy EVO 1's. Great line, great value. Just used EVO 3's in a system for someone else.

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