I need your advice on system for a non-audiophile

WOW! Thanks to all of you for the great suggestions. I have to find out if she needs a tuner or other source other than CD. I like the NAD, Marantz or Cambridge integrated idea but it may have to be a receiver.

To be honest, I really don't like doing this for this type of user (it's not helping a friend I dislike but the "expectation" that I am an "expert" in this market). I worry that what she thinks is "good sound quality" may be different than what I would think $1,000 should best be spent on. The problem is getting that friend with an untrained ear to be able to ariculate what she is looking for. The difficult part is the potentially different meanings two people, not in the same hobby, may ascribe to the terms or words used to describe their preferences.

It may seem I am over-analyzing this but this is for a bright 50-something work friend/colleague who really is looking to me for help but is who also not as able as she would normally be in defining exactly what she is looking for (except what you see above).

Too bad she has "tiny little speakers" she is not that happy with as I could have just told her to buy Bose Acountimass!!! LOL!

One thing you could do, if there's one around that you trust, is take her to a brick and mortar dealer that has some entry-level components like the ones mentioned above. That way, you can let her hear for herself and determine if that's the sound she likes. I have done that with quite a few non-audiophile friends in the past, and all of them are still quite happy with their systems 10 years later. The key to this is a dealer that you trust; I'm fortunate enough to have a few in the area that meet that criterion.

Rprince,

The SADDEST part about your great advice is that it never entered my mind because the brick & mortar guys are so rare these days. BUT, we do still have a few in the Detroit metro area (we may not have jobs or viable auto manufacturers right now but we DO have a few audio dealers still kickin).

Thanks for turning the light on for me.

Personally, if she already has a receiver but doesn't care for it any more, I'd think she might want to stick to that sort of thing.

They do afford one a lot of flexibility.

I'd say go with an Oppo player like a 980 so she can play any disc she wishes. $175 new. I do like mine a lot.

A close out on an Onkyo HT receiver in the $400 rang or so would be really nicee

A pair of NHT, PSB, Phase Tech OR Canton speakers for 200-300. Maybe even Totem Arroe ?

Blue Jeans cables to fill out the wires.

the Oppo 980 I have connected to my Sony ES rec is a good fit.... the ES line in Sony used to be a very good line, the Onkyo is the more musical of the two IMHO, but the Sony ES has the edge over the HT aspect.

Setup is easy and once done she can just point and shoot.

The receiver option will allow the use of a tuner, the cable box, the multi format disc player, CD, DVD, TV, and about anything else she might want to add later on... sources, amps, more speakers, sub, etc.

Most of my friends equate loud with good. Big bass, big sound. Few if any care to see into the music very deeply. All of them especially the women, want a simple and easy access too, hence the one player thought.

Buying speakers used isn't especially harrowing or troublesome, especially if they're 2 way monitors, they pack and usually ship very well. Depending on the weight, a receiver too shouldn't be too much of an issue, if it has orig packing. this method could allow her to step into the HDMI class and there's little simpler than using HDMI interfaces... plus it's a help against future proofing her system.

Those itty bitty speakers can be used as surroubnds by snipping off the RCA connectors and adding some #12 spool wire... or larger. I used Vampire #8 with great results for a long time. Violin! A decent HT setup too! Well.. an HT setup anyhow.

She gets the whole magilla that way… music and movies for around a grand!

My first system was 1K and almost exactly what tpreaves describes (though with the equivalents of 13-14 years ago). If I had it to do over again I'd do the exact same thing.

NAD integrated, NAD CD player (if she wants them to match; Oppo if she doesn't), and front-ported monitors for ease of placement (I used the KEF Q15--a fantastic speaker with a lovely midrange that sounds good all over the room, available used for around $200). That setup kept me happy for 10 years, till I started upgrading.

NAD's entry level amps are great and easy to keep as a foundation if she wants to upgrade later--and very reliable. A C325BEE would be about $300 on the 'Gon, and might be better long term than the C315BEE new. The C515 player is supposed to be quite good, though in that price range it's probably the one thing I'd want to buy new for the warranty. Cables from Markertek are a good cheap option, too.

Having owned Marantz and NAD at that price point, I'd strongly recommend NAD on build and sound quality.