Just getting started

Sure. For example, right now the following items are available on Audiogon or down the street:

NAD C340 integrated amp - $300
Opera Duetto speakers - $395
Cal Audio Lab DX-1 CD Player- $200

Add in some Radio Shack Gold ICs and RS heavy speaker wire and it'd come in under $1,000.

A couple of "upgrades" to consider are the the Jolida 202A integrated tube amp ($415) and Soliloquy 5.0 speakers ($645) (they're factory blems) currently being advertised.One caveat: I do not have a great deal of experience with any of these products. Unheard and based solely on the reputation of the gear, I'd lean toward the Jolida based my preferences for clarity and accuracy. If you rock and roll there are some NHT 1.5s that would match up well with the NAD.

But to answer the question directly, yes, a reasonable system can be put together for ~$1,000 if one is willing to buy used and wait for the right gear at the right price to come along.

There is a feature on this site to build a virtual system based upon current blue book values of components.
If you go back to main page, click on LEARN, click on Virtual systems, you may have some fun seeing what you can do on your budget.
My advice? Save the fancy cables for later, later upgrades. I would focus on the basics: amp, preamp, cd player and speakers for now. Once you get the bug, the cables will come into play after you've upgraded your amp for the 3rd time! :-) Welcome to the wacky hobby. Beware, it is vERy HabiT forMing!

I just put together a sweet and perky office system with a Rega Planet CDP($400 used,audiogon), Rega Brio Integrated($400,demo audiogon), Wharfedale Diamond 7.2 speakers ($125,new eBay) plus some decent basic unused interconnects and speaker cables that I had about(approx.$125 used value)-total <$1100.
It may not be the most revealing or spectacular of systems but it does everything fundamentally correctly and is emotionally engaging and tuneful.The bottom line is that everything else is just gravy.
Best,
Ken

And boy, oh boy ... making gravy has never been more fun.

Hi Cumby, welcome to Audiogon. Very good advice from all above. I wish I could be of help but I do not know enough about products in this price range. I have many ICs and speaker cables laying around that you are welcome to try out. I am not a dealer and I am not trying to sell you anything. In fact you would be doing me a favor. Best of luck to you. Email me thru member look up.