$1500 Mini System?

Any other suggestions?

Don't get carried away. A nonaudiophile would be better off starting simple. The NAD Music System gives them a passable CD, a tuner, and a nice little pair of PSB Alpha Minis that they don't have to worry about placement for. All for $800. It wouldn't satisfy 99% of the folks who read this board, but that's not who you're trying to please. It's got a line input and a tape loop so it's quite expandable. (They could add a powered subwoofer, for example.) Just let them get used to something better than they've had before you start throwing esoterica at them. (And, hey, Snowball, nobody spending $1500 on a complete system should buy anything better than Radio Shack wire. Put your money where it matters.) If you want to go something better, I'd stick to NAD or Rotel electronics. As for speakers, never trust reviews, let alone newsgroup posts. Go out and listen to everything you can find and make up your own mind.

These are my picks: NAD c340 integrated amp: $320.00 from Sound City or Happy Medium Cambridge Audio D500 24/96 cd player: approx $425 Audio Research Aegis One speakers: $300 (don't be misled by the price: read the reviews, LISTEN to them - they are nothing short of phenomenal) Decent Stands: approx $100 DH Labs Silver Sonic Interconnect: $80 DH Labs Silver Sonic Speaker Cables: appprox $100. So, there you go : an honest, clean-sounding and punchy system for $1325, with money left over for what is really important - the music. Good Luck!

I'd go for either a Denon DM 10 system: great looks, although a touch bright, gorgeous looking, and pair that with B&W DM 602, or I'd buy a TEAC Reference 300, also gorgeous looking, and partner that with some of the bigger Mission speakers. Both systems are very user-friendly, real mini-systems, sound pretty good (for the money) are reliable and backed-up by companies with a reputation for good service (at least in my experience). Oh, and like Srama says, save some money for the music....

The original premise said nothing about the type of music to which he/she wants to listen. I listen to mostly classical, and favor Maggies. I just got a pair of MMGs to compare to my 3.5Rs, and I am amazed at how good they sound. They don't have the bass of the biggies, but otherwise are very good, IMHO. I think they would be good in the subject system, but I wouldn't know what amp to recommend, since the Maggies aren't very efficient. The Rotel 951 would probably be a suitable CD player, but there's not much left for an amp after that. Any thoughts about an amp? MMGs would require a fair amount of "urge". Maybe a good used 85-100W?