Design an entire system for $800? ?

Twl, you could have saved us all this time if you'd just posted earlier. I hear that plastic clips softly, and produces mainly even-order harmonics. And the slate-blue color option is currently "in", fits nicely into period homes, etc. The classic white and piano black fit well in a modern urban setting.

I love it. Seriously, cheap + quick is a hard order to fill in hi-end, so I hope all the help you provide isn't dismissed quickly and cheaply as well. I've been there before.

Acoustic Energy Aegis One speakers (or whatever the latest gen of this speaker is called), inexpensive wooden speaker stands (like Sanus, you can find them by doing a Yahoo shopping search), 12 gauge speaker cable from Hoem Depot or Radio Shack, or any electronics store. And, drive the speakers with a combo minisystem like the Yamaha mentioned above by DK, or my favorite, the TEAC Ref 100 or Costco equivalent (store the little speakers that come with the minisystem in case he wants to give the system away later). $600-800.

I have hooked up the little TEAC to an old pair of Monitor Audio MD300's in my father-in-law's house, and it's very enjoyable. Depth, width, nice imaging - just lacks a little detail, which isnt always bad.

Nothing unreasonable about your cheap friend's request.

First you start with a Dynaco pat4 preamp , a dynaco st70 power amp, a pair of large Advents for speakers , a Dual 1219 Turntable some lamp cord for speaker wire , Oh my God what a flashback

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.