Design an entire system for $800? ?

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.

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