How cheap can you go and still be happy with the sound?

My first really good HiFi system limited by my budget back in 1977 was a Marantz 2270 receiver ($389 new), an Empire 698 TT ($375 new), MicroAcoustics 2002E cartridge ($100 new) and Infinity Monitor 1A speakers ($450 store demo’s). A very enjoyable system! Some months later I replaced the 2270 with an AGI 511 preamp ($430) and GAS Son of Ampzilla ($420) - both bought new at the store with the Infinity speakers. That was the start of my upgrade quest. Though if I had stopped there I would still be happy today!

IMO, this would qualify as a high quality (sonically) charity price hifi rig for any younger or older person w.r.t small room nearfield or midfield listening.

I am surprised that you have not repurposed a mansion somewhere so she could use that for her listening room.

I threw this together and turned out to be a killer el cheapie system:

yamaha a-s501 used $350

dayton audio outdoor IO8XTW speakers new $320/pair

pioneer blu-ray play new $350

AQ type 4 speaker cables $150ish

i listen to this strictly outside and is way more fun than my main rig. 

IF everything in my life went to SHIITE & I had to sell everything I own,I would hang on to my Motorola smartphone,loaded with about 1800 songs in FLAC & my HiFiMan "Deva Pro"Bluetooth headphones..Total investment,$230.00

Don't get me too wrong, I can sometimes kind of enjoy listening to iphone when I have nothing better at the moment.

Yes, this is audiophile forum and standards should be high enough. $10k is not much really.

@inna ...This is more along the lines of why i started this thread. In my case, i've never been able to enjoy the sound coming directly out of a phone DAC....with some dragonfly or similar dongle...maybe.

I am no longer able to enjoy music in a car. The noise floor is just too high. I recall being able to enjoy music in a car once upon a time.

But, there are a handful of things around a 1000ish dollar budget i am still able to appreciate when i hear it.

Assembling a great sounding system with a big budget shouldn’t be that hard.  Synergy between components and the room matters but at 5 figures and up you are probably going to get some decent sound even if you throw darts to pick the components.

  Building a satisfying system with a modest budget is a much greater challenge 

@mahler123 +500... I ended up spending an arm and a leg on the former before i knew enough to build the latter. I think most guys who've already spent an arm and a leg tend to stay there and probably never investigate any modest gear (pricewise) thereafter, unless if it was for a secondary rig or something. I can think of a few reasons why.