trying to help my girl get the most for her money. she wanted to grab the bose system...
http://www.bose.com/controller?event=DTC_LINKS_TARGET_EVENT&DTCLinkID=2728&perfsourceid=k22350&src=k22350
because it's so compact and simple, but i know she can do better. any suggestions?
I'd start with a used Rega Planet CD player and an Antique Sound Labs MG SI 15DT (15W single-ended KT88 amp), and a pair of used monitors... but I don't know much about good monitors. I messed around with that amp in combination with my VR-4's, and I was amazed by those 15 tubed Watts... even managed to piss-off the neighbors!
Naturally, she'd have to be into owning something that was used and not be afraid of tubes (or getting up to adjust the volume). It'll certainly deliver a lot more magic than that overpriced BOSE thing. I had no idea it was so expensive.
There are also the Panasonic receivers which are pretty amazing, but not very "romantic."
I've never felt bose products were worth the money, nor that they sound particularly good. For $1400, you really have a lot of options. One thought would be the Sony STR-DA2000ES digital receiver and the toshiba 3960 dvd/cd player. You can probably get both of these for ~$600, leaving $800 for speakers. This would give you a lot of options, either with full size speaker towers or with bookshelves coupled with a subwoofer.
I've got Soliloquy SAT-5's paired with a Pinnacle babyboomer sub, which I picked up for about $900 for the set. I run those behind the 3960 and the Sony 3000ES (a bit more wattage than the 2000ES, but more or less the same thing). This is a really nice sounding system which I would really recommend, though it a bit more than her budget. It does give you an idea of what you could go for in the $1400 range.
The major shift is that this is not at all a small, compact solution which really might be more appealing to her than overall sound.
thanks guys. +ts