When Becky and I moved out of the South Bend apartment, we threw out Becky’s old stereo, whose speakers were pretty much shot (and whose tape-deck doors had been half-broken for years). So, we’re in the market for a new stereo. Thing is, I’m having a heck of a time finding one that suits our needs. Here are my requirements:
• Under ~$80, the cheaper the better
• Digital AM/FM radio tuner
• Auxiliary input
• Sounds decent, ideally with a bass boost of some kind
• A reasonably functional remote control
That’s it! That’s all I care about it! Is that so much to ask? These seem to me like pretty basic requirements for a stereo, even an inexpensive one. I’ve been to tons of local stores — Circuit City, Best Buy, Target, Wal-Mart, etc. — and they’ve got plenty of stereos for under $80. Yet every one I investigate seems to have a fatal flaw, whether it’s a crappy analog tuner or a lack of an auxiliary input. One even lacked a volume control on its remote! WTF? And then when I search on the Interwebs and find a stereo that seems to meet my needs, it invariably isn’t available in stores, which means I would have to buy online and pay for shipping, thus pushing the total cost out of my price range. Harumph.
Anyway, I’m just wondering if anybody has any recommendations. In addition to the requirements listed above, a tape deck would be nice, but is not essential. A halfway-decent equalizer would also be nice, but since the primary use of our stereo will be to stream music from our laptops via AirTunes, we can use the iTunes equalizer if need be. Also, I assume any stereo is going to have a CD player, though I don’t particularly care one way or the other; we have our computers for ripping CDs and playing them via iTunes.
As for the “sounds decent” requirement, I’m not some sort of major audiophile… if I were, I’d be willing to spend more money on a stereo! I just want something that doesn’t sound crappy. One thing to keep in mind is that Becky doesn’t tend to like her music or TV to be too loud, so it isn’t essential that our stereo be capable of booming sound. It just has to sound nice when we’re listening to music at normal volumes.
Thoughts? Suggestions?
P.S. If you think it’s simply impossible to suggest a “decent” stereo for under $80, then give me the least expensive answer you can think of. The budget’s not totally carved in stone, but at the same time, resources are limited (must… save… money… for… diapers), and I don’t want to pay extra for something that’s really more than we need.
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Categories: My Life
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June 25th, 2007 at 9:27:12 pm
There’s something special that will be introduced in November by that “computer company you love”. It’s a bit more than $80 but I think the your budget could stretch to fit it. May I suggest in exchange for a possible more expensive stereo system that you make a deal with Becky to give her foot massages.
June 25th, 2007 at 9:37:52 pm
Check out the Sony CMT line…they run in your price range and have everything you are looking for. Sony has never overly impressed me but these little systems are solid. Crutchfield has ‘em but I am sure some company on bizrate can beat CF by atleast 10%. Good luck!
June 25th, 2007 at 9:42:16 pm
If I was the judge I would not grant
him 54million but I would have at least
acknowlegded that wrong was done by giving him maybe 1000 dollars!!!Ive seen and heard of worse than this!!!
June 25th, 2007 at 10:00:05 pm
I am too much of an audiophile to suggest something under $80. I would hate myself.
June 25th, 2007 at 10:20:12 pm
I’m sure Little Loy will appreciate a nice stereo as well! Are you going to be one of those couples that pipes in Mozart all the time or will you go for a more diverse approach?
June 25th, 2007 at 11:06:27 pm
Hmm. I am intrigued by Nadine’s comment. :) But November is a long way away…
June 25th, 2007 at 11:14:31 pm
On a completely unrelated Mac issue, I just stumbled across this from MacDailyNews.com
http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/14029/
Think this could be the deal with the Powerbook?
June 25th, 2007 at 11:15:02 pm
Here’s the link to the source http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,133377-pg,1/article.html
June 25th, 2007 at 11:23:33 pm
Craigs list.
June 25th, 2007 at 11:53:19 pm
Hmm, my suggestions seem to be out of price range… The Tivoli Model two is a good option (we’ll assume you are not trying to fill a room with sound that is over 200 or 300 square feet, and not trying to drive the sound for massive party) If you are using AirTunes, a remote is really not necessary. The tuner on the system is really good and the audio fidelity is quite decent for the class of product. But that weighs in at two hundred bucks. But will put out a surprisingly good sound for it’s small stature.
Another good option is to pick up a T-Amp http://www.thinkgeek.com/electronics/audio/6cd8/ for about 30 bucks and tack it on to a pair of speakers that are on closeout at best buy. You should be able to find a decent pair of bookshelf speakers for around 100 bucks that are last years model - try best buy or circuit city: Polk Audio, or Canton or JBL or Cambridge sound works, or something. Again it won’t drive a rave but it will give you really decent sound at a good price — you should be able to come in at around 130. Down side of that is there is no tuner, you’d have to run the whole thing through airtunes.
June 26th, 2007 at 12:00:51 am
You might spend a little more, but AIWA makes a decent all-in-one in an inexpensive manner… I think you can probably get them at any electronics store.
Good luck!
June 26th, 2007 at 12:05:53 am
Yeah but surely you’ll also want it to include a Turntable.
:)
June 26th, 2007 at 12:14:41 am
Is a Turntable what you change a baby’s diapers on?….**just kidding**
June 26th, 2007 at 12:25:49 am
Here’s an article about what I consider the best stereo system available
[WAY more expensive than $80, but the technology is AMAZING]:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/16/HOG2CQEBUT1.DTL&hw=audio&sn=042&sc=748
June 26th, 2007 at 3:01:17 am
Just buy the cheapest P.O.S. you can for now, and save up for a good system. You can buy the good stuff one peice at a time starting with whatever is most important to you.
If you buy quality audio components, they’ll last you until you have grandchildren. Or at least until your kids can buy you replacements for Fathers Day.
June 26th, 2007 at 8:21:35 am
Take the one I offered to send you that used to be in the back bedroom…
June 26th, 2007 at 8:47:58 am
www.edealinfo.com has really good deals on surround sound and sometimes you can find a radio on there. It all depends on what deals there are available each day…it updates often so check it periodically.
June 26th, 2007 at 9:03:17 am
If you really just stream iTunes, and you have a small apartment, you could just hook up a pair of JBL Creature II speakers to your airtunes. They are really good sounding speakers for the money — only $54.96+free shipping at Amazon. (Even less if yo ugo for the Aluminum ones).
All that said, I will agree with Doc that good audio components will last a long long time, so it’s worth saving up, instead of continually repurchasing cheap systems.
June 26th, 2007 at 9:56:46 am
I would certainly not argue with Doc’s advice in this area. And spending money on speakers is money that is usually pretty darn well spent. A good set of speakers will last you through several sets of components. The technology really doesn’t change that much over time and some old speakers are actually constructed better than modern ones. If you can score a used set of Cantons say from Craig’s list or Ebay that really might be worth doing even if you attach them to a pos mini system you will get better sound. Don’t waste money on cables that are carrying digital signals, if it meets the spec it meets the spec and no amount of marketing mumbo jumbo will change that. The gauge of the speaker wire is dependent on just how much power the speakers you are driving actually need and if you are handy with a soldering iron there is no need to spend a fortune there either. As to audio cable I run industry standard balanced cable in my studio and I’m sure it would make Audiophiles cringe to know just how cheep the cable is (you know, around a buck or two a foot depending on certain factors) that is used to create the music that they then listen to on their 200 dollars a foot cable. Of course the Audiophiles don’t realize that if they just sprung for balanced components they too could use cheep cable and get better sound… So that said, I’m not really one to tell you if those fancy pants analogue audio and video cables from Monster are worth the cash–I’m pretty sure that my friend that is a broadcast systems designer for a major cable network would say, umm nope.
June 27th, 2007 at 12:14:03 am
“Is a Turntable what you change a baby’s diapers on?….**just kidding** “
Actually, Nadine, I seem to recall that I Did try that with the wee babby one time…yes I believe it was when I couldn’t find my favorite Tommy Makem vinyl LP and figured this might be the next-most-Roaringest thing…I was Right, by G*d…however when the Proverbial Pollutant hit the floorstanding Fan I had to abandon the whole dam’ Experiment…begob & that ould Centrifugueal force’ll Getyez every time… **just kidding** … :)
June 27th, 2007 at 12:35:14 am
As the great sage Billy Joel once wrote:
Don’t waste your money on a new set of speakers. You get more mileage from a cheap pair of sneakers.