My 15 x 24 bedroom system is a great mix of old and new, mostly old, and features analog and digital sources. I have a donated Gateway computer with 11,000 flac files, a $300 Sansui 8080DB that sounds magnificent with my $300 Klipsch Forte I's, a near-mint AR-XA I recently picked up for $100, a Sony XDRF-1HD giant-killer HD tuner for $85, and a Pioneer CT-F4242 to play my 1000+ cassettes for $20. Let's see, that comes in around $805 give or take, and even if I had $200 in the computer I'd still be right around $1000. I have other various vintage components to swap in and out (as much as I love the idea of high-end gear, realistically I may never afford the first bit) and I've never been more satisfied than I am now. System #2? A donated Compaq with 3500 flac files, a Sansui 771 ($200 after recapping and service), a near-mint Philips GC-312 TT ($75), JBL SUB150 ($50), any one of 6 speaker rigs from $10 to $100 (AR, Infinity, Ohm, Cerwin Vega, A/D/S, Polk), and any one of 4 CD units costing no more than $50 (Sony, Onkyo, Pioneer). I couldn't be more pleased, and this entire list of gear came together in just over a year of diligent Craigslist shopping in the fair metropolis of St. Louis, MO. Interconnects and speaker wire courtesy of Home Depot...I definitely play Cheap and Cheerful with a bang.
