[Doublej]

TEAC CR-H227 Hi-Fi Mini Component System is a great little unit. It is showing up on Amazon at $230. As an alternative consider this Onkyo setup for less than $250.

http://www.onkyousa.com/model.cfm?m=CS-325&class=Audiosys&p=i

[charmerci]

Tell your buddy to go to wallyworld,get a $200.00 all in one player and pocket the rest of the cash.The wife will probably be happier than a pig in slop and so will he.

  

Plus - for that little extra security, he can also take her out to a not-too-expensive dinner too! ("I found a good deal on this so I can take you out for dinner!")

[Niteshade]

You have to look at this: http://cgi.ebay.com/KLH-KL-2400-2-Channel-Stereo-Tuner-Receiver_W0QQitemZ260549940018QQcmdZViewItemQQptZReceivers_Tuners?hash=item3ca9fc9332

I have one of these beasts and it's remarkable! The preamp isn't that good, BUT- it has jumpers for amp in and pre-out! 

The amp is very,very good. It uses a 300VA toroid. The circuit is a basic push-pull, sturdy reliable one rated for 100 watts/channel. I went inside and disconnected the front panel controls so the display remains black. (Easy to do- just unplug it.)

The anodized solid aluminum face plate & knobs are nifty for such a cheap thing. It's something to try and awesome for under $50.00. The amp is very efficient too. It has a respons eof 20-20,000hz and a THD rating of something like .01%.

Known issues: Sometimes the speaker protection relay needs replacing/burnishing on this model.

NOTE: Unlike most cheap receivers, this one has a removable bottom access plate! It's built quite nicely.