Hello All,
I am new to this website and forum and this is my first post here. I am virtually an audio novice (with the one exception of having a really nice pair of Klipsch CF-1 floor speakers back in college powered by a Sony A/V receiver.)
I have been reading alot of info the last week or so on Gizmodo.com about loudspeakers and stereo equipment as they are running a week long tribute to music (or something like that). Anyway, I have always been very into music, and am now ready to begin assembling a good audio system to do some serious listening. Hopefully you all can put me on the right path and provide some guidance.
Here are some of my objectives. I can't afford to assemble a great system, so I am settling for a good system, hopefully. I am not going for a home theater at this point, but it may evolve into that, Also, I am interested in small scale system so that I don't have multiple large speakers all over the living room, and so I don't have to add much to my already cramped entertainment center.
Basically, I want a simple two speaker setup and can do without a subwoofer for now. I think I want to to spend about $300ish on speakers, and I am pretty much set on a pair of Polk RTiA1 bookshelfs that have received glowing reviews, including from Stereophile. Of course i still plan to listen to them first and make sure my ears agree.
So here is the part that I am struggling with... I don't want to spend a whole lot on additional components. I currently have a Sony DVD/CD player that I can use if I need to, but ideally I would really like to find a single component, possibly a bookshelf or micro stereo unit that would have an AM/FM tuner, a CD player, and have enough internal power to drive the Polk speakers mentioned above to a decent degree without having to purchase a standalone amplifier, or A/V receiver. Although if an AV receiver is the only way, then I am at least hoping there might be some that are compact and not big bohemoths like I see on all the audio websites.
It seems like this may not be possible, but I wanted to check with you all. If a bookshelf or micro stereo isn't really enough to power these speakers, then do you have any suggestions on how to do this for not much money and maybe a single compact component?
Thanks for your help.