http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1270245153&/Paradigm-9se-mk-III-tower-spea

http://cgi.ebay.com/Onkyo-Integra-Integr...=item2558b4fdb8

http://cgi.ebay.com.my/POWERFUL-ONKYO-IN...=item2a0306b5ad

You should be able to find a decent used CD player for about $100 or so.

We're talking about $600 total. 100 very well testicled (cojones) wpc*, and 4(x)8" woofers. That should be enough balls for a dorm room.

* watts per channel. This particular amp is built like a tank. About 30-32lbs for the amp, alone.

man, dont mess with a "big system"

you can get more bang for the buck putting together a nice headphone rig for your budget. you can have a damn killer one, too, for well under a grand.

AKG 701s or Senn HD600/650 into a nice headphone amp(like the core sound headline, Musical Fidelity XCAN, hundreds of others)? hell.. I promise you that no "full size" system you throw together for the same budget will come close.

also..a dorm room isnt the greatest place to be listening to a hifi system due to all the noise, the size of the room, etc.

get a cans rig, seriously....

Since you like your dad's PSB Images you could consider PSB Image B25s with PSB SP-25i stands for $400.

http://www.stereophile.com/budgetcomponents/1204psb/index.html

And since you seem to like the Harman Kardon receiver your dad uses you could look into the Harman Kardon HK3390 for $220.

http://hometheaterreview.com/harman-kardon-hk-3390-stereo-receiver/

You're in for $620 without a source, and these pieces should be relatively easy to move.

What are your sources of music you are considering? CDs? Vinyl? iPod? PC?

Quote:
Thanks a lot. I probably should add that I usually only listen to classical (choral and symphonic) and jazz music; does that change your suggestion, or are those speakers good for this kind of music?

then the speakers might be different and that depends on the volume levels you desire.

That might make for a whole 'nuther set of requirements.

Quote:
Thanks a lot. I probably should add that I usually only listen to classical (choral and symphonic) and jazz music; does that change your suggestion, or are those speakers good for this kind of music?

Hi Rex.
Thanks for joining the forum.

The PSBs love classical and jazz, and whatever speakers you decide to go with will almost certainly sound better than your $50 computer speakers, so I think you'll be alright. I use the PSB Alpha B1.

Our editor, John Atkinson, wrote:

Quote:
If you are a classical-music lover with a small room and an equally small budget, a pair of PSB's Alpha B1s is just what you need.

Maybe that'll be true for you. The Alpha B1s are small, light, and work well in small spaces.

Have fun and good luck.

You can get PSB Alpha B1 B-stock right now for $189/pair.

For a dorm room, I (and my college freshman) recommend Audioengine 5 speakers. $349. No amp or receiver necessary, they're self-powered. Run the laptop into the speakers, et voila!
(and can run a cd/dvd player into it and an iPod) (and it charges the iPod too) http://www.audioengineusa.com

Quote:
Thanks for all the feedback. How big is the difference between the Alpha B1 and the Image B25? I looked at PSB's website and they have new Image bookshelves (B4, 5, and 6). Does anyone know how those compare to the B25 and B1?

The Image B25 will reach noticably lower than the Alpha B1 (45 Hz vs. 65 Hz -3dB and 40 Hz vs. 55 Hz -10dB). I would think the sound quality would be noticably better with the Image B25 than the Alpha B1. The new PSB Image B6 will be considerably more expensive than the Image B25 and will have a marginal improvement in sound. The AudioEngine A5s would be an elegant solution to the dorm room application; while sounding different, they would compare favorably in sound quality to Image B25s and a good receiver or amp.