TheEntryLevel-ML-22874-ML-

Hey all, this is my first real setup. I'm a college student with an hourly wage job, so it gonna be cheap. I will be using it almost strictly for playing music from my iMac. Based on my limited research so far this is the setup I'm considering:

Sony STR-DE197 - $134.99
Polk Audio Monitor 30's - $179.99

How does this look? I'll be in a small apartment, so I don't need anything huge.

I have a few additional questions:

Keith Howard's article on speaker load made my head spin. I don't think I have the slightest clue what he said. This is what I got out of the article:

1. Greater impedance is easier to drive than lower impedance.
2. Lower phase angle (not quite sure what that is) is better than a steep one.
3. Greater impedance with lower phase angle is best
4. Low impedance with steep phase angle is worst.
5. High power, high current amplifiers can drive a wider range of speakers than lower current amps.

TheEntryLevel-ML-22852-ML-

As someone who is relativelty new to hi-fi I was wondering if some board members could post a short primer on turntables and vinyl. For example some of the things I am interested in learning about: brands to look at- how much to invest in a cartridge-difference between 180g and 200g vinyl and what vinyl provides as opposed to CD's. I am thinking about vinyl but don't know where to start?