$1500 for a whole system, budding audiophile

Macrojack (and to the OP) - My post was a response to EBM. I hate that elitist BS
(not that I'm one of the "Occupy Wall Street knuckleheads, either). I did not
intend any sort of mockery of the OP's budget. Sorry for any offense to the OP
my attempt at wit caused. I think $1500 carefully spent on used could buy a
nice sounding entry level system. I'd probably spend $750 on speakers, $500
on amp and $250 on a CDP...or something close to that prioritization-wise.

Patrick - a quick 5 minute check of used items here on A'gon using the $
allocated as I suggested found: Meadowlark Kestrel, a couple of Vandersteens
and Klipsch speakers in the $750 range; a Plinius 8200 MkII for $500; a Denon
DVD3D910, Sony DVPS7700 and NAD C516BEE for $200-$250. OK...not
necessarily "careful" but intended as "proof of concept".

+1 Lou_setriodes
Not everyone has more money than brains. We should be encouraging more people to get into this hobby at what ever level they can afford to get in at, not mock them for not having enough money to be a "true audiophile".

Just to clarify my intentions. I am not a college student, nor am I seeking advice for a particular "college student" I'm 38 years old and have had an interest in audio and video since my early teens. Most of my focus was put into A/V systems in my 20s and early 30s, having lived in apartments and condos until 6 years ago. When I moved to a single family home I finally had the room to set up a 2 channel system, something I had wanted to do for a long time. I haven't updated my current system on my member profile for some time, but the equipment I had was my newbie 2 channel stuff from 5 years ago. When I look back at the equipment I have purchased over the years (several old components in various states of repair stacked in my basement) I realize many of the choices I made satisfied a desire at that time, but my money could have been spent more efficiently with items I could include in an upgrade path, later as part of a secondary system, or could recover maximum value on resale. When I look at the equipment that's out now and include my knowledge about where to spend my money, upgrade paths, etc I wish I could go back to my 15 year old self and say, forget about that Dolby Pro-Logic Receiver and get yourself a clean vintage Sansui... I thought this would be a fun exercise because I think we all would have changed our path if we could go back.

Patrickrealtor76; I'm actually doing this right now for an office system. When I'm finished, I'll have about $1500 in it. Earlier this spring I couldn't pass on a super clean pair of Boston Acoustics A200s for $300 so those are my speakers. However, I just went out and checked my CL and found M&K, B&W, Polk Monitor 10b, Paradigm, Thiel, and PSB speakers; all reasonably priced and some appear to be in excellent condition. I have a Coda Model 10 amp and a Brick Wall surge protector. Now I'm just trying to decide the source. I tested an Oppo 103 direct to the amp which sounded decent at moderate volumes, but not as good at low volumes. And since it is an office where I'm supposed to work, I need something that sounds good at low volume levels. So now I'm thinking about a DAC/preamp. I'll probably give the Emotiva DC-1 and the Monarchy Audio 18B a listen next. I like the idea of the dual mono design of those DACs.