looking for a basic/modest CD bookshelf system (with FM) - integrated

[Rooster_Ties]

First, I must confess I've always put all my discretionary spending money in music (mostly CD's, a few LP's) -- and rarely into stereo equipment.  I certainly don't fault those who do otherwise, but please know I'm not looking for the "highest" high-end equipment.  That said, decent sound would be nice of course, but my wife and I live in a small apartment, and my definition of "decent" may be a different than the norm around here.

 

We had a nice-ish multi-disc player, that also played DVD's (a JVC, iirc), but it finally bit the dust a couple months ago.  Ideally I'd like to replace it with something similar, but I'm not wed to having DVD capabilities (we rarely watch DVD's, and can easily look at them on our laptop).  And I don't own even one Blueray, so you can see where my priories are (in terms of visual media).

 

So, the things I would like, in priority order, are:

 

• CD player - could be a single-disc player, but a 3-disc multi-disc player would be OK too.  Don't need a 5-disc (or 6 disc) player, and multi-disc is really not a huge priority.
• FM receiver - not an absolute requirement, but it would be nice to put on NPR in the other room (we currently only listen on an old clock-radio, and a very simple single-CD/FM bookshelf system in our bedroom.
• Optional, but nice, would be to be able to hook my iPhone into the system, to play Pandora or other steaming music (from my phone), through the system.  Not an absolute requirement, but if it were an easy feature to get, I'd be tempted.

 

And that's basically it.  So, I could easily go with a really basic BOSE Wave Music System IV, to be honest.  And although separate (bookshelf-size) speakers is fine (and what I had most recently had separate speakers) -- the size of our (small) apartment means that a Bose would probably be just fine too (our apartment is only one bedroom, and 630 square feet total -- and the living room/dining room/kitchen really feel like one big room (and only the bedroom is really separate).

 

I've been to a couple retail places, and (as you can imagine), the choices are EXTREMELY limited for stereo systems that play CD's.  (But I still own about 3,000 CD's, and buy about 50-60 more each year -- down from 150-200 per year when I was at my worst, like 15 years ago.)

 

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.  Very much appreciated??

 

Oh, budget.  Well, I'm a cheapskate, so whatever it costs, I'm sure it's gonna be at least double what I think I ought to be spending.  That said, I also know you get what you pay for too (I'm a firm believer in that, despite my cheapskate-leanings).  So absolutely has to be well less than $1,000 -- and frankly, something closer to $500-$600 would be appreciated.  Don't know if that's grounded in reality (the Bose is $500, and I know that's a little high for what it is), so surely $600 ought to be the top.

 

I haven't bought a new system in probably 12-14 years, and never paid more than $300-$350 for my prior (integrated) bookshelf systems -- if that gives any sort of indication.  But I realize 10-15 years ago was a long time ago, and I know prices will have gone up (and there's probably not much in the way of mid-range quality stereos any more -- it's probably all "more than reasonably good" or else "crap" (with little in between).

 

Just imagine you're wanting to buy something for your office, or den -- not your "main" system -- what would you get these days?  Thanks again!

[mjzee]

Have you considered using your laptop as part of your system?  It already has a CD player (a casual perusal through Amazon showed no 3-disc players on sale).  You could then plug in a set of powered speakers.  As for your iPhone, if the powered speakers can receive Bluetooth, you could play from the iPhone that way.  Finally, re FM, use an app on your iPhone such as TuneIn Radio.

As for which speakers, if you don't have a suitable store near you, you're left with reading Amazon reviews.  For example, this has some good reviews (I haven't heard them), and there are many others.  Bose is also a good way to go, and if there's a Bose store in a mall near you, you could hear how they sound.  Just some thoughts.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

Denon makes a couple of nice "micro" units, the D-M40SBK and the (discontinued but currently still available) D-M39S. Both have a built-in CD player and FM tuner. The D-M39S seems more in line for your iPhone as there are a couple of comments that it works with them.

Amazon sells the D-M39S for $398.88: http://www.amazon.com/Denon-D-M39S-Component-Discontinued-Manufacturer/dp/B008PQAB3C/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

and the D-M40SBK for $479: http://www.amazon.com/Denon-DM40SBK-D-M40-Ultimate-System/dp/B00ZVBMF10/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462969301&sr=8-1&keywords=denon+dm40

FWIW, if I were doing this, I would look at the PS Audio Sprout integrated amp (with a Phono input for only $500) and build from that. You can get a decent pair of bookshelf speakers and a small CD player for ~$500 and stay under your $1K budget. And you can hook up a laptop as mjzee mentioned above and play all your apps. Plus, if somewhere in the future you decide you want a turntable, you have that phono input.