I fixed my boys up with NHT M-OO monitors w/ S-OO sub and old NAD preamps attached to their computers. Speakers and monitors are internally powered. Both systems sound quite good but I seldom hear either one because the boys use their Grado headphones instead.
Save yourself headaches and expense by starting him with a decent pair of headphones and a preamp with headphone jack. He'll dig the privacy and you will remain safe from his music choices. All kids are used to digital music banks and will choose them as preferred sources. Hard copies of music will never be obsolete because of eccentric collectors and hard core hobbyists but they aren't in the plans of most of our children.
Save yourself headaches and expense by starting him with a decent pair of headphones and a preamp with headphone jack. He'll dig the privacy and you will remain safe from his music choices. All kids are used to digital music banks and will choose them as preferred sources. Hard copies of music will never be obsolete because of eccentric collectors and hard core hobbyists but they aren't in the plans of most of our children.