Help me put a system together for under $1k.

With responses like "give him the 1k and let him figure it out. otherwise he learns nothing" and "I agree. ask your son. Chances are he knows what he wants and what will work in the life he lives in. The best place to start is with respect.", it's no wonder the HIFI dealers are quickly going out of business being replaced by small home theater dealers which in turn are also going out of business. Pretty soon there will be nothing left but BestBuy and Circuit City. If this hobby is to have any chances of survival, it is our duty to teach the youngsters everything we know about HIFI, keep them involved and interested in music both current and of the past. It does not take much effort to go and buy any system off the shelf from local electronics store, but the rewards and memories of picking your own first system with your Dad and then enjoying the great sounding music for years to come are priceless. Don't you guys have any memories of your childhood where your parents actually participated in something that was important to you? Those memories do not fade away!

I think you're on the right track with your original ideas. The 540A integrated would probably be ok too especially as your son will likely be using his system in small rooms for years to come. I'm wondering if he might want a tuner. A lot of young people listen to radio frequently. If so a nice receiver along the lines of the Denon DRA-395 might be a good choice (there is a review in the product reviews you could check). I'd also consider a dvd player for a digital source. Most kids like video and the ability to play concert dvd's might be a welcome feature. A system like a Cambridge/Denon amp/receiver, Epos speakers and say a Pioneer multi-format dvd might be just the ticket and leave some bucks left over to get some starter source material too! Anyway I think your son is a pretty lucky young man and I hope you guys enjoy choosing and playing his new system.
Gary

In a 2004 Absolute Sound editorial entitled, "The industry that shoots itself in the foot," Robert Harley put together a musical system that was near your price range. Hope this helps you out.
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/tas/150/editorial.htm
millikeith

This is REALLY good thread, Flyski. I was thinking to do the same thing for my son as well. My initial thinking is that as it has pointed already, the key thing is what he uses as source, iPOD & notebook. So everything must start from there. Has any one audtioned the Gini system designed with iPOD in mind with tubes? I have only seen it magazines so far but seems to be encouraging,and the looks are likely to be attractive to some one has a MAC and IPOD. Price?

Henryhk, I suggested something similar to what you did, but I don't think Flyski is open to that option. I think he has his mind made up on using traditional gear. Nothing wrong with that, but it completely ignores the state of modern electronics in today's society and most importantly what his son might want. One thing nice about the Gini is that the maker seems to deal in high end gear. Hopefully, the approach would be nicer than say if Logitech was making it.