Petland has a point. I have music playing in my outside work office all the time. It sounds great in there even thought the system if bought new would be under $500. I figure if it sounded really good I would be constantly distracted and would get no work done. Also since it is cheap I hope it won't get stolen. I have tweeked the cheap system a little with decent interconnects and a inexpensive Monster power conditioner. For notes the cheap work system and "what I paid used" is: Boston Acoustic HD5v Speakers ($50); Electrobrand full function FM/AM mini receiver (Taiwan) ($20); Fisher AD-235 Single CD Player ($20); CD Player connected with MIT PC Squared Interconnects ($25). Speaker connected with standard 16 AWG speaker wire ($10 new). So that's my workplace system for the price of a boombox ($125 total).
Horrific Confession and Question
While shopping for classical music in one of the mega retailers recently, I found myself quite carried away by whatever they were playing, finding the selection as well as the sound very pleasing. At the risk of never being allowed to post on this forum again, I am ashamed to admit that I discovered I was listening to BOSE mini speakers which were sticking out haphazardly from the ceiling. This leads me to wonder if background listening presents totally different challenges than focused, attentive listening. Against my audiophile background and judgement, I am wondering if I should install boomier "mid-fi" gear for multi room and entertaining guests when I renovate the house. Any thoughts?