One step up from entry-level?

Jadem6: Oops, let me rephrase that. I did not mean to endorse Circuit City as a retail establishment, and I thoroughly agree about the potential (not always realized) for specialty shops to provide better advice and service. The thread was about brands, not stores, and what I meant to say was that for budding audiophiles on a very tight budget, the more established electronics brands carried by big boxes, combined with a better-quality speaker that doesn not impose too severe a load, would be a reasonable way to go.

Mark: If I were advising someone with a tight budget, I'd tell them to go ahead and buy their electronics from Circuit City (sticking to the established brands--Sony, Pioneer, etc.). But splurge a bit on speakers: B&W, PSB, Paradigm and other brands make a number of models that even a Technics receiver can drive quite well. Not the ultimate, but we're not talking about the ultimate here. And people who haven't shopped the low end in a while would be surprised by just how capable cheap Japanese boxes can be. (Note, I said "CAN be.") We're not talking Bryston here, but the gap--while real--is smaller than you might imagine.