Looking for decent-sounding, inexpensive mini-system

[XB-70 Valkyrie]

This is just for a spare room that has no computer or other music source. I am looking for something in the $100 range with tuner, CD player, 3.5mm input, and hopefully also a USB input that will handle FLAC files. The first three features are a must. Any suggestions? I think in this price range, you can't go wrong with Sony (except I don't want stupid pumped-up bass!).

[Todd]

An Insignia shelf system comes to mind.  $120.  I have an older one (6-7 years old or so) that I use in a garage.  The model I have uses a comparatively beefy toroidal transformer and I now use the electronic section to power some Kef speakers to good effect.  It more than meets my needs for non-serious listening.  There are a number of similar setups available in the $150-200 range.

[XB-70 Valkyrie]

Thanks for the suggestion. I will look into it, but I am also looking at this. We have a very similar system in another room and it sounds surprisingly good for the size and price. This one has everything I need except FLAC compatability (via USB), but you can't have everything at this price point.

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-Stations-Equalizer-Wireless-Control/dp/B011VSKG2G/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1448067818&sr=8-3&keywords=sony+mini+system

[71 dB]

Why is it that it's ok to spend $500 on a smartphone that serves you a couple of years while $200 is too much when buying a sound system serving you 10 years or more?

I get that some people are broke, but why do they use a new shining iPhone if they are broke? There's $50 "dummy" phones available.

[lisa needs braces]

Why is it that it's ok to spend $500 on a smartphone that serves you a couple of years while $200 is too much when buying a sound system serving you 10 years or more?

I get that some people are broke, but why do they use a new shining iPhone if they are broke? There's $50 "dummy" phones available.

The mysteries of the human mind!

Smartphones signal social status, and they are devices you carry around and other people will notice. If your smartphone is too cheap, or even isn't a smartphone, people are afraid that others will think less of their economic circumstance. It's a "keeping up with the joneses" phenomenon when it comes to the smartphone market. You might have parents in a lower income household buying these devices for their kids, because their kids noticed other kids in school have them and then felt deprived.

The perfect middle ground is to wait back two or three smartphone generations and pick up a device from ebay for a couple of hundreds bucks or even less, especially now that the pace of development has slowed such that each new generation offers only tiny incremental improvements. I picked up a Moto X 2nd generation for $200 off of ebay, a year after it launched for $500, and this only because I had cracked my other phone.

[XB-70 Valkyrie]

Why is it that it's ok to spend $500 on a smartphone that serves you a couple of years while $200 is too much when buying a sound system serving you 10 years or more?

I get that some people are broke, but why do they use a new shining iPhone if they are broke? There's $50 "dummy" phones available.

Lemme tell YOU something pendejo...



First of all, I don't own a smartphone and have been using the same old POS Motorola (which was obsolete when I bought it) it for the last six years. That's how little I care about owning a mobile phone. I would not even own that if I didn't have to. I would not take an iPhone if you GAVE it to me. I detest telephones almost as much as I detest iTunes. 

Second of all, my main audio system (if not my tonearm) is likely worth more than your car (or whatver crap you own), and I want this third system for a spare room (can't you read??) that gets relatively little use. I am really not that picky about sound quality while doing other things. I would rather listen to Beethoven on a $15 battery powered radio (proud owner of a SONY ICF-S10 MK2) than listen to Kane West, Jayzee, or whoever TF is popular these days on a $200K Mark Levinson/Wilson system.

Third, I am far from "broke" because I don't buy stupid crap like iPhones, gas-guzzling Escalades, 55" TVs, or the like. I prefer to spend my money on CDs, LPs, wine, travel, and investing so I can retire early. 

If my budget allocation for this item does not meet with your approval, then you are cordially invited to go f......yourself.     

[Dancing Divertimentian]

First of all, I don't own a smartphone and have been using the same old POS Motorola (which was obsolete when I bought it) it for the last six years. That's how little I care about owning a mobile phone. I would not even own that if I didn't have to. I would not take an iPhone if you GAVE it to me. I detest telephones almost as much as I detest iTunes. 

Second of all, my main audio system (if not my tonearm) is likely worth more than your car (or whatver crap you own), and I want this third system for a spare room (can't you read??) that gets relatively little use. I am really not that picky about sound quality while doing other things. I would rather listen to Beethoven on a $15 battery powered radio (proud owner of a SONY ICF-S10 MK2) than listen to Kane West, Jayzee, or whoever TF is popular these days on a $200K Mark Levinson/Wilson system.

Third, I am far from "broke" because I don't buy stupid crap like iPhones, gas-guzzling Escalades, 55" TVs, or the like. I prefer to spend my money on CDs, LPs, wine, travel, and investing so I can retire early. 

If my budget allocation for this item does not meet with your approval, then you are cordially invited to go f......yourself.     

This post gets the Diamond® approval rating!

[71 dB]

Lemme tell YOU something pendejo...

My post was not about you, it was a generalization and it holds water in general. People are shallow.

Btw, I don't own a car. I use public transportation.

[North Star]

My post was not about you, it was a generalization and it holds water in general. People are shallow.

No, generalizations are.

[Brian]

No, generalizations are.

"All generalizations are wrong."

[Rinaldo]

The Internet: Where looking for decent-sounding, inexpensive mini-system gets you a debate about smartphones, social status and generalizations™.

[kishnevi]

On the main subject, I noticed Target has minisystems starting at $100 although I didn't notice if it has the 3.5 you mentioned.

For the record, my sound system is this

Which I got a few years ago from Sears for about $40.

[71 dB]

No, generalizations are.

My generalization is on point and far from shallow.

Panasonic SC-PM250 is on the price range.

[The new erato]

My generalization is on point and far from shallow.

Panasonic SC-PM250 is on the price range.

Well, as this is a sound system for a secondary and little used room, I understand that having a more expensive phone than sound system in it is reasonable.

But I am often slightly underwhelmed by the sound systems people use. I spend more time listening to music than driving, so well.....you get my drift.