Gary wrote:
I think it depends on how much you are spending as regards the importance of
names. A cheap Technics/Denon etc is not much better than a Cheap budget
brand (of which there are many)

Remember that you get nothing for nothing in this world, and if a system is
offering a lot for a small price then something (normally build quality etc)
will be compromised......

The best thing to do is go and listen to these systems, take some of your
own music CD's etc along

If you want cheap gear then somewhere like richer sounds could be a place to
start, it may seem like a pain the bum but if you put some time in and
listen and perhaps assemble a separates system you could end up with
something reasonable

I hope this helps

Gary


Yep - have a listen, even in Currys or RS. I bought a Panasonic mini
system years ago, about £200 with speakers. I listened to several up to
£400 in Currys - my criteria was a line input for the computer; sound
quality; cd; radio; cassette; smallish. The Panasonic sounded streets
ahead of the rest - even though its 'ratings' (lowish 10W power) looked
poor.

This may be difficult for you with the floorstanding speaker preference
- I really don't think you're going to get very good speakers of this
type for your budget, best to get the tiddly Missions IMO.

Rob