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I wouldn't rule out a sub. The purpose of a subwoofer is NOT to
thump out loud rap tunes and shake the neighbors as you drive by...
it's to fill in the lowest frequencies in the spectrum, and enable your
other speakers to concentrate on what they do best. Set up properly,
the sub would actually put out very little sound - but that little
bit can greatly enrich the quality and realism, and help your
remaining two speakers sound better (because the crossover unit
filters the extreme lows so that your speakers don't have to "try"
to reproduce them, with potential distortion).

The catch is, a barely decent sub would surely add $250 to your budget.
However, I think with the advice on used components, you should be
able to stay within $800 for the rest. The receiver is a piece of
cake - I saw a Calibre (low end but sounds quite decent) in a shop
yesterday for $25. That's what I have in my bedroom. Turntable will
take some searching, but yes the old Duals or Technics will do fine
(might want to invest in a new stylus depending on the condition of
the old one). That leaves you room to try a variety of speakers,
or do some research and buy a used pair. In a very small space you
could also consider a used pair of nearfield monitors (but then you'd
really need the subwoofer).

Doug Sterlina wrote:
: Im new to the hi-fi scene and im interested in getting what I guess
: you could call a "mid-fi" system for my 9x13' room and I want some
: expert opinion. I want to spend about $1000 or less on a turntable, 2
: speakers, and amp
: For speakers I was thinking about Polk Monitor 50's or something
: similar and an Audio-Technica AT-PL120 turntable. Will floorstanding
: speakers be too much for such a small room? I want to avoid having a
: powered sub since that will cost extra and be overkill in a townhouse.

: When it comes to the amps, im lost. As far as power amplifiers vs
: integrated amplifiers how do you know what you will need since
: different devices output at different levels. The turntable has a
: built in pre-amp so would that be able to drive a power amp directly
: and would that be the best option? I read that most consumer all in
: one tuners are integrated amps with a radio tuner, but then im
: confused as to why some would have a phono input if all the inputs go
: through the built in pre-amp anyways.

: I also want to be able to hook my computer to the system if possible
: through RCA cables.