iRiver H120 - Two Questions

Try this: Sherwood 5.1 receiver ($172 shipped). http://www.amazon.com/Sherwood-RD6 [...] 05&sr=8-10 Energy Take 5s ($199) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 20take%205 Dayton Sub 80 ($75) http://www.parts-express.com/pe/sh [...] er=300-631 This should come out to $450. As far as Bose goes, unless you are talking about the x01 series from the 70s (which were pretty good back then), their modern speakers are just clock radios designed for decor-conscious older people who need invisible speakers. Acoustically they are no better than your typical PC satellite speakers (I'm being generous here, they are probably worse than high end PC speakers); they really are nothing more than a couple of thin plastic cans. The satellites replacement drivers that you can request from Bose cost $2 (low quality untreated paper drivers) and the satellites themselves are built with thin cheap plastic enclosures. That should give you an idea of build quality...it's basically a product with 95% markup. I doubt their $1000 acoustimass systems cost more than $50 to manufacture. To give you an idea what a value product is, in my bedroom I have a pair of Ascend Sierra 1 bookshelf speakers that go for $800/pair. The tweeters that Ascend purchase from SEAs of Norway cost $200/each, or $400/pair. Include the cost of diamond drill bits for industrial cutting tools needed to cut through 3/4" solid bamboo enclosures, the long-throw injection-molded poly midrange/woofers, and a high gloss piano black automotive finish and you are talking about $600 manufacturing costs. After shipping and handling, I doubt they make more than 25%, a fraction of Bose's margins. It's called name brand markup. That said, it's your money, if you want to buy it, it's your prerogative. And to your room, it's about 11x11 as I understand it? It's not THAT small. I'm running a pair of bookshelf speakers that run 60lbs on 80lbs of solid metal stands and they work fantastic in a 166sq foot office (only slightly bigger than your room).