Seeking Bookshelf Stereo Buying Advice
My parents' bookshelf stereo got fried by a thunderstorm 2 months ago, so I'm trying to find them a replacement for Christmas. It needs to have reasonable-for-under-$200 sound quality & good volume. (They're both getting deaf.) They still play some of their old tapes, so a cassette deck would be useful. And it needs to be pretty simple to use, as they're not terribly tech-savvy. I've gotten tech support calls from them where I talked them through using a DVD player.
The problem is, it's been 15 years since I got them their last one & far fewer people now play physical CDs. There's only a fraction as many models available, and many of them have complicated & non-intuitive settings (from my parents' point of view). So far I've tried BJ's Wholesale & Best Buy, but I had to reject all 3 models they had between them for poor sound, complexity, or both. Target had about 4 options that looked like possibilities -- but *none* of them were connected to a power source. Apparently, the idea that customers want to listen to audio equipment before they, you know, pay money for it is as quaint & old fashioned as a CD.
I've got a list of other stores to check, but would appreciate help in shortening the search. So if anyone can recommend a store likely to have what I need, or, failing that, can recommend a specific make & model I can order online, I'd greatly appreciate it.
Meanwhile, I hope everyone's managing to enjoy the holiday season. At least some of the time.
The problem is, it's been 15 years since I got them their last one & far fewer people now play physical CDs. There's only a fraction as many models available, and many of them have complicated & non-intuitive settings (from my parents' point of view). So far I've tried BJ's Wholesale & Best Buy, but I had to reject all 3 models they had between them for poor sound, complexity, or both. Target had about 4 options that looked like possibilities -- but *none* of them were connected to a power source. Apparently, the idea that customers want to listen to audio equipment before they, you know, pay money for it is as quaint & old fashioned as a CD.
I've got a list of other stores to check, but would appreciate help in shortening the search. So if anyone can recommend a store likely to have what I need, or, failing that, can recommend a specific make & model I can order online, I'd greatly appreciate it.
Meanwhile, I hope everyone's managing to enjoy the holiday season. At least some of the time.