thirdfromthesun

You're asking for an affordable table without saying what price is affordable for you

The difference is that its a real jacket with an insert, and not just a foldover cover. 

Alright, so I think I put together a system for you that falls into that price range. You're going to need four components; a turntable, a receiver/amplifier, a phono stage, and a pair of speakers. To make things easier for me, I chose all new equipment because I know you'll be able to buy them wherever you are. If you find a nice pair of speakers or turntable near you that is cheaper, by all means go for that. These are just suggestions.
 
For the turntable, I picked out the Project Debut Carbon. I have last year's Debut, which was before they implemented the carbon arm, and I absolutely love it. It was considered one of the two best tables for that price range, and now that they've improved the arm it's even better. By the way, it comes in a ton of colors. I have the blue and really like it, but pick whatever you want. $400.
 
If this is going to be a separate system only powering a turntable, you're going to be able to save quite a bit on the amp. From what I hear, Emotiva makes great amps for the money, and their mini-X a-100 would be perfect for a small setup. Their winter sale is going on right now, so it's $40 off, bringing it to $180. If you ever need to expand it, you can buy a preamp later on to add more sources (like the radio, cd player, tape deck, etc.) If you are trying to have other things hooked up to this, let me know and I'll try to find something else.
 
Your phono stage is what connects your turntable to the amp. Cambridge stuff is generally regarded as pretty good, and the Azur 540p would fit into your budget at only $100.
 
Speakers are a little tough at this price point, but you can definitely get a solid pair of bookshelves. If you want floorstanders, you're probably going to have to buy used though. I would either get the PSB Image B4s at $330 a pair or Klipsch RB-41 II at $300 a pair. Personally I prefer the PSBs, but a lot of people enjoy Klipsch's unique sound, due to the horns they use for tweeters.
 
This brings it to right around $1000, which I understand is the upper limit of your price range. You're also going to need cables and wires which shouldn't cost more than $25. Make sure you don't buy Monster or anything else that claims to be special, just go to http://www.monoprice.com and get however much speaker wire you need and 2 pairs of banana plugs (these are optional, but make things a bit easier)
 
Let me know if there's anything else you need to know.

Alright, so I think I put together a system for you that falls into that price range. You're going to need four components; a turntable, a receiver/amplifier, a phono stage, and a pair of speakers. To make things easier for me, I chose all new equipment because I know you'll be able to buy them wherever you are. If you find a nice pair of speakers or turntable near you that is cheaper, by all means go for that. These are just suggestions.
 
For the turntable, I picked out the Project Debut Carbon. I have last year's Debut, which was before they implemented the carbon arm, and I absolutely love it. It was considered one of the two best tables for that price range, and now that they've improved the arm it's even better. By the way, it comes in a ton of colors. I have the blue and really like it, but pick whatever you want. $400.
 
If this is going to be a separate system only powering a turntable, you're going to be able to save quite a bit on the amp. From what I hear, Emotiva makes great amps for the money, and their mini-X a-100 would be perfect for a small setup. Their winter sale is going on right now, so it's $40 off, bringing it to $180. If you ever need to expand it, you can buy a preamp later on to add more sources (like the radio, cd player, tape deck, etc.) If you are trying to have other things hooked up to this, let me know and I'll try to find something else.
 
Your phono stage is what connects your turntable to the amp. Cambridge stuff is generally regarded as pretty good, and the Azur 540p would fit into your budget at only $100.
 
Speakers are a little tough at this price point, but you can definitely get a solid pair of bookshelves. If you want floorstanders, you're probably going to have to buy used though. I would either get the PSB Image B4s at $330 a pair or Klipsch RB-41 II at $300 a pair. Personally I prefer the PSBs, but a lot of people enjoy Klipsch's unique sound, due to the horns they use for tweeters.
 
This brings it to right around $1000, which I understand is the upper limit of your price range. You're also going to need cables and wires which shouldn't cost more than $25. Make sure you don't buy Monster or anything else that claims to be special, just go to http://www.monoprice.com and get however much speaker wire you need and 2 pairs of banana plugs (these are optional, but make things a bit easier)
 
Let me know if there's anything else you need to know.

Alright, so I think I put together a system for you that falls into that price range. You're going to need four components; a turntable, a receiver/amplifier, a phono stage, and a pair of speakers. To make things easier for me, I chose all new equipment because I know you'll be able to buy them wherever you are. If you find a nice pair of speakers or turntable near you that is cheaper, by all means go for that. These are just suggestions.
 
For the turntable, I picked out the Project Debut Carbon. I have last year's Debut, which was before they implemented the carbon arm, and I absolutely love it. It was considered one of the two best tables for that price range, and now that they've improved the arm it's even better. By the way, it comes in a ton of colors. I have the blue and really like it, but pick whatever you want. $400.
 
If this is going to be a separate system only powering a turntable, you're going to be able to save quite a bit on the amp. From what I hear, Emotiva makes great amps for the money, and their mini-X a-100 would be perfect for a small setup. Their winter sale is going on right now, so it's $40 off, bringing it to $180. If you ever need to expand it, you can buy a preamp later on to add more sources (like the radio, cd player, tape deck, etc.) If you are trying to have other things hooked up to this, let me know and I'll try to find something else.
 
Your phono stage is what connects your turntable to the amp. Cambridge stuff is generally regarded as pretty good, and the Azur 540p would fit into your budget at only $100.
 
Speakers are a little tough at this price point, but you can definitely get a solid pair of bookshelves. If you want floorstanders, you're probably going to have to buy used though. I would either get the PSB Image B4s at $330 a pair or Klipsch RB-41 II at $300 a pair. Personally I prefer the PSBs, but a lot of people enjoy Klipsch's unique sound, due to the horns they use for tweeters.
 
This brings it to right around $1000, which I understand is the upper limit of your price range. You're also going to need cables and wires which shouldn't cost more than $25. Make sure you don't buy Monster or anything else that claims to be special, just go to http://www.monoprice.com and get however much speaker wire you need and 2 pairs of banana plugs (these are optional, but make things a bit easier)
 
Let me know if there's anything else you need to know.

Alright, so I think I put together a system for you that falls into that price range. You're going to need four components; a turntable, a receiver/amplifier, a phono stage, and a pair of speakers. To make things easier for me, I chose all new equipment because I know you'll be able to buy them wherever you are. If you find a nice pair of speakers or turntable near you that is cheaper, by all means go for that. These are just suggestions.
 
For the turntable, I picked out the Project Debut Carbon. I have last year's Debut, which was before they implemented the carbon arm, and I absolutely love it. It was considered one of the two best tables for that price range, and now that they've improved the arm it's even better. By the way, it comes in a ton of colors. I have the blue and really like it, but pick whatever you want. $400.
 
If this is going to be a separate system only powering a turntable, you're going to be able to save quite a bit on the amp. From what I hear, Emotiva makes great amps for the money, and their mini-X a-100 would be perfect for a small setup. Their winter sale is going on right now, so it's $40 off, bringing it to $180. If you ever need to expand it, you can buy a preamp later on to add more sources (like the radio, cd player, tape deck, etc.) If you are trying to have other things hooked up to this, let me know and I'll try to find something else.
 
Your phono stage is what connects your turntable to the amp. Cambridge stuff is generally regarded as pretty good, and the Azur 540p would fit into your budget at only $100.
 
Speakers are a little tough at this price point, but you can definitely get a solid pair of bookshelves. If you want floorstanders, you're probably going to have to buy used though. I would either get the PSB Image B4s at $330 a pair or Klipsch RB-41 II at $300 a pair. Personally I prefer the PSBs, but a lot of people enjoy Klipsch's unique sound, due to the horns they use for tweeters.
 
This brings it to right around $1000, which I understand is the upper limit of your price range. You're also going to need cables and wires which shouldn't cost more than $25. Make sure you don't buy Monster or anything else that claims to be special, just go to http://www.monoprice.com and get however much speaker wire you need and 2 pairs of banana plugs (these are optional, but make things a bit easier)
 
Let me know if there's anything else you need to know.

or if they were done Oprah style:
 
You want a new single?
LOOK UNDER YOUR CHAIR

First off, Polk is a pretty good brand of mid-range speakers, so great starting point. As for all the info in the table, I'll do my best at explaining it.
The first thing listed is the woofer size. This is what many people call 'a speaker'. Basically, it is part of what creates the noise that you will hear. In the majority of bookcase speakers, these Polks included, it produces sounds in mid-range frequencies. I'll go more in depth about all the frequencies later, just know that your woofer is what produces the majority of audible noise, which means it is one of the most important parts. These bookshelves have two woofers, something I notice Polk has been doing a lot lately. Some companies like to only put one woofer in, which is what I personally prefer. However both of the Polk woofers are 5-1/4" diameter. This is the minimum size you want in a bookshelf, so in that regard, you are good.
Next up is the tweeter, which is what produces the high-frequency sounds. It's a single 1" dome tweeter, which is the standard for mid-range audio today. Most companies use a dome, whereas others, like Klipsch, use a horn. It's a personal choice, but I typically lean towards dome. Oh, and all those descriptive words about the dome and tweeter? I wouldn't worry too much about it. It just explains what type they are and how they are made. For your price range, every speaker is going to be made about the same way.
Overall frequency range is a very important spec on features. When recreating music you want to be able to hear everything that was captured, and thus, want to hear all of the range. Humans have the ability to hear from 20Hz to 20,000Hz (or 20kHz), but many scientists now believe we can notice differences in sound all the way down to 17Hz and up to 23,000kHz. These Polks go from 47Hz to 25kHz, with an upper and lower -3db limit of 24kHz and 57Hz. The reason -3db is used here is because that is the difference that human ears can decipher. Now what about all the music I'll be missing out on between 17Hz and 47/57Hz you ask? Well that is a very good question. That is why we use subwoofers. They are made specifically for low-frequency sounds, normally 80Hz and below. If you will be using these speakers for home theatre as well, you may want to invest in one. However, if you're only using them for your turntable, you may be fine without one. If you at this chart here, you'll see very little music is below 40Hz.
Recommended amplifier power is pretty straight forward. Whatever amp or receiver you use will put out a certain amount of power, normally measured in watts per channel. I think the average these days is either 50 or 75 watts. The recommended for these speakers is between 20 and 125 watts. If you don't have enough power, you won't get good sound, and too much power ends with you having blown out speakers. It seems like these will be fine with almost any amp you have, so no worries there.
Crossover is the frequency at which the woofer stops making sound and the tweeter starts taking over. 2.3kHz seems like a good number, but honestly I can't remember what mine are.
Efficiency and inputs I wouldn't worry too much about. If I recall, for bookshelves you want efficiency to be close to 90dB, 89 is close enough. Nearly every speaker you look at will have the exact same inputs too.
Dimensions are explanatory, if it fits in whatever space you have, you're good. Rear panel vented means the air comes out the back instead of the front. This can create an effect of surrounding with music, however the speakers must be placed correctly then. For rear firing, I would recommend at least a foot of space between the back of the speaker and the wall it goes against. If you have rooms, this creates a much better sound. At the very least, do not put the speakers flat against the wall.
The last major thing to note about the speakers is their weight. Back in the early days of audio, a great way to determine the quality of a speaker was to pick it up and see how much it weighed. Heavier weights meant two things: the company cared about its construction, and thus would care more about its sound quality; and two a heavier speaker meant that it couldn't be shaken as easily, and would create the best sound possible. A 5-year warranty is standard in the industry, but for the most part, speakers last a long time.
In conclusion, I would say these speakers are a pretty good entry pair into the market. This pair will be better than the majority of speakers other people have in their house, despite what it may seem on here. However, I say that without ever hearing the speakers, and that is where you must truly make your decision; how they sound to you. If you can, go to a local audio store, preferably an actual audio store, not Best Buy or anything of that like. Most stores will let you take your own music or movies to test out, and decide then.
If you are looking for any other recommendations though, here are a few I found in your price range. The Polk TSi200 and the TSi100, both with similar specs to yours, and with them also being Polks, they'll have a similar sound. They're available in cherry or black, but I personally love the cherry, albeit it is a bit more expensive. These Martin Logans look really interesting, but note that they are much smaller. I have also been hearing great things about Audioengine, and these would fit your budget. They only have a 4" woofer, but are front-ported. Another speaker you could look at that is a bit smaller are PSBs. Despite their size, they sound absolutely amazing. I almost just bought the Image B4s, but they only have a 4" woofer. The Alpha B1s are bigger, but are in the line below. I have personally heard these though, and believe that they sound better than anything in the price range.
As I said earlier, the best thing you can do is go into a store and listen for yourself. The specs on those Polks are all there, but normally, there is something intangible about speakers that pulls you to them, not some asinine spec sheet. If I had to guess, they'll sound great and you'll be very happy with them. Best of luck in buying some new speakers, and hopefully I taught you a little something about speakers.

Nice, they seem like a fairly good speaker. And you can later upgrade to a 5.1 system that matches it if you want, which is nice. As for wires, the main quantitative factor that determines the quality of a wire is the thickness. The thicker the wire the better. An 18AWG means it is a wire with an 1/18" diameter, while a 12AWG wire has an 1/12" diameter. So when buying speaker wire, the SMALLER the number, the better. There is a chart somewhere on the internet that explains what size wire you need depending on how long you will be running the wire, but I just typically go with 12AWG. It allows for expansion in the future, and isn't that much more. You also need to check how far away your speakers will be from your receiver or amp, but based upon the fact that you are only buying two speakers, I would say you don't need any more than 50 ft.
Monoprice is the best place to buy any sort of wire or cable in my mind. The shipping is a bit expensive, but the wires themselves are A LOT cheeper. Don't worry about buying Monster cable or any other sort of brand that claims to be revolutionary. Wire is wire. There is no difference between $10,000 wires and $10 wires. Here is 50 ft of 12AWG wire from Monoprice.
Another thing you may want to buy are banana plugs. With banana plugs, you put the wire into the plug, then the plug just slides into the port on the back of your amp. If your amp is super old or of really low quality, it may not have ports that work with a banana plug. If your ports look like something on the back of this Denon, you're good to go. The reason to buy banana ports is that it makes plugging and unplugging your speakers a lot easier, and I think it causes a little less stress on the ends or your wire. There are two main types, Open Screw and Closed Screw. I prefer Open Screw because it keeps your wires perpendicular to the ports on your amp and saves you a bit space back there. But it's totally your choice. For each speaker you want to hook up like that, you'll need two pairs. One pair goes into your speaker, and another pair goes into your amp.
That's pretty much the exact same order I purchased from them last week. My only other suggestion would to buy any other cables or accessories you need, since they are a great deal, with shipping being the only bummer. Best of luck!

First off, Polk is a pretty good brand of mid-range speakers, so great starting point. As for all the info in the table, I'll do my best at explaining it.
The first thing listed is the woofer size. This is what many people call 'a speaker'. Basically, it is part of what creates the noise that you will hear. In the majority of bookcase speakers, these Polks included, it produces sounds in mid-range frequencies. I'll go more in depth about all the frequencies later, just know that your woofer is what produces the majority of audible noise, which means it is one of the most important parts. These bookshelves have two woofers, something I notice Polk has been doing a lot lately. Some companies like to only put one woofer in, which is what I personally prefer. However both of the Polk woofers are 5-1/4" diameter. This is the minimum size you want in a bookshelf, so in that regard, you are good.
Next up is the tweeter, which is what produces the high-frequency sounds. It's a single 1" dome tweeter, which is the standard for mid-range audio today. Most companies use a dome, whereas others, like Klipsch, use a horn. It's a personal choice, but I typically lean towards dome. Oh, and all those descriptive words about the dome and tweeter? I wouldn't worry too much about it. It just explains what type they are and how they are made. For your price range, every speaker is going to be made about the same way.
Overall frequency range is a very important spec on features. When recreating music you want to be able to hear everything that was captured, and thus, want to hear all of the range. Humans have the ability to hear from 20Hz to 20,000Hz (or 20kHz), but many scientists now believe we can notice differences in sound all the way down to 17Hz and up to 23,000kHz. These Polks go from 47Hz to 25kHz, with an upper and lower -3db limit of 24kHz and 57Hz. The reason -3db is used here is because that is the difference that human ears can decipher. Now what about all the music I'll be missing out on between 17Hz and 47/57Hz you ask? Well that is a very good question. That is why we use subwoofers. They are made specifically for low-frequency sounds, normally 80Hz and below. If you will be using these speakers for home theatre as well, you may want to invest in one. However, if you're only using them for your turntable, you may be fine without one. If you at this chart here, you'll see very little music is below 40Hz.
Recommended amplifier power is pretty straight forward. Whatever amp or receiver you use will put out a certain amount of power, normally measured in watts per channel. I think the average these days is either 50 or 75 watts. The recommended for these speakers is between 20 and 125 watts. If you don't have enough power, you won't get good sound, and too much power ends with you having blown out speakers. It seems like these will be fine with almost any amp you have, so no worries there.
Crossover is the frequency at which the woofer stops making sound and the tweeter starts taking over. 2.3kHz seems like a good number, but honestly I can't remember what mine are.
Efficiency and inputs I wouldn't worry too much about. If I recall, for bookshelves you want efficiency to be close to 90dB, 89 is close enough. Nearly every speaker you look at will have the exact same inputs too.
Dimensions are explanatory, if it fits in whatever space you have, you're good. Rear panel vented means the air comes out the back instead of the front. This can create an effect of surrounding with music, however the speakers must be placed correctly then. For rear firing, I would recommend at least a foot of space between the back of the speaker and the wall it goes against. If you have rooms, this creates a much better sound. At the very least, do not put the speakers flat against the wall.
The last major thing to note about the speakers is their weight. Back in the early days of audio, a great way to determine the quality of a speaker was to pick it up and see how much it weighed. Heavier weights meant two things: the company cared about its construction, and thus would care more about its sound quality; and two a heavier speaker meant that it couldn't be shaken as easily, and would create the best sound possible. A 5-year warranty is standard in the industry, but for the most part, speakers last a long time.
In conclusion, I would say these speakers are a pretty good entry pair into the market. This pair will be better than the majority of speakers other people have in their house, despite what it may seem on here. However, I say that without ever hearing the speakers, and that is where you must truly make your decision; how they sound to you. If you can, go to a local audio store, preferably an actual audio store, not Best Buy or anything of that like. Most stores will let you take your own music or movies to test out, and decide then.
If you are looking for any other recommendations though, here are a few I found in your price range. The Polk TSi200 and the TSi100, both with similar specs to yours, and with them also being Polks, they'll have a similar sound. They're available in cherry or black, but I personally love the cherry, albeit it is a bit more expensive. These Martin Logans look really interesting, but note that they are much smaller. I have also been hearing great things about Audioengine, and these would fit your budget. They only have a 4" woofer, but are front-ported. Another speaker you could look at that is a bit smaller are PSBs. Despite their size, they sound absolutely amazing. I almost just bought the Image B4s, but they only have a 4" woofer. The Alpha B1s are bigger, but are in the line below. I have personally heard these though, and believe that they sound better than anything in the price range.
As I said earlier, the best thing you can do is go into a store and listen for yourself. The specs on those Polks are all there, but normally, there is something intangible about speakers that pulls you to them, not some asinine spec sheet. If I had to guess, they'll sound great and you'll be very happy with them. Best of luck in buying some new speakers, and hopefully I taught you a little something about speakers.