answer:My stereo system is late 1970s – early 1980s era. It’s all analog, except for the CD player, which I bought in 1982. Everything still works great & I love having a graphic equalizer, dynamic noise filter, and dynamic compressor. The only real upgrades I’ve made are to replace the speakers around year 2000 (thanks to my kids blowing out the old ones!) and to replace the phonograph cartridge in the early 1990s. I now use the stereo mainly to play MP3s with my iPod, using a spare AUX input. I wish I had a digital FM tuner for the sake of convenience, but I can live with the analog tuner—I don’t listen to much radio anymore. I think the same rule of thumb applies today as in earlier decades: Spend at least half your budget on good speakers. Then make sure you have an amplifier capable of playing music as loud as you like without distortion. My amplifier is rated at 200 W per channel rms & the sub-woofer is separately powered. My eardrums will probably give out before the speakers do. (If you prefer headphones to speakers, you’ll save a bundle of money and won’t piss off the neighbors.) I tried to incorporate the stereo system into the 5.1 surround sound home theater system, but it didn’t work out very well. Better to enjoy the stereo just for audio and have a separate sound system for video.