Loose,
(or is it Marvin?)
My kids have never adopted my component approach to hi-fi. (Rega, NADs and big KEFs). They're in the i-pod world, and probably won't come out.
That means that every now and then I have to set stuff up for them.
IMHO the modern stuff does get better and better. An i-pod staright in to Sennheiser HD265 linear will still be "missing" something, but it does actually sound OK. Younger daughter has just gone off to college, and we acquired a modest, neat, Sony does-it-all micro hi-fi for her. In the UK it is called a CMTLX 401, (or 40i). About UKP 120.
When I put her i-pod on it and played "Tears in Heaven", I shut my eyes and it did sound good in a small room. I don't rate it for multi-over laid and complex tracks, but for simple stuff it sounds very good. Not up there with components, but not that far off.
The latest consumer electrics are worth a try.............