Quote Originally Posted by JohnMichael
Now back to your budget. Check out www.audioadvisor.com for the following components. A turntable that would be good and fit within your budget and includes a cartridge would be the Rega P1 for $399.95. Two integrated amps that would be good for your budget is the NAD 315CBEE which is rated at 40 watts and costs $349.00 and the Cambridge Audio 340A for $329.00. My suggestion for speakers would be two highly regarded budget speakers The Epos ELS3 for $399.00 a pair and The PSB Alpha B1 for $279.00 a pair. Both speakers would work well in small rooms you might encounter attending college and would be easy to transport.

I have an older Rega Planar 2 and would recommend it if you can stretch the budget. You will also need the phono pre-amp unless you have one and Cambridge Audio and NAD make some good budget models. Good luck.
Ok JohnMichael I get the message. In my favor I will add that the Carver has a built in phono preamp that'll sound much better than any receiver. It also has a first class headphone amp built in. Also, the system I put up is capable of reproducing music extremely well, far better than what you suggest I should think. Didn't Mr. Volcano say he would be prepared to go on a diet?.