I have just moved to LA from London and I have the kind of question that annoys audiophiles, so I'll keep it as short as I can.

I'm after a fairly cheap, simple system that does nothing more than play CDs and vinyl but does it well and with little fuss. I had to leave my CD player, amplifier, and turntable in Britain because of the voltage difference (I brought my speakers and wires), and now I am having trouble finding anything remotely comparable to what I had. I can get my head around the fact that amplifiers are called "receivers" over here and that they often pick up radio. I can just about get used to the fact that single-CD players seem to have vanished. But I cannot get used to the fact that there seem to be only 2 kinds of stores: well-lit places that sell systems for much more than I wish to pay ($200 for a CD player and $200 for an amp, tops) and chain stores where the staff have no idea of what they are selling. In Britain there was a chain called Richer Sounds that had well-informed staff selling basic stuff--I had a delightfully simple amp made by Cambridge Audio which cost me about $150. Not surprisingly, the chain was expanding fast.

So, where do I go--in west LA? Or, if I am to be thrown to the tender mercies of the chain stores, what is the best receiver for around $150-200? As I say, the thing needs 2 inputs, CD and Phono. That's it.

Thanks, and sorry again.