I agree on the warranty bit. You should definetly look into just spending a little extra cash from an actual retailer. I'm sure if you haggle, you can get a good deal at Guitar Center too. For speakers, I would go with JBL all the way, powered on nonpowered. I have never had a bad experience with them. Amps = Crown Thats usually the rule For a CD player, I would recomend the table top Pioneers. Whether you get the 800s or the new 200, either of them will help you get used to plain mixing or scratch mixing. This is just my opinion on what I would do for a setup. It might get a little costly, but you will not regret it in the end.