At first we just wanted some no-hassle background tunes while we chopped onions in the kitchen. But then we got lazy and let the iPod dock—the audio equivalent of drinking wine from a Dixie cup—become our go-to for rocking out. Our music deserves better.

The solution isn't a two-story stack of audio equipment powerful enough for Coachella's main stage, though. There's a happy medium that's easy to set up and affordable yet treats your music with respect. Buy a smart receiver, add a quality pair of bookshelf speakers, and join the mid-fi revolution.

Start with the Marantz NR1602 (pictured), a svelte $650 receiver that can handle your old-school components—DVD player, cable box, video-game system—as well as stream music from most smartphones, a computer, Pandora, and Internet radio stations. Then add two Wharfedale Diamond 10.2 speakers (pictured) and revel in lush, clean sound and punchy bottom end. If the Diamonds, at fourteen inches tall and twelve inches deep, are too beefy for your space, try the Boston Acoustics SoundWare XS 2.1 system. The $400 set includes two palm-sized speakers that pump out rich sound, plus a small subwoofer for thump.

There's one more upside to going mid-fi: expandability. Woody Allen completists can add a center-channel speaker for crystal-clear dialogue, while Michael Bay fans can plug in a massive subwoofer for explosions that cause heart palpitations. Let's see a puny dock do that.

Wharfedale Diamond 10.2 Speakers
$450/pair

Available at soundimport.com

Marantz NR1602 Receiver
$650

Available at us.marantz.com