Looking for advice on compact stereo

Hey all......could us some advice/suggestions/experience shares here.

By virtue of the fact that I'm a single dude and rent rooms in my pad, my stereo system is in my bedroom. (along with a pretty decent 'puter sound system.) When I have the place to myself I'd like to have sound in the living room or kitchen.

I have an old JVC "boom box" with good sound, but it needs service - and I assume that technology has progressed to the point where I can get equivalent sound quality in a smaller unit. The first thought that occurred to me was the Bose Wave system, but the reviews of the Wave III scared me off. I'm prepared to check out what Fry's has to offer, but thought I'd get some feedback from y'all before going.

Final note: I'm somewhat hearing impaired, so super-high quality sound is not necessary......if it's even available in a small unit to begin with.

Thanks in advance for any feedback you can pitch my way!