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BANG for the BUCK

For most of us it's all about value. Except for the relatively small number of folks who can afford not to worry about how much things cost.

For the rest of us it's all about the price/performance ratio. How much did you pay for what you got in terms of performance? The bang for the buck. I have found some excellent values over the years. And some terrible ones as well, alas. If we look at each class of components and various price points, what good and bad values have you experienced along the way? I'll give a few examples from my own experience to get this thread rolling. These examples are just for starters. They do not represent a complete list. If more come to mind I will add them to the thread later.

My caveat is that my comments are subjective and refer to my system -- and YMMV. I am only speaking for myself and my system here.

In the realm of DACS -- Antelope Gold, AMR DP, Berkeley 1 and EMM CDSA SE are in my price/performance dog house. My current NAD M51 takes the price/performance prize. It is the only DAC that has, so far, given me good value.

In the realm of speakers -- Merlin Monitors and Joseph Audio Pulsars represented good value for my system. But my current Raidho C1.1 monitors take the price/performance prize.

In the realm of cables, power products and power conditioners -- Gabriel Gold and Synergistic Research Tesla Series and Speaker Cells, Interconnect Cells and power conditioners are in my price/performance dog house. David Elrod and Shunyata cables, and the Shunyata Triton power conditioner take the price/performance prize.

In the realm of tweaks -- some of Jack Bybee's products, Schumann resonance devices and Audio Magic products take the price/performance prize.

How about you and your system? What stands out in terms of price/performance -- on both sides of the ledger?
sabai

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voiceofvinyl
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+1 on the Apt Holman Pre Amp. Picked up one in the late 90’s used for $200. I may still get another but the prices are starting to climb as people discover them.

Found a pair of JBL 4435 speakers at a pawn shop in the late 90's. They were perfect. $500. I sent all four 15's to Bill Legall for new surrounds. I had the JBL L-300's at the time and those 4435's could do a kick drum like nothing else I have heard.

Just (today) picked up a pair of used Apogee Centaur Minor speakers for $300. They are in perfect shape. Hard Bop is my drug of choice and they do horns very nicely. They were designed to work with lower power amps so I don’t need an arc-welder to drive them. My Roksan KA-1 works nicely. I think I’ll keep them.
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