Yes, the CJ ART, various Audio Research were all great...but I do remember lower priced items that gave much pleasure for their price.
In no order, The Large Advent, DQ-10, Nakamichi SR receivers, inexpensive Nordost cables, many tuners giving good vibes vis "FREE" music. Also, in a different way, the Nakamichi TM radios and SoundSpace systems.
There was a solid state ARC pre that was very good....ls-12?
And I do remember "free" listening at some friends homes/systems that were great values. I was exceedingly lucky to have a best friend that bought most of my gear when I was "moving on". It gave me the chance to listen to what I had had compared to what I currently had....at least once what I had sold to him was better than what my replacement gear was...........the old "live and learn".
Harmon Kardon Signature 1.5 Power Amp $450 and a set of Magnepan MGllla's which i got for -$1100 . I made money from the sale of MG2.6's. Long story short. I shipped the 2.6's and they were damaged. I had a $2500 insurance policy placed on them. Replaced the damaged tweeters and made out well...
Magic Eraser "sponge" for cleaning my Benz Ruby III cartridge. It polishes the stylus and costs under $1. I've been using it for 8 years now. That's a bargain. Other more expensive bargains is purchase of my two sets of speakers, the Legacy Focus for $2500 and Signature IIIs for $1600. Compares to 4X to 5X more expensive speakers (but with superior bass, lower on the Focuses, tighter and punchier on the Sig IIIs). The Synergistic Research HFTs. I use 32 which eliminated the need for front and rear quadradic diffusion panels which can be very expensive (Acoustic Fields or Vicoustic brands not cheap GIKs).
For we "silver-hair's"... the Hegeman Hapi 2 Preamp at full price was a steal. Chapman T-4 2-way monitor loudspeakers, same. Now, computer sourced lossless rips of great redbook and HDCD playback ~~ ditto lossless streaming. Budget room tuning = great sound. Cheers, Pin
really? magic eraser to clean stylus? i would be worried that it would pull... u use it wet or dry? magic sponges are meant to used wet for their cleaning effect (on everyday things)
Middlemass I loved it ....the joint and the babe,.... lights low AND lots but not too much wine OHHHHhhhhhhhh It doesnt get any better....damn I want it back.....But I know its not happening ON a different note....my first pair of M & K speakers with the sub..... driven by a pair of refurb Van Alystyne (alstine) who knows 70 watt something....sitting in the front room listening to LA 4 OMG with a wonderful beautiful dancer from the UTAH ballet Thank you god!
A Schiit Loki. Best $150 ever spent. I bought a NAD 118 digital preamp. It is a cross between a Schiit Loki and Black Ice F360. I bought it, brand new, at half the full retail price of $1600. Five years later, I bought an immaculate used NAD 118 for around $400.
It’s fascinating to see what’s old is new again in these forums.
Mr. Clean Magic Eraser was discussed for several months c.2007 or so, I can’t recall the exact year. The upshot was that it was generally enthusiastically endorsed among the analog cognoscenti as a method for cleaning a stylus.
Use it dry. "Dip" the stylus into the material a few times. Don’t rub.
Thanks ... I have my Onzow gooey bubble, but I was curious...
ESS AMT Tower 1's for $120. Advent OLA's for $60 Snell Type A-ll for $400 Thiel CS.5 for $175
Listening to any pair in the above list brings a smile to my face.
But the b.b.b. of them all is my pair of DQ-10's for $350. The seller couldn't find the passive XO for the sub and offered me a preamp in its place. Told him I already have three preamps. He said it's a lot more expensive than the speakers I was buying and if I wasn't happy with it, I can sell it on eBay and make some good money. He even promised to personally deliver the XO to my house if he finds it. The music room was not well lit and can't make out the preamp but it looked old school. A preamp for a cheap passive XO? I told him he's a very nice person but a terrible businessman. We both laughed and shook hands. When I got home, I found out what I had my hands on- it was an ARC- SP6. Until that night, I didn't know a thing about it. I spent most of the night reading all I could find on the net about it and ARC. I keep everything I buy so no, I'm not making any money from the gentleman's graciousness.
Easily my JVC RX8020VBK home theater receiver. I bought it in 2002. The budget was tight then and I found it at Costco for $285. 120 real watts per channel, it's had 18 years of hard use and never missed a beat. Everything still works perfectly without the slightest problem.
It replaced a JVC tuner/amp combo that I've had for more than 30 years that still works.
It's getting a little long in the tooth on the technology front; S-video switching instead of HDMI and I am starting to think about replacing it in order to get Dolby Atmos. I'll have to think of a new mission for the JVC, perhaps a dedicated vinyl receiver (it has a phono preamp built in!). There's no way I'll ever sell it.
I'd buy another JVC in a heartbeat, but alas they've gone out of the receiver business. That's why it was so cheap in the first place. But as far as bang for the buck on a piece of new equipment, it stands out as the most satisfactory consumer electronics purchase ever, out of a LOT of contenders. I should be so lucky with my next one.
I apologize for listing this one, it’s the show stopper, and some of you have heard about this one before:
A MFA made Octal tube based original Venusian Prototype three chassis (Line/switching, Phono,and power supply boxes) full function preamp. Swings a clean + 170 volts. Just an insane thing, it is. Best tube based preamp vittles ever tasted.
$108 bucks. Found on eBay, no less.
I beg forgiveness for using it so little. If I cleaned it up, re capped it, and did a few of the more modern additions and alterations to it, etc...I’d think it would be a top contender for being right at the peak of preamp development and quality. (you will find pictures of it on the net, if you search it out)
Bought a set of Linn Keilidh for $120 in excellent condition 4yrs ago. Purchased from a big Linn Fanboy - guy had Kabers and Keltiks too all running Aktiv. Have been very nice little towers running with a variety of integrateds. So just got my Cary, 808R back from NC getting totally run through and brought back to spec. Paired it with a Sonic Frontiers SFL-1 and a Rega DACr for streaming and plugged in the Linns. Man, the tube stuff really brings out the absolute best of these little wonders. If u can find a set for $400-$450 I’d say grab them especially if your into tube gear. The Cary in Triode @ 30x2 pure “A” is a very good amp but, the integrateds I’ve used by Tandberg and Perreaux have been a good fit as well. Point: Linn Keilidh for $120 easily the best Bang for Buck story I have to share
My 1983 aiwa ad f770 cassette deck. Paid $550 for it brand new 38 years ago, still kicking like day one! Only thing I’ve had to do was change belts....not fun, but worth it. I play it all the time. A beautiful machine, and back then, before it’s time. It will never be sold. Bought a back up f660, just as good a machine, works wonderfully. Sold my f990 as it was worth more, plus did not do anything that the other two decks are not capable of. Secondly, my discwasher system, also from the early 80’s. I’m still using the same record brush and stylus brush included In the kit. I still have some of the original fluid left. Loaded up on original discwasher stuff when available on ebay. I got enough to last me until I’m dead.
I think the one piece I will never part with is my 1974 Pioneed SA 8100. It is such a great piece, no it does not sound as good as my tube gear, it just never disappoints and never quits, at the moment it is running outdoor speakers for my pool. Everything else I own I am already planning their replacements.
My best "bang for the buck" actually wasn't my purchase, but my wife's. Somehow, before we met, she had attended the closing of tech hifi in Durham, NC and purchased a JVC TV, amplifier and cassette deck (1984 by the way) and a pair of Ohm Walsh 2's. All for less than $1,300. The MSRP for the speakers in 1984 which was around $700 per pair. 26 years later and they still sound great. I know they can be upgraded, but I actually like the way they sound now that I have a proper amount of the right kind of power.
I've had quite a few "Bang for Your Buck" deals in the last 6 or so years since I first started rt buying, selling, repairing (and as my girlfriend will say) hoarding home stereo equipment but the deals that stand out the most all came from a local pawnshop here in Mississippi. Back in 2010 I got a Lexicon RV-5 receiver with the original remote, calibration microphone and original manual in almost mint condition for $175.I have owned at least 15 to 20 different receivers in this time period and the Lexicon was easily the best sounding one yet, still regret selling it to this day. Not to long after the lexicon purchase, I strolled into this pawnshop and walked out with a beautiful pair of jamo d450 tower speakers and matching jamo d4sub all three finished in the dark apple wood I paid $200 cash for the lot and still have them. And last but not least my jamo are powered by an Audiocontrol Pantages Amplifier that I have $145 invested in. I just can't overstate how much I love my monthly visits to the local pawnshops you just never know what you'll find.
Picked up a Adcom 555Mk 2 amp for $50 at a yard sale - owner said it stopped working all of a sudden - got it home threw a couple fuses in it and it has been working daily for me now for 18 years
Check out Sweet Vinyl products. Their 'click and pop" removing components work magic on noisy vinyl. Allows one to listen to older, oft played discs, without all of the inherent noise on second hand recordings....but one still needs to clean their vinyl to rid the detritus usually found on used discs.
As for the "Pamela" comments, the prettiest women I have been with or married to were more expensive than any audio gear I have ever owned...including items like the CJ ART.
As for the "Pamela" comments, the prettiest women I have been with or married to were more expensive than any audio gear I have ever owned...including items like the CJ ART.
I bought my son-in-law an 18 month old Yamaha AS-1000 integrated amp from a guy who didn't have a box, so had to be "local pickup" for a ridiculously low price, what he asked for. These high end Yamaha's are just awesome!
When I was in college, at a party I met someone who was moving and needed to get rid of stuff and FAST and sold me a McIntosh MC275 power amp for $75! (the original model) and a few months later I was offered $375 for it!
For me, it has to be the large Advents. They were the best sound I could afford on a college students budget back around 1970. Not only did they serve me well for many years, but they were the thing that started me down the HIFi road nearly 50 years ago.
A pair of Klipsch CF-2 speakers I picked up for $75. They were a little rough around the edges. I enjoyed them for a while and then sold them for quite a bit more.
Hard to choose just one. But initially, I thought: what can vibration control really do? Found that the answer is A LOT! Stillpoints under my $30k speakers turned them into $50k ones. No exaggeration, 3 $125 Ultra Minis tightened up the sound and increased the detail like crazy. And I had a similar experience with the $1500 SRA VR platform under my Woodsong Garrard 301. Amazing improvement. Night and day!
My Best Bang for the buck so far has been my McIntosh C28 for $800.00. I hope to beat that soon on something new. I've got some Vandersteens on the way (2Ce sigII's). I gave $1400 for them, but if the reviews I've read are accurate, it might be in the running.
I have to add this. I bought a Technics SL 1200 MK2 for $600 that came with a Zu Audio Denon DL-103. The cartridge sounded like crap and at first I thought it was just a bad match with the turntable, so I put something else on and put the Zu in the closet, where it sat for months. Out of curiosity, I recently decided to the cartridge on another table. It sounded like crap there also, lots of distortion in one channel. I sent it off to Andy Kim who worked his magic on it and for less than $500 I have a cartridge that is in the same league as other cartridges I own that cost from 2-4 times what I spent to have the ZU DL-103 brought back to life. Big props to Andy Kim!
2 years ago I bought a custom amp from Tweakaudio.com It's a dual mono class D based on IcePower AS1200 modules, which he then sprinkles lots of pixie dust on. 1200wpmodule at 4 ohms. Not only is it powerful, it also allows for very delicate instruments/sounds to have a fantastic presence
Incredible detail from top to bottom, throws a believably large sound stage with fantastic imaging (when combined with great speakers) through my Emerald Physics 3.4s open baffle which, sadly, are also out of production
If you don't need massive power he has moved on to other class D amps that he says sound even better.
Bang for buck. Would have to be the Schiit Audio Modi Multibit. Dac bliss that beats all of the Chinese Toppings, etc. that are made in China and still cost more than the Modi.
If you asked me last week I would have said, and probably said in the past my Quicksilver Mid Monos are the best bang for the buck. Great amps, awesome value new....incredible value used like I bought mine for $1050
However I just replaced my preamp with a Zesto Leto Preamplifier.... $3500 is not cheap , but I had the opportunity to buy a NIB new old stock unit and it is incredible.... Easily the best money spent on hi fi in a long,long time. Literally sounds like I revamped my whole system, its that good. Zesto support is top notch too.
I bought used Dominus Rev B interconnects for like ~$1500. I own and have owned other down-range PAD models. When I plugged the dominus in the first time, I could not believe how good they sound. While ergonomically a pain, I seriously doubt I will ever sell them.
Well I have a secondary system that I set up on the back deck for open air listening. I set it up yesterday as it was 70+ degrees in southern Illinois. I am always impressed with the experience, tuneful, dynamic, great sound stage and imaging. I view it a great system for the $$$.
B&W 685 speakers, bought used on AG, $300 shipped to my door.
Yamaha A-S701 integrated, bought used from a friend I made through AG. $250 shipped.
Pure Music playback program on a Apple Mackbook pro playing CD ripped AFFA files. $129.
M2Tech USB/SPDIF converter, bought used $90. (701 lacks USB input)
@jjss49 Thanks! Much of the enjoyment has to do with the B&W 685s which to my ears sound wonderful under the open air environment. I believe the balance between bass and treble is improved. The 100wpc provided by the 701 delivers the volume required with volume control never reaching 12 o'clock. I live in the country so can play it pretty loud. I have not measured the dB level at the listening position however.
Not sure about that adaptor. I put in a dedicated line run off a sub panel for the outside system.
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