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XTZ Master M2. $1,600 - but worth way way more and as close to sound balance and perfection as a bookshelf speaker can achieve up to $10,000. No more produced, no world stock available, not a single one available on second hand market. One regret: not have purchased a second pair. Benchmark AHB2. $3,000 - just one of the very few best amps in the world in every aspect, and even more so for pound per sound. A near zero fault lifetime product and an audio benchmark. |
I bought a used 5 shelf Symposium Isis Ultra Rack with TT shelf last December for $3,300. A real game changer that justified the cost vs performance of the entire system. http://www.vpiforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=8479 Two tweaks - A sapphire thrust pad and ceramic bearing, and a tonearm rewire with Nordost Valhalla 2. $195 and $150 respectively. They each brought super improvements and collectively pulled my VPI HW-19 MKIV TT out of the stone age. http://www.vpiforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=4881 |
MFA ’Venusian’ 3 chassis octal tube based preamp. An un-labeled prototype, seemingly with a unique circuit. The bottom box is a 40lb power supply. Chock full of NOS(ish) rare and expensive Octals, matched low noise quads of red base RCA on the phono amp, etc. Procured for.....$108.37 on an eBay auction. One can’t even buy a thing like that, let alone find it on eBay for that kind of money. Of course, this was an accidental bargain, not something that anyone could have bought as a regular item. |
Eminent Technology LFT-8b loudspeaker (the highest-value new speaker currently on the market). Used Quad 57's. Townshend Rock Elite Turntable (my current), AR XA Turntable (my first good one). Decca Super Gold Pickup (my current), Decca Blue (my first good one). Magneplanar Tympani T-IV's (my current), Tympani T-1's (my first good ones). |
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Kef 107.2 for $1400.00 Martin Logan CLS-llz for $850 - with new(ish) panels and the old ones Mirage 750's for $200 Cdn - great speaker for the money! Adcom GFA 555 mk ll for $300, sounds pretty good. It drives the ML's pretty well and sounds surprisingly good for a low end "high end" amp. The one I like the best is the Cary SLP-03 I got for $1000 about a year and a half ago. I love it! |
seanheis, which Gemtune 1501 do you have, the one with 6bq5's or the 6AD10's? I was thinking about one of these but went a different way when a reasonable Tandberg 3012 popped up. Always wanted to hear one of these Tandbergs, stupid good at $250 because it was a little dirty, cleaned up, now a strong 8-9/10 cosmetically and sounds great! I once picked up a pristine Proceed PCD-2 for $400, thought that was stupid good for the money, never should have sold it (that never should have sold it list gets longer and longer)........ |
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Moongel. Just as good as Onzow and only $7. |
Superphon Rev Preamp. Ridiculously good for the $75 I spent on it used in the early 90's. The Chinese tube mono amps ASL was selling in the late 90's were way better sounding than there asking price. Lowther speakers with the right amps are incredibly good for the the money. You will need a sub though... Just bought a pair of Valvet E1r mono blocks that absolutely sing with the Lowthers. |
For the last five years or so I've been on a journey as I learn more about audio equipment, especially digital audio, with nearly constant swapping of individual pieces in my audio system, I think I'm "done" with the hardware upgrades for now, and can relax and enjoy discovering new (to me) music. Since I've gotten the system to where it is, I'm very satisfied with my purchase, so though the equipment is not "inexpensive", I would say it's "stupid good for the money". Nice to relax and not stress about the equipment. My list: McIntosh C2500 pre amp, MC452 power amp, Autonomic MMS-5A server, PS Audio P10 power plant, DirectStream DAC, DirectStream CD transport, Mytek Brooklyn DAC (for streaming MQA), Focal Sopra No2 speakers, JL Audio F113V2 sub woofers (2), Sennheiser HD800 headphones, Dell laptop iTunes/Tidal/Roon, Wireworld cabling |
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Although I generally keep away from those discussions, I agree with Geoff on that... So many have discussed wire directionality, and staked out the cases for or against. The tone of the conversation routinely crosses the line of usefulness, and transcends the magnitude of the issue itself. I feel content to let both sides live happily. If you believe in the directionality of wire, fine. If you don't, also fine. No one should lose any sleep over it either way. Perhaps the one thing I can add is my belief that the resistance measurements folks in audio employ to disprove the phenomenon may lack the sophistication to actually do so, and provide the real answer. Just out of school in the early 90s, I worked as a material scientist / R&D chemist for a company that produced (conductors, resistors, dielectric, solder, etc.) materials for the electronic industry, including those that build the resistors and capacitors we use in audio. Through the course of my experiments, I often encountered situations that left me wondering how the results could impact the world of high-end audio. Don't miss the low salary, but do miss the environment and equipment that would allow me to kick such things around. Had access to the internet, forums like this, and the sharing of knowledge that we do existed, I would have conquered many of those hills, but such is life. Sadly, the quantity and quality of folks working in this realm continues to decline. With few exceptions, what remains doesn't strike me as having the sort of background, equipment, time, or personality that ask and answer such questions |
My my greatest audio bargain was a pair of Acoustat 1+ 1's that I bought used for $600. I have been enjoying them for the last 16 years. I know there are better speakers out there. I have been able to listen to some impressive speakers at audio shows. I also understand that I will never have the resources to afford said speakers. I always return home from listening to high end speakers at shows and I sit down in front of the acoustats and think " They are still really pretty good". |
Geoffkait it is a good idea :) The new Apogee table will match well with my Ethan Allen cabinet. Just think about using the good condition one for the center chanel (will need to display both speakers to avoid the sore look of one odd trapezoid speaker). Am just curious what difference it would make to offset the time searching for good amp and surround preamp. |
