Ever Bought an Audio Product that was Stupid Good for the Money?


This is the place to share. Please no shills. 
seanheis1
LOL Neal. They are pretty decent at $300, especially the fit and finish for that price point. 
Recently bought a $40 pair bookshelf speakers from CL that are just stupid good for the money.  They are a diy version of early Rega speakers, Rega Kytes I believe.  I'm sure they trounce speakers costing many times more. 

I find there are a lot of real bargains on CL especially on larger floor standing speakers as listening habits change and people go towards miniaturization.      
I found a pair of Infinity Primus 360 speakers for $125.  I think these sold for around $750 new.  Great deal at the full price, but crazy good for $125. Great full sound, detailed but not fatiguing.  
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A six month old used Lumin S1! Awesome Streamer/DAC combo. Beats the hell out of everything else I have tried from Auralic, Aurender, and PS Audio.
Caintuck Audio's Betsy open baffle paired with a Musical Paradise MP-301 MK3 SEP amp is pretty stupid good. Add in a Chromecast Audio & Schiit DAC for a killer sub 1k system.  

Easily the best CDP I have ever used, was one that was $29.00 when on sale. Stupid because hardly anyone believed me till the small trickle of listeners started to explore and then started to collect so they would never be without. Now the Magnavox 2300 (and relatives) has got it's own audiophile cult following.

http://tuneland.forumotion.com/t332-tuning-cdp-s#6367

I'm not talking "for the money" either. You'd be shocked to find how many folks have walked away from their $20,000.00 front ends to end up with this treasure. Here's a PM sent to me just 2 days ago.

"Michael,

The speaker and IC wire is opening up nicely on my passive pre, and I used your setup for using a splitter from the Maggie to the pre amp and paradigm crossover to the sub and WOW! The Maggie is pulling detail that was previously covered up and there is more space between the players in the sound stage. And, the MGD MP sub is sounding the best that I heard with real detail in the bass region. If there is treble energy in the song, I am hearing it reflected from my ceiling as well as spreading the soundstage. And, you feel the dynamic swings in the music which was previously covered up. The passive Pre amp and the Maggie are giving the best music I have experienced in years."

And that's one of scores that I have received.

Michael Green

www.michaelgreenaudio.net

Boston Acoustics A40 speakers
Mission 707 speakers
Pioneer SP-BS-22 speakers
Second-gen AR turntable introduced in the 80s
Shure VR-15 cart
Original Kimber Cable
Vandersteen 1Bs
Vandersteen 2Cs
PS Audio Elite integrated
Carver CD player with tubes
BIC 960 belt-drive TT
Grado carts
Oppo 103 UDP
Krell s300I integrated
Primacoustic acoustic panels
Anticables ICs and speaker cables
Jim Smith's book Get Better Sound
I took the Boston Acoustics T-830s to an audio lovers meet Sunday. They amazed several attendees with how well they filled up over 1,000 sq. Ft., being quite small for floorstanders. I paid $550 for the pair in 1993. They were my true loves until I got a pair of Canton Ergo 1002DCs for $800. Although the Cantons are now my true love, I cheat with my old girlfriends. Don't tell.

I also got a pair of Genesis Physics model 7s brand new for $75. I don't know what that sales guy was thinking.
Forgot about the Acoustat 1+1s I got on an even trade for some bookshelf Klipsch. Other party was moving and couldn't take the 'stats.
Pure luck, the right place at the right time.
@dpl35 

I picked up a pair of Infinity Interlude IL40s for $200 (and the guy threw in an Infinity IL100s subwoofer and an old Infinity CC3 center channel that he just wanted to get rid of).

Amazing speakers for the money, they're serving as my mains in the HT, along with the matching Interlude IL36C that I had to track down on Ebay (and that ended up costing more than the towers, but it is an amazing center channel).
KLH Nine electrostatics bought from the first owner for $500 in 1992! Still have them in use!
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Schiit Eitr. Inexpensive and it can definitely improve the sound and allow you to get the most out of almost any DAC. Although totally frustrating that most DACs don’t actually work optimally out of the box and need a band-aid like this.....
A fully functional Dynaco Stereo 120 and a Dynaco Pas-3 preamp combo at a garage sale for the total price of $4.00. Had the 120 modified by Frank VanAlstine and the preamp modified by Michael Fraser. Total killer for a small outlay in cash.
Odyssey Khartago (with a few upgrades). A runaway garbage truck couldn't knock the smile off my face.
In general I don't like Klipsch speakers, but 40 years ago I developed a fondness for Cornwalls. I stumbled upon a pair (last year) of Cornwalls (circa 1978) #1 and #2 off the line that year, then raw birch, now freshly walnut veneered, with a new pair of woofers installed (from Klipsch) for $800. the pair. The crossovers had had the oil caps replaced. What joy, and for an old classical music listener they make me smile!
Tom,
Try some low powered single ended tube amps on those Cornwalls and they'll really put a smile on your face!  I used to sell Klipsch at the retail level 25 years ago and was never a huge fan either until I tried them with low powered SE tubes and what a difference it makes.  Enjoy!

Without a doubt , best bang for the buck, get what ya paid for product I've purchased in a long time is the Rupert Neve Designs RNHP Precision. Headphone Amp.   This amp sounds amazing with my Grado RS2e !   Made in USA , built like a tank,  has XLR/TRS combo, RCA, and 1/8 mini inputs .    Built and feels like an heirloom product.  

I am hearing content , textures , and spatial cues I have never heard in CDs I've played a hundred times.   It's spooky how it puts things in space like they are way beyond your head. .  Best $500 spent in a long , long time.
Red Dragon s500 power amp, especially now that the price is discounted to $1,000. The clarity, accuracy, and power is unreal and the custom designed input stage makes pairing the unit with a passive pre/tube pre a breeze. No affiliation, just a happy customer :)
A fanless, low heat laptop. By far, one of my better investments for enjoying music while working online...which is most of the time. No computer noise = golden silence.
Boston Acoustics A40 speakers
Various Heathkits I assembled
SOTA turntable with  SME arm (used)
Blue Jean cables
Still have my A40s.  Refoamed and sounding better than ever.  

Grado sr80e phones gets you a good ways there for only $100 new. 
Cambridge Audio CXU HD!  Very good as a transport for CD's and SACD's (out plays all others I have had), and stunning for DVD's and Blu Ray's.  At $700.00 it is a steal.

Musically, from Glen Gould to Clapton it is excellent.

Rest of system: Chord DAC, Mark Levinson 380s pre-amp., Wired for Sound 4 channel amp., Emerald Physics CS-2 Speakers (bi-amped).  Cords by Analysis Plus.
Synergistic Research Red Receptacle. Very nice improvement for just under $100. 
I found another budget gem. The small and light weight Rega RS1 bookshelf speaker.

Its not picky at all about placement and sounds much bigger than the BBC types of monitors. Mine sits on a bookshelf not far from the wall and it sounds brilliant for any price. 
Starting Point Systems Dac NOS tda 1543... Minimalistic design with an internal battery that I charge with an external one...This dac paid few bucks on ebay is the best of my purchase in audio... Reason why ? try to get a very good dac at low cost... Practically impossible except this one....By the way some want to upgrade from it without knowing that the apparent limitation of this dac is not his own but most of the times the noisy audio system where it is embedded...Trust me almost all system are noisy even the costly one unbeknown to the owner... I know that because mine is cleaner, after my long time experiment with the noise floor...
I forget to say my SANSUI AU 7700 an amplifier  so flexible and so good I never look back to anything named amplifier after paying 100 bucks for it....
But probably my best audio piece was a Quartz crystal that I use by curiosity on my power conditioner  the rest is a long  history... 
The Bluesound Node 2 is a great value and so is the Parks Puffin when talking about new products at MSRP.

Some good deals I've come across... Perhaps the best was a pair of Klipsch CF-2 V1 speakers for $75. I picked up a vintage JVC QL-Y66F direct drive turntable with a Stanton 981 HZS cartridge for $545 about a month ago. 
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Stupidly good? For the sound quality? For the flexible capabilities and functionalities?

Yes the Sansui Au 7700 amplifier.... you can drive anything with the highest level of quality, and even equalize it...


Stupidly good for the price?

Yes bought for 20 bucks in a bid on Ebay a Dac almost impossible to beat, StartingPoint Systems NOS battery dac… So good that ends my quest...


I apologize to all... I realise I had already wrote about them here …. I suffer from Alzheimer it seems...
Pair of 1964 JBL Baron C38's. Talked the guy down from 175.00 to 150.00.
Did a restore and upgraded the crossovers with good caps and inductors. Sound very good. Considering building DHT class A amps for them.  
I have two similar pairs of JBLS 1959s (my fathers) and 1964 bought in mint cond for $400 one is the 15 inch Mid Woofer the 64s have the 12 inch (D131). I want to upgrade the crossovers who did the work and what do you think did the most good.The sensitivity easily equals my Klipsch Heresys and approaches my Las Scalas (Yes I own a lot of speakers) I also have cheap but Gold series Tannoys, VSA VR2s and Focal Electras etc. . You can drive the Klipsch with a fraction of a watt but be aware that a lot of that volume comes from those powerful squawkers. You’ll want more power to drive the woofer to the same levels -really. Your new crossovers may take care of that
@mechans 

Mine have the D130 (15") woofer with the bullet tweeter and N2400 x-overs.
I did the work myself. Found a crossover diagram online with the parts values. Parts express has all you need. You could also use mundorf or other exotic parts if desired. I replaced the tweeter level controls with new ones too. It's needed! Modern parts are smaller and fit well in the boxes. I was able to remove the original parts and wiring without any cutting and save them. Not a difficult job.  
JM Reynaud Twin speakers
Modified Sony Playstation PS1 cd player
Musical Paradise MP-301 tube amp
DiyTube ST-35 tube amp
Schiit Modi Multibit using coax spdif input
Audioquest Nighthawk Carbon headphones at $299 price
Monoprice Cavalli Liquid Spark headphone amp
A pair of 6l6g tubes made by rca with a tungsol label from the 1940s. They we're only $86 and they had a HUGE impact on my system.