I've seen several used Counterpoint amps in that range. That's a great buy if the mosfets are still working. Insert some older Mullards or other NOS tubes, and they can be very nice. The Pioneer Elite DV05 DVD players are selling for $400 or less used...they have excellent video and decent, musical audio (definitely better than most cheap CD players). I have a Studer A727 CD player that I bought for $250 about five years ago, and I still like it better than any player I've owned since (including a Denon 2650(?), Rega Planet, and Pioneer DV05). It's their old pro model from the late 80s or early 90s, and I'm sure it cost $3000-$4000 new. It's built like a tank, and has a very warm sound (much like a more refined Revox B226, with better parts, better bass, etc). I'm assume a new $2000 plus CD player would sound much better, but I haven't compared any yet. The used Revox B226 often sell for $200-$300 used, and I'm sure they're still much better than any new, similarly priced CD players.
Good Stuff Cheap
I thought maybe a thread like this may be useful. How about a listing of equipment that's cheap and performs WAY beyond expectations. To qualify, the item must be under $500 (new or used)for an electronic component and under $100 for wire. Try to include comparisons to other equipment.
I'll start off with the Musical Fidelity X-Can Version 2.0. Not as a headphone amp but as a pre-amp! I was noticing that some headphone amps can double as a pre-amp and the X-Can sounded pretty good thru my cans so I went to Radio Shack, got an adapter and ran the headphone output into the rest of my system.
Oh my! Detail, warmth, dynamics and musicallity like you read about. All for $250....NEW! Replacing the standard wall wart with the MF outboard power supply ($195)tightened things up even further. Looks funky with the "alien rectal probe" coming out the front, cables attached. It only has one input, but man does it sound good! As good as my Transcendance & Rogue 66.
I'll start off with the Musical Fidelity X-Can Version 2.0. Not as a headphone amp but as a pre-amp! I was noticing that some headphone amps can double as a pre-amp and the X-Can sounded pretty good thru my cans so I went to Radio Shack, got an adapter and ran the headphone output into the rest of my system.
Oh my! Detail, warmth, dynamics and musicallity like you read about. All for $250....NEW! Replacing the standard wall wart with the MF outboard power supply ($195)tightened things up even further. Looks funky with the "alien rectal probe" coming out the front, cables attached. It only has one input, but man does it sound good! As good as my Transcendance & Rogue 66.