Good Stuff Cheap

Vandersteen 1B's are available for <$ 500 used, as is the older NAD receiver I have, powering them quite nicely. As I have auditioned them against B & W and a slew of other speakers/amps in this price range, I can say they are a true audio bargain. With a Linn Sondek LP-12 as the front end, and the $ 5.50/ft solid silver Tributary speaker cables(good bass and detail), you can really hear what this speaker/receiver combo can do, and it is holding its own in this fast company. It actually is more enjoyable than my extensive HT setup downstairs, at least with vinyl. And the HT system has about $ 10,000(new) worth of separates and speakers. (Yamaha DSPA1, Adcom GFA6000, Toshiba SD5109, PhaseTech cabinets out the yin-yang). My feeling is that the 1B's(or 1c's if you must) are a more successful design than the Vandy 2's, except maybe the 2CE Signatures.
Another bargain, for HT, would be the Adcom GFA 6000 amp I am using, which again is under $ 500 used, and will deliver
all the high current juice you will probably need, especially if you run powered subs( a must for HT IMHO).
Some otherwise good HT amps/rcvrs need help from a separate power amp and this is a cost effective solution. It runs very cool as well. Tight midbass and all around control is excellent. I heard 3 and 4,000 dollar HT units from Marantz, Denon, Yamaha, etc. which were simpering underachievers compared to the effect of going pre-out to this unit. The GFA 7400 is also great, but probably harder to get under $500. But that's HT.

Marantz 4240 4-channel amp, around $ 250 used. Killer.
This amp, a cheap table, medium cartridge and any four speakers is like Shaq w/any four players - a real team.

Haffler DH-500 255/ch for <$500 used.

Dahlquist DQ-10's, w/new driver surrounds or mylar caps.. They need juice though, so probably the Haffler at 255/ch is a good bargain match.

Music Hall turntables. Not bad for the buck, even new.

Ah!Tjoeb CD Players. Tubes added to a basic Marantz chassis that come up used for $ 300 to 400.

Jolida - any of their amps or cdplayer are tube bargains.

ELAD Morrison preamp - a clean, neutral solid state line stage, Class A sound for $ $ 700 to $ 800 new, should go $ 500 used if you can ever find one!
Houston GFP power amps (demo's about 5-600) is a great 60w tube amp with some features missing on the high-end spread.

Apt Holman Preamp - not the best in every regard, but an adjustable phono stage second to none anywhere near this cost. I have seen them for a couple of hundred used. Worth it just for the phono stage.

Cable bargains besides Tributary - Kimber 4TC or 8TC(used)
and Harmonic Tech(used) come to mind.

Spica TC-50 - modest bass but otherwise incredible if you can find some used. My sister has these and has kept them for over ten years. Buy a sub if you must, but they are magical all by themselves. Stands a must.

Allison One - used around $ 300. Unconventional classic that may overcome some room issues with its shape.

Hartley Zodiacs - $ 250/pr new (in '75)/used__?/ 10" 2-way bass reflex cabinets, around 33" that put most modern speakers to shame for smoothness, dynamics, etc. Wish like hell I still had them! What was I thinking!

Phillips GA212 turntable. New $ 250 in '75. 'Semi-automatic',(it stops at the end of the LP - that's it)
and was just a hair worse than the Connoisseur table it lost out to. Likes Shure Type III's or better, but tracks very well, and is gorgeous to boot. Another loss.

Bunsen Burner - to pre-heat your tubes.
Large bags of flour or rice - to reduce unwanted refractions
and dampen vibrations. Put on floor near equipment. Caution -Low SAF. Duh!
Zildjian or Paiste High Hat/Splash cymbals - will add that missing shimmer to your high end. :)

Kublakhan - thanks for the heads up on the ELAD! The other components listed I have actually owned, or at least heard extensively.
I occasionally see deals on older Conrad-Johnson pre's and know this brand more by rep than by audition, especially the older models. Feedbback anyone?

It seems there are a lot of planar and electrostats around $ 500 or so used now. The acoustats, apogees, and even an occasional Soundlab show up. The caveat is that you must have good juice, low impedance capability and lots of muscle to do them justice, with very few exceptions. And some are notorious for arcing(yikes!). I have heard the acoustats and apogees in the past, Loved the acoustats on female vocals and small ensembles. Loved the apogees on orchestral(the big apogees that is), but that was with Rowlands pushing them, so kiss that budget goodbye.
Will a $ 500 Hafler do justice to those used ribbons? H-m-m-

BTW, has anyone heard the $ 250 or so new Dana 1's or 2's?
Are they still in business? Should they be?

Speaking of possible overachievers, has anyone heard the Fluance speakers, specifically the SM938, which are going new for $ 270/pair on audioreview? With a 10" side-firing woofer, two 4" mids, and the ubiquitous 1" silk dome, they look like interesting knockoffs of several well-known names. The price looks too good, even at their
$ 400 'MSRP'. They state 89 dB sens, an 8ohm load and 38Hz low-end response. They have a narrow profile, like some NHT's, Proacs, and Audio Physics we know but are not angled for phase. I am guessing that they saved on bracing, damping,driver quality, and crossovers("oops, we're over budget, hand me the papier mache, bubble wrap, toothpicks, glue, staples and aluminum wire!"), but otherwise an intriguing buy for under three hundred new. They might even image and soundstage OK based on their design, and they offer another model that has a Nautilus knockoff tweeter on top of what is a very large four-way box(42"!) also under $ 300/pr. Hell, I spent more than that on cable, and I'm a notorious skinflint. The name Fluance bothers me though, too much like efFluence. :) Sorry, couldn't resist.
I guess one could buy these visually impressive bargains, and hide a pair of LS3/5 A's and a Sunfire Jr. to mess with your friends. Just a thought.