A pair of JBL 4430s (Dollys) in a pawnshop for $450.
Marantz AV7701 for $100. I’m still using it.
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Too much work to recall it all but a few stand out. Early 80's, ADS aluminum cabinet mini car audio speakers, $8. They felt way to heavy, opened them up, filled with sand! Cleaned them out, upgraded caps and resistors, offered $500 for them a week later at local audiophile shop. I still have them, used in several different garages and shops for decades. A couple of years later a little passive subwoofer with crossover, used with the ADS and good car audio head units as above. I still have it as well but do not remember brand. ST70 in very good condition for $25 at the Navy base thrift store, refurbished it, used a few years, sold a couple of years later for $500 Mostly into car audio for a long time at a level many believe impossible to achieve but I can setup an incredible system far less costly and less work than a home system. Lots of deals, including sponsorship when competing, best speakers were Rainbow Reference, retail was $7k, I paid $4500 which was below what the distributor paid for them. Everything I own now was bought wholesale or used at great prices though getting back into DIY speakers, I used to build quite a few. I do have some little KEF line arrays I got for around $300 I really like with a decent sub, going to sell as no place to use them. Best current deal was Martin Logan Vision X sound bar, dang fine and perfect for our full time RVing remodel until I get a proper system setup in it, $225.
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Forgot these! Directly from Bruce, got to know him quite well. Edgarhorn Slimline with upgraded huge oil filled caps and higher end Foxtex tweeters, demo set so needed recovered, $800 shipped. Still have them though not likely to work well going to try them in the RV I spent several hundred hours adding to the length and area mods to do so. |
1. Epi 100 speakers ... $140/pair on sale in 1978... still going strong, after a woofer refoam and putting in a new simple crossover capacitor. A timeless classic from Epicure that puts many larger and far more expensive speakers to shame, to this day. 2. Onkyo Integra TX88 receiver, from 1986. NYT magazine’s "Best Receiver of 1986" ... bought it for $80, used, fifteen years ago. Still going strong: rich, powerful, clear... real knobs and a tuner, too. |
@curiousjim sent you a PM. |
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Silver Solids pure silver interconnects - From another user: "I have been an audiophile for over 30 years and have been through cables that cost so much more; Kimber Select, Siltech, Audioquest, Monster, Moon, etc. Audiogon review: Check them out here: |
@cd318 I feel the same way about the Rega RS1. The driver stores almost no energy so everything sounds so fast and natural. There are only a few crossover parts so there is less there to color the sound. I would love to hear the old Kyte. Most that I see for sale are in pretty rough condition. |
The one and only NAD 3020A back in the 70's. Was the start of you can get quality without all the fuss from NAD.
Of course! I can't believe that I've somehow forgotten about the first amp I bought! I got mine in the mid 1980s and it did a great facsimile of far bigger and far more costly amps that followed it. None of which came close to matching it for value for money. A stone cold bargain if ever there was one. I wish I'd kept it now. |
The Dynaco tube system --- FM3 tuner, PAS3 preamp, and ST-70 power amp, without a question....still not off today's best systems with fresh tubes and critical components updated with modern capacitors. The second best: KLH ORIGINAL (not new model) Loudspeakers ..... still very competitive with my Thiel 2 2's and 3.5's.
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Forgot about my "Elcaset" deck Made by Technics in the late 70s it took a huge cassette that had three colors of quality. Blue was the lowest and all you would ever need. The unit automatically sensed the tape type. I pulled and pushed the tape which was the size of reel-to-reel tape and it ran at twice the speed of a regular cassette. I had a guy at the stereo store going on and on about the Nakamichi Dragon how it was the best and highest quality cassette deck ever made. So I lugged this monster into his store....game over. I think retail was close to $2K back then and I got it on the base PX in the Philippines for $200. Format never caught on and eventually sold it but it was a stud! |
Sony TA-ZH1ES headphone amp! Got it for $900 used but basically new from a guys summer home. Have an unnamed $3500 new headphone amp that hasn’t impressed me much after listening to the Sony with my Z1R’s. Can’t say enough good things about theTA-ZH1ES. As far as other gear goes.... DAC: Cambridge Audio DACMagic 200. $500 and love it. Its just a great DAC and scratches the MQA itch for cheap. Powers my in ceiling and outdoor speakers along with my Stellar PS amp. However a Bluesound Node is still a better bargain since the streamer function is there. Speakers: JBL 4309’s got them new for $1200 on sale and OMG love those sealers immensely. Paid double for speakers and haven’t enjoyed them half as much. Amps: Schiit Aegirs in mono! $1600, mono amps and an incredible sound. Again, super enjoyable! But two new Azur 851w’s for 3k is a close second. Integrateds: Technics SU-G700MK2... Not really cheap ($2,900), but really is a product that just wowed me start to finish. Sound, looks, tech (LAPC), etc. I remember having 4 integrateds in my house and the Technics outshined them all (Yamaha, Rotel, CA). Headphones: Austrian Audio HiX55’s for wired headphones ($350) incredibly detailed and neutral sound. BT headphones: Technics A800 for $275 new are a steal IMO. Hifi at price point really does something. I honestly love hunting down pieces for certain price points and feel it adds to the experience. |
I once picked up a used Bryston .5B preamp for $300. Because it was 18 years old, it was still under warranty. So when it developed a problem in the phono section, I shipped it off to Bryston. Just a few weeks later, they fixed it at no charge, gave me a new power cord, new shipping box AND paid the return shipping. |
I have a friend who was visiting another out-of-town friend and noticed he was propping up his garage door to get more ventilation with a shiny metal object. Upon closer inspection, it was discovered it was a McIntosh amplifier chassis. When the owner declared that "he only used it to prop up the garage door" my friend made him a proposition. He then went to the local Home Depot, bought a couple of blocks for $4 and swapped him out. I'm sure they chassis needed a little TLC after that, but this guy restores vintage gear and probably had a big smile on his face through the entire process. I know this sounds "a little out there", but this is a stand up guy who wouldn't have made this up. |
First "Audiophile" interconnects taught to me by Stan Warren (the S of PS Audio in the early 80's) at their facility. Three gauges of magnet wire(motor or coil winding wire) in something like 2/2/3 strands, wish I could remember exactly, braided and silver soldered into the cheapest Radio Shack RCA connectors, the ones with little metal wings and no outside insulation. Cost back then, about $1 for 3 ft pair. We listened to his set on their shop system and compared to the best other cables they had on hand, they were better:) Also go to listen to the original cigar box preamp as well:) ------------ Later 90's I learned about using Star Quad raw cable and decent but low cost RCA connectors to make dang fine cables for around $10 a pair or less. I have used it for balanced cables as well. I have no plans to spend more on cables, have plenty of raw cable to make all I will ever need. Rick |
McIntosh C27 pre for $599 including walnut case (used) just before their price started to skyrocket Advent/1 speakers (pair) for $90 (closeout) Dual CS 5000 turntable with nearly new Shure V-15 Type 5-MR for $350 (used) Sherwood S-7600 receiver (1970) with case for $125 (closeout) APT Holman preamp in trade for TEAC C-3X cassette deck |
Thorens TD150 mkII turntable - a gift when my brother was cleaning out his garage. AR turntable - bought used for $50 in 1980 Wharfedale Diamond 12.0 bookshelf speakers - the overall capability of these speakers would have been unheard of at this price point only a few years ago. Chord QuteHD dac - bought used, when combined with MCRU linear power supply, this is the biggest single performance/price bargain I’ve found yet.
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The following bargains were found at thrift stores or garage sales: Marantz 2235B receiver, $10 Pioneer SA-1000 integrated amplifier, $10 Soundcraftsmen 2640TX speaker, $6 Technics SL-1200M3D turntable, $12 Pioneer HPM-100 speakers (near mint pair), $125 TARA Labs Space and Time speaker cables (two 8-feet pairs), $8 I have other cheap finds, but these stand out.
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I've gotten some good deals over the years. A few years ago I bought a Janis W1 subwoofer for $41.00. I think that it must be the best bargain that I've ever bought. Another one is the inexpensive Dayton Subwoofer amp that I bought to power it that's better than the original Janis Interphase amp and cost just $220.00. Speaking of $220.00, in 1979 I bought a pair of Mcintosh MC60's that I'm still using as my main amps today. I paid $110.00 for each. |
I paid a dollar for about as mint as it gets of Beethoven's nine symphonies, Karajan/ Berlin on a tulip bordered Deutsche Grammophon box set, most sides not even a pop on them. $40.00 for an unopened box set of the 58-65 Solti / Vienna Wagner Ring. I have only seen two sets, one nice condition, the other acceptable, and any other set, trashed. I almost wet my pants when I saw it, an unopened box as I wasn't even shopping for music. |
A few great examples but highlights: Turntable 1998: Garrard 401 with SME arm, free, someone put out with their rubbish, no lead but Len Wallis Hi Fi in Sydney found me an old one, also for free. Amplifier: current Cayin CS55a, list $3700, closing down sale special $1900, Denis White Adelaide. Given so much soundstage with Audio Physic Sitara 25's. Speakers 2005: Audio Physic Yara 2, list $2700, stored in wrong box for 5 years, never used, Sydney Hi Fi $1000. Replaced 20 year old Royd Doublets. Headphones: current Focal Clear list $2200, special from Addicyed to Audio Adelaide, $800. Astounding. Was never a headphone user, now my component of choice. Streamer: current Lindemann Limetree Bridge, list $1450, sale $1000, Hi Fi Collector, Adelaide Hills, nice great combination with Denafrips Ares 2. There are always bargains out there.
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