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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.
1953
prs123
58 posts
 
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?
kublakhan
717 posts
 
prs good point about the acoustats which i should have mentioned. dont buy them if you listen to rock...you'll hate them. female vocals and small ensembles are definitely their strong point - but they're an 'oh my god' in that arena.
prs123
58 posts
 
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.
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