What are your favorite budget finds in audio?

I got a Sansui receiver and turntable for $25. Both work great.

 

wow - my first amplifier back in 1979.

 

Pioneer SX-780. Perfect condition. $50.

 

I have that SACD player i don't think i paid more than £30 for it - obviously the store didn't know what SACD was. Only downside with it is the lack of headphone output.

 

A few:


Free - a neighbor (God bless 'im) dropped this Pioneer SX-950 off to me a couple years back. Primo after some TLC, listening to it as I key this post.


Scored these Mobile Fidelity OML-1s from Music Direct reg. $1300, paid $600. Awesome, I have them wired to the SX-950.

Best for last:


Von Schweikert VR4 Gen II. $1300. Powered by a 300W per side Emotiva XPA-2. Mind numbing!

 

An ELAC Miracord 770 H turntable for 15 Euro. Apart from some lubrication I had nothing to repair. Plays like a champ.

 

1. Nakamichi Dragon cassette deck
2. Morrow audio cables (MA3's)
3. Electro Harmonix - 12AX7EH <-------------------- Don't know how you can do better for the money
4. Golden Lion Genalex premium 12AX7 <-------------------- simply awesome. simply awesome, did I say simply awesome?
5. Shure M97XE/Jico Sas stylus
6. VPI Aries 3/Classic 3 tonearm
7. VPI Periphery Ring
8. Morrow Grand Reference PH6 interconnects <-------------- Killer!

M~

 

I picked up a Pro-ject Debut 3 turntable for £20 a couple of weeks ago in a really bad junk shop, it was plugged in to a nasty midi system, someone had nearly bought the whole lot the day before but had decided against it because the CD player wouldn't work
It was very difficult to restrain my excitement and not make the seller suspicious, lots of huffing and puffing on my part... lol

 

Outstanding - sometimes that huffing and puffing can backfire on ya!

 

Picked up a Nad 3120 (mint,boxed with manual) for £28.00 years back in a secondhand electricals shop. Still got it and works perfectly.

 

After learning about the early PS3's on this forum I was able to purchase a used one from a local game store for just over $200. It was a stroke of luck and great timing.

 

Pure Music digital music software. A huge upgrade from iTunes playing on its own. Amarra is great too, just wait for a $99 sale.

 

I love Amarra.

 

Herbie's Audio Labs/Signal Cable/Adona come to mind>


sean

 

Just picked up a pair of AR-92 speakers for $100. Part of the "AR-9" line of speakers from the early 80's. 10 inch AR woofer, dome midrange and tweeter. Sound very nice.
Earlier this year, I picked up a TEAC X2000R RtR deck for $125, with plastic dustcover, wooden cabinet and rolling stand. Deck needs work and will be sent off in the very near future. I have already sold off the wooden case and rolling stand for enough to pay for the deck and restoration.
Marantz 4400 receiver for $150 in December.

Assorted NAD pieces....3020 integrated $50 / 7020 receiver $25 / 7060 receiver $35 / 7240 receiver $25

Plus lots of other stuff over the years.

 

Fine speakers, they sound sweet even as I upgraded to a $4K tube amp. I really love these speakers and hope to never have to part with them. If I do, I will stick with Vandersteen likely.

 

When I was in grad school at IU in Bloomington, I went to garage/estate sale about 20 miles outside of town near Bloomfield. My expectations were quite low as this sale was in the middle of nowhere, out in the country. I ended up scoring a mint condition McIntosh C22. I was stunned by the condition of the piece, and the price being asked. I walked away with the C22 for $300. I just sold that C22 to help fund my recent Audio Research pre-amp purchase, and needless to say it went for more then $300.

 

This, mostly free or really cheap at yard sales. The receiver [Kenwood 9600], the Strathclyde 305-m/SME III [hidden] and Magnapan panels were free, the other three sets of speakers [ADS, Infinity, Mordunt-Short] set me back $97, total.



Also this little system, RBH speakers were a gift, the Sony receiver was $20 at a yard sale:

 

DCM Timeframe TF-250 speakers for $50 in great shape.

 

Early on in my vinyl journey I got a Jolida JD-9A phono stage. Not perfect but was good for the interim.

 

B&W DM602 S2 speakers -- $9 at a garage sale. They have the Nautilus tweeters and Kevlar drivers, with polyprop film caps in the crossovers. Still my main speakers.

 

I'm kinda surprised the 1C isn't even more popular than it is... I can't think of a better floor standing speaker for a thousand bux. The dedicated Sound Anchors are mandatory (in my opinion). So let's say 1500 bux, including stands and cables. The aspect that amazes me is the ability to scale well. In a small room, they can easily sound very good driven by a modest receiver. They can sound really great with more sophisticated amplification. A l-o-n-g time ago, a reviewer commented on the earlier 1B, and concluded that their only errors were of omission. In other words, everything they can do, they do very well. I think the Vandersteen 1C is to floor standers as the Harbeth P3 is to stand mounted speakers. They are ludicrously good, and not just for the price. They are terrific. Period.
I wouldn't mind trying the latest version, the 1Ci.

 

Audio Analogue CD Player my wife's cousin gave me. He puts all his CDs on hard drive and doesn't want/need a CD player. I had to get the drawer fixed for $80 and it still has a mind of its own but it looks nice and sounds better.

A Rotel RA-820AX amplifier (with speakers that I've since got rid of) for about $20 at a garage sale.

 

I have had the 1Bs for a long time. It seems when I talk with people in the business, they often mention that they used to have a pair and wish they had never sold them. They always work pretty well in a smaller space, but the best rooms I have had them in had the space to move them away from the back and side walls. Better source and amplification, in my experience, show they can scale up, as you say. I would like to hear the Treos at some point.