I've been quite lucky with eBay vouchers and things of that nature. Once bought a Bel Canto C5i (RRP $3390 AUD) brand new from an ex-dealer who was selling off his remaining stock. I got it for $1200 and then got a further 20% off with eBay. Ended up with a beautiful amplifier for under $1000. Also bought my PLX-1000 the same way. On sale plus a futher $20% off. Got it for $400-$500 off RRP if I remember correctly. I also worked in the HiFi industry briefly and got some nice deals.
Ages ago I walked into an antique mall and walked out with following: Garrard 301 Two Fisher 100 amps Fisher 400 cx Fisher tuner Two Beogram ribbon mics All the paperwork to go with them all for $150 Those days are long gone.
Probably not the greatest deal in comparison to some already posted but I once purchased 6 x GIK Acoustics 244 bass traps for £5.00 the lot on a buy it now on ebay. I travelled a reasonable distance to collect them, all the time thinking I was going to be told it was a mistake when I got to pick them up, but was met by a very nice lady at the door with a finger held to her lips and a note held up in her hand which read "Don't mention how much you paid!". Never did find out if the low price was deliberate in order to get them out of the house, or an error that was honoured, but was happy either way. I still use a pair of them now.
Yep, I bought a McIntosh C2500 preamp about a year ago and wasn't even in the market. but it was on consignment at a dealer in Mpls for $2800. Crazy deal. Ended up paying $2700 including shipping. these now go for close to $5k... one of the few brands that actually increase in value as time goes by, assuming you buy the gear correctly
Thanks! The pic in my signature is old...have to update it soon. And yes, a lot of people poo poo McIntosh but I love the sound.
In the late 90s I got the following for $750: Pair of JBL L7 speakers Pair of JBL CF-150 speakers JBL PSW-1200 powered subwoofer JBL SC-305 center channel Harmon Kardon PA5800 5 channel amp Harmon Kardon AVR 25 pro logic receiver The L7s are still the front speakers in my 5.1 setup. The CF-150s (still with original tweeters) still in use by wife. The rest have been upgraded but still sit on a closet shelf for emergency use except the AVR 25 which got tossed. Someone did take it out of the garbage before the trash man picked it up.
The deal of a lifetime for me was back in the early 80's. It consisted of a Yamaha R-1000 stereo receiver, Nakamichi 680ZX cassette deck and a pair of Koss headphones all for $400. I sold the 680ZX many years later for $500 to buy a potbellied pig .
A friend of mine came to work and said he had seen in the local paper that someone had left the island and was selling his system. We went and had a look and offered 5k for it which they excepted. We got a pair of Cello Master Speakers, A Cello Pallet pre , Cello power amps , two sun fire subs , two Townsend seismic sink racks and a few other bits and pieces.
The Legacy Audio "Convergence" tower speaker (the precursor to the Focus) priced out around $3800 a pair new back in the 90's. A pair came up for sale in the old Audiomart classifieds, (Remember Walt & Lennice?) for $1600. The seller was in Detroit and I was near Pittsburgh. We met in the parking lot of a feed mill near Sandusky Ohio. Bob and his buddy loaded them into my van, I handed him 16 $100 bills, we talked for two minutes, shook hands and went our separate ways. 25+ years and they still sound great.
Some years back a pal of mine found a dusty, ancient pair of Rogers LS3/5A's at a garage sale for $10 or similar. They worked fine. He cleaned them up, then sold to someone for well over a thousand. This stuff never happens for me; the only stuff I find at garage sales or thrift shops is ... junk.
Back in the mid 90’s a friend of mine worked for a local radio station that was selling off it’s analogue gear. He told me he could get me a nearly new Studer A810 for £350. Fool that I am I passed on it. To this day that still hurts.
The first pig (Porsha) was limited as she was only in mono. Our second (Mercedes) improved the overall SQ by providing a much wider soundstage. Then the third (Harley) really helped fill in the center stage. Overall when all three let loose at once the neighbors would kindly ask them to tone it down a bit .
Thanks, showtaper! Alive, yes . . . but if I tried to kick anything, I might end up on my rear end. Not super-fit these days, and the balance is not great.
