The AK "Trade Up" Challenge thread

My recent 'trade-up' was getting rid of my Golden-Tube Audio 300B amp to add DSD128 streaming to my system. I really preferred my home-grown 2A3 to that amp anyway, especially after adding some distributed bass (sort-of distributed, it's only 2 cabinets).

I was hesitant as I really liked that amp but the Concero DSD128 DAC hooked up to a streaming appliance and sending everything - especially PCM - to that DAC as DSD128 via HQPlayer has been a revelation for me.

'Trade Up' definately applies.
 
I started my audio hobby with a junk pair of pioneer speakers and an outdated kenwood av receiver. I've funded pretty much everything I have through buying, selling, and trading. Currently I've got some polk sda 2's, advent heritage, klipsch kg3.5, and polk monitor 7 that take turns between an nad 7240PE and a totl philips lab 7971. All in all, I'm only a couple hundred in the red but there's lots of other stuff on the chopping block. It's so rewarding to know I started with basically nothing and now have some nice pieces to enjoy for such little investment. I think I am definitely hooked for life
 
I'm looking forward to hearing about those new amps, Anthony! And I agree with Bill that the 604s were a good call - I love a good point-source driver!

I've made a couple of upgrades lately too, though they're not quite so sexy. I recently sold a couple pairs of speaker cables and some ICs, and I am trying some different - and somewhat unconventional - wires between the amps and speakers. More to come on that front.

I'm curious to hear what you've come up with in the wire situation. When all the dust settled that will be the last area I look at and as with everything else this far, I'm hoping that DIY will again prove to be the best value.
 
My recent 'trade-up' was getting rid of my Golden-Tube Audio 300B amp to add DSD128 streaming to my system. I really preferred my home-grown 2A3 to that amp anyway, especially after adding some distributed bass (sort-of distributed, it's only 2 cabinets).

I was hesitant as I really liked that amp but the Concero DSD128 DAC hooked up to a streaming appliance and sending everything - especially PCM - to that DAC as DSD128 via HQPlayer has been a revelation for me.

'Trade Up' definately applies.

I've had my eye on the Concero HD as well. It looks to be an outstanding value for its price range and is on my short list of contenders. Now I need to figure out how I am going to tackle the streaming portion as well as the PC server.
 
I flipped a set of Cerwin Vega DX9's and a lonely pair of Infinity RS625's and financed my Vandersteen 2C's.

Traded up? Oh yeah.

Also sold Pioneer SX-980 + Yamaha NS-690III's + Technics SL1301 + Pioneer CDP for close to 500. Used that to pay bills.

I've been in liquidation mode for about 6 months now, and it gets easier each time. Getting down to the "hurts to let it go" section, but go it must.
 
I flipped a set of Cerwin Vega DX9's and a lonely pair of Infinity RS625's and financed my Vandersteen 2C's.

Traded up? Oh yeah.

Also sold Pioneer SX-980 + Yamaha NS-690III's + Technics SL1301 + Pioneer CDP for close to 500. Used that to pay bills.

I've been in liquidation mode for about 6 months now, and it gets easier each time. Getting down to the "hurts to let it go" section, but go it must.

Onward James!! I want/need to get into that liquidation mode. Great job... I assume you're not browsing Craigslist or garage sales in those 6 months? :D
 
Onward James!! I want/need to get into that liquidation mode. Great job... I assume you're not browsing Craigslist or garage sales in those 6 months? :D

Well.....it's complicated.

I have two good friends, one who works in a flea market emporium type thing, the other is a very good amateur tech and collector.

I get my gear thru these guys. Yeah, I pay a bit more, certainly more than they paid, but thru these guys I've acquired my finest pieces.

I am no longer buying. Period. I don't look at Craigslist, because, dammit, I'll buy something. Usually of less quality than what I already have.

At 42, i'm not on death's door or anything (at least I hope not) but it isn't like I'm going to have great hearing for decades.

The time to listen and enjoy is now, and since acquiring the Vandersteens, all my other speakers sound like a well-executed fart.
This includes another mint pair of Yamaha NS-690III's, Polk Monitor 10's, restored HPM-100's, JBL L46's, JBL L100t's with T3 upgrade, and on and on.

I'm going to get down to perhaps 4 pair of speakers, two of which will be my ugly Epicure Model 20's (hell, nobody would buy them anyway) and the Vandies, with two more I gotta pick out.

HPM's are probably going bye-bye this weekend. ALready sold my Pioneer SP-BS-22lr's (and sub) which was a nice little system....that I never played.

Bose 601 series 2 restored....they will go if someone offers me decent coin for them. Far better than I expected from Bose.

My point is, move UP the ladder, and quit dilly-dallying in the low end stuff.

It gets much easier, slowpat. :thmbsp:
 
My recent 'trade-up' was getting rid of my Golden-Tube Audio 300B amp to add DSD128 streaming to my system. I really preferred my home-grown 2A3 to that amp anyway, especially after adding some distributed bass (sort-of distributed, it's only 2 cabinets).

I was hesitant as I really liked that amp but the Concero DSD128 DAC hooked up to a streaming appliance and sending everything - especially PCM - to that DAC as DSD128 via HQPlayer has been a revelation for me.

'Trade Up' definately applies.

I'll have to go take a look at your thread in digital to see how you are using HQplayer in conjunction with Jriver. I have never used either. :D
 
HQPlayer replaces Jriver for the most part - I still use Jriver for ripping, tagging and sometimes for catalog browsing but all playing happens with HQPlayer - find the tracks in Jriver, drag-and-drop to HQPlayer.

HQPplayer converting to DSD128 is pretty incredible, and has the very cool option to use a lightweight linux device at the end of a wired network connection to feed a USB DAC while the big noisy PC does all the work in another room - the system you can build around this software for not too much bucks is pretty amazing.
 
My trade up efforts seem to have stalled out a bit. I still sell the occasional piece(s) but the cash seems to near-instantly turn into one of two things: glass or iron.
 
Great thread. There is so much money sitting around in collections here that it puzzles me why someone wouldn't want to sell it all and buy some really nice pieces of gear. I get having multiple pieces is nice, but it can't be nice as having one or two really nice ones!

My entire time spent in this hobby I've been doing just that. I will buy gear, and then resell it at a higher price (yes, flipping) after fixing it up or doing/getting some work done to it and then take that money and buy something much better that is more practical. For example I had a pair of Kef 104/2s lying around as well as a couple other pairs of speakers - when I sold them, I took the funds and bought myself a DSPeaker Anti-Mode Dual Core 2.0. One of the best purchases I've ever made.

Or for example I had a pair of IMF TLS 80 IIs and 50 IIs lying around - sold 'em both and got the big daddies, the RSPM Mk IVs. Why have the lesser models when you can have the best?

I have some surplus gear again, and now my focus is going to be selling it and putting the money towards a system for my latest purchase, a pair of RWOFostex studio monitors. It's time to build a real, serious system and I now have the speakers to do it.
 
Super cool thread, I love the barter factor of the audio hobby.

I've not spent much on my system, most of it was a great CL score, to friends of mine finding gear for me.

I started my love for audio as a child, my 1st system was my dad's old Pioneer from the 80's. I don't even know what the model number was. While I was in college my mom sold it at a yard sale for a buck.. Speakers and all..

Upgrades: I've done some good bartering with audio gear, traded up my university's for some modern Axioms. I had a custom rack built for my 1250 for a trade on a SX-650. Lucky for me the gentleman who built the rack for me was a professional wood worker, and I had a NOS 650. Mind you the 650 was not worth the cost of the rack, but it was brand new, and he wanted it. I ended up with a way better deal, but it was not really about the value. The good thing about it is I made a good friend in the process. :)

While I don't really sell my gear, a lot of times I have traded it off with friends who share the same love for audio.

I recently re-capped a Sansui Au 717 for a friend for my set of JBL-L150's, I consider it an upgrade..

My most recent "upgrade" I did some cabinet/crossover work for a fellow AK'er, and got an SX-1010 out of the deal! I am also working on a Marantz 250M for another friend who gave me a 250 for the work.. Now it's time to "upgrade again" Ill be letting my 1250 (Fully re-capped) go so that I can purchase a nice preamp for the 250 once I get the re-cap finished. I will most likely trade it, Just need to track down someone with a good preamp..

cool thread, a lot of fun,
John
 
I sold a TD-160 in the last six months and put the money on my home loan. I consider my house/rooms the last thing in the audio chain before the sound enters my ears.

Surely that's an upgrade? At least towards audio security?




(grinning, but true)
 
To Redboy - I too have stalled in my efforts. I did sell the HPM's, a Sony STR-7065A and Yamaha CA-810 that I loved, but I still have far too much stuff.

We're down to the "hurts to let them go, but not really using" pieces now.
 
To Redboy - I too have stalled in my efforts. I did sell the HPM's, a Sony STR-7065A and Yamaha CA-810 that I loved, but I still have far too much stuff.

We're down to the "hurts to let them go, but not really using" pieces now.


Over time I vacillate between wanting to own a bunch of neat stuff and just wanting it all gone and out of the way. I do my best selling and trading in that second frame of mind, of course...

I've found it beneficial to take good photos of the nice stuff. It helps when it comes time to sell those things (pretty pictures fetch higher sale prices!), but then I've got the pictures to go back to when I'm "reminiscing," which honestly just doesn't happen that often. And the pictures take up a LOT less space than their respective subjects did!

I have very few selling regrets. I hear people talk about keeping things because they're rare and unlikely to ever find one again, but in today's world of online forums and eBay that argument usually doesn't hold water, at least not in this hobby.
 
Traded a Heart GH/ Live CD for a Dickey Betts Atlanta's Burning album on vinyl, then traded it for Lynyrd Skynyrd Street Survivors with flames on vinyl..
 
Hard part for me is I find the deals before I sell off the previous generation stuff.
My wife insists that we do it that way to be sure its an upgrade ... she wants a real A/B test,
not trusting the memory of the old gear!

Thus, 4 pr of speakers upstairs at the moment, waiting for a buyer!
 
Hard part for me is I find the deals before I sell off the previous generation stuff.
My wife insists that we do it that way to be sure its an upgrade ... she wants a real A/B test,
not trusting the memory of the old gear!

Thus, 4 pr of speakers upstairs at the moment, waiting for a buyer!


pffff. Lightweight. :D

I think I'm down to perhaps 6 or 7 pair that need to go.
 
Hard part for me is I find the deals before I sell off the previous generation stuff.
My wife insists that we do it that way to be sure its an upgrade ... she wants a real A/B test,
not trusting the memory of the old gear!

Thus, 4 pr of speakers upstairs at the moment, waiting for a buyer!

I can tell you right now, you have one of the few wives on the planet that subscribes to that method. :D

My wife just wants everything gone one day.
 
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