What Was The Best Audio Deal You Ever Made?

[jobrewer1983]

About 3 weeks back I picked up a Denon DVD--5900 SACD/DVD-A Player on trade.

Swapped a set of MK, 2b's, and some KLH 24's that I picked up at a flea market for 2 bucks...

The player is amazing, but the Best Deal* was the 2 dollar 24's.

 

[Djcoolray]

Buying all my stereo equipment at an Air Force BX (PX) in Frankfurt Germany for less than half brand new. A couple months after arriving in Germany we got orders for Desert Storm that lasted six months and upon return to Germany got a stereo system and a good used 325i....convertible !!!

 

[gbroot]

About 3 weeks back I picked up a Denon DVD--5900 SACD/DVD-A Player on trade.

Swapped a set of MK, 2b's, and some KLH 24's that I picked up at a flea market for 2 bucks...

The player is amazing, but the Best Deal* was the 2 dollar 24's.

I've got the little brother to the 5900, the 2900. Weighs in at 20lbs and retailed for around 1K. The 5900 must have retailed at closer to 2K. Fantastic!

 

[jobrewer1983]

I've got the little brother to the 5900, the 2900. Weighs in at 20lbs and retailed for around 1K. The 5900 must have retailed at closer to 2K. Fantastic!

Its one of my favorite unites, Its bringing me back to CD. I just ordered a few SACD's and am looking forward to trying it out. My Amp has a "direct mode" to run the DSD Signal direct to my amp from the player. The 5900 has the ability to run in direct mode. So it should be a lot of fun once they arrive in the mail.

Kind Regards,
John

 

[AudioHertz]

Most recent deals were Thrift Store finds:

KLH Model Six - $3.50 each/$7.00 for the set

Philips 212 Turntable no Cart - $6.00

 

[KiM3Ce]

Estate Sale, McIntosh 275 and C22 for $85 in 1982.

 

[CLB3]

Now that is a deal id take all day, every day!

 

[rdka]

Oracle turntable with a Sumiko arm.

Big place was closing a satellite store and said everything must go. Cartridge was a top of the line Grado. $950 all in back in 1981 or 82. Man, they got mad at that salesman, so I said well I'd like that mod squad update--which they did for $150 and get them some money back. But I did buy more equipment and that monster Alpha cartridge to install on that table & got half speed masters and absolute sound magazines from them for another 5 years. I'd been a loyal customer with them and remained so.

.FYI, I used that Oracle table for more than 30 years & a lightning strike took it out and got $3400 from insurance. Sold the arm and power supply separately. Kept the Benz Micro cartridge. The guy the insurance company sent out for the claim had zero knowledge of this kind of thing. So they just contacted Oracle direct and their estimate was high--so they offered me a little less. Spent that on anice VPI setup.

So my net was about being paid $100 per year to use an Oracle table for 30 years, when you break it all down. As a side note when I got that Oracle, I sold my Thorens table with a Stax tonearm--and a spare Black Widow arm with it--and Grado cartridge for pretty close to that $950 figure--something like 750 to 800, if memory serves.

I sure have not been that fortunate with speakers or amplifiers. That sure would have been nice.

 

[electronjohn]

Probably my KG 5.5s...garage sale find of a lifetime for $25. They just wanted them GONE & I was happy to oblige They wanted $30...and I HAD to make an offer just for the heck of it. "No problem" was the reply. Two 25' lengths of garden-hose sized Monster cables went with. So...the KGs upped the investment in my rig by $15...since I had given $10 for the ADS L-10s I had been enjoying. $10 for the TT, $3 for the SX-580, $3 for an "Oritron" DVD player to spin CDs, and $2 for a fine Onkyo double cassette. $43 bucks total & she sounds sweet. Oh...add another $15 for a spare stylus for the M91ED. Still less than $60

 

[elcoholic]

Probably my KG 5.5s...garage sale find of a lifetime for $25. They just wanted them GONE & I was happy to oblige They wanted $30...and I HAD to make an offer just for the heck of it. "No problem" was the reply. Two 25' lengths of garden-hose sized Monster cables went with. So...the KGs upped the investment in my rig by $15...since I had given $10 for the ADS L-10s I had been enjoying. $10 for the TT, $3 for the SX-580, $3 for an "Oritron" DVD player to spin CDs, and $2 for a fine Onkyo double cassette. $43 bucks total & she sounds sweet. Oh...add another $15 for a spare stylus for the M91ED. Still less than $60

I mean this in the best way possible - Sir you have raised being a cheap bastard to an art form.

 

[electronjohn]

I mean this in the best way possible - Sir you have raised being a cheap bastard to an art form.

Hey...I resemble that statement! Actually, I have a buddy who's WORSE. MUCH worse. He doesn't recycle toilet paper but damn near close. I just happen to stub my toe on stuff for cheap. And, serendipity plays a part, too. I got the KGs at a garage sale I passed about halfway to work. I went about a mile, thought "I have 10 minutes to spare...I'm going back for a look." So, I turned around, went back, and the rest is history.

 

[SX550]

SX-5570 for free

And these AKAI SW-137 for €10.

Original 70s akai audio cabinet in Cherry and glass doors for €30.
Chrome and everything is mint.

 

[Denten]

2385 for free.

 

[Jon Damnit]

My best was a eBay find. The guy couldn't spell cassette or Technics. Bought an RS-M45 for $5.00.

The best Score I ever saw was my service manager finding 2 McIntosh mono tube amps on top of a garbage can in his neighborhood.
Grabbed them up and ordered 4 or 5 tubes to get them both working perfectly. That was 1986. He still uses them.

 

[gladiator335]

Two awesome DIY corner cabinets loaded with RCA LC-1A - FREE
Thorens TD-121 with all the paperwork and original box - FREE.

 

[Mazeppa]

Passing on a Pioneer QX-9900 for $200 that needed "a little work".
Can you imagine trying to work on that monster, or worse, paying a tech if you could find one?

Hard to do as my back in the day system consisted of a QX-9900, Pioneer RL-700 speakers and a Dual 1229 turntable I brought back from Okinawa in 1974.
Trust me, that system was one of the baddest around in Tulsa, OK at the time and powered many a glorious debauch.

 

[mrbruce]

Marantz 7C, in the wood case, with original manual. At a yard sale in a cardboard box on the ground. $3 with no trailing zeroes!
Jaymanaa replaced 2 Telefunkens for me, and I will be always grateful.

 

[dcreek]

Marantz 7C, in the wood case, with original manual. At a yard sale in a cardboard box on the ground. $3 with no trailing zeroes!
Jaymanaa replaced 2 Telefunkens for me, and I will be always grateful.

When you score a deal like that , you have to howl at the moon .
There are no other options....

 

[elcoholic]

Marantz 7C, in the wood case, with original manual. At a yard sale in a cardboard box on the ground. $3 with no trailing zeroes!
Jaymanaa replaced 2 Telefunkens for me, and I will be always grateful.

Winner winner chicken dinner.

 

[mrbruce]

Winner winner chicken dinner.

When I came across this, in 2007, I was not familiar with any tube equipment, but knew I shouldn't walk away without it. It was sitting on the driveway next to children's clothes, with no price on the box it was in, and far from the sales table. Clearly, no one there had any idea of the value - and neither did I. My brother asked someone to come over to tell us how much it was and when they said "3", I asked him if they meant $300 and he told me "$3", so I got it. Because I had no smartphone to try to get some sense of its worth, if they had asked for anything over $30 or so, I would not have gotten it. A truly dumb luck find.