Hi-Fi Lo-Fi

I would certainly consider Audiogon for a high end purchase but when I was putting all this together I did not find a lot of low end stuff here....which makes sense of course.

I agree with n80

After the divorce and in my 50's, I became interested in Hifi again. In the beginning I bought some entry level gear, PSB speakers, NAD c326bee etc. Didn't have a lot of cash in the beginning. (Child support and my sons tournament golf). After a while I got the upgrade itch. I've read a ton of threads on various components and different subjects and have enjoyed this re-entry into hifi. When I was in my late teens I worked for a midwest electronics chain called Burstein Applebee. It was there that I learned that there were certain components that "punched above their weight", I remember purchasing a KA-5500 integrated amp that several of us at the store thought very highly of, for not much money.

What I have enjoyed, is buying decent sounding stuff on the cheap. Anyone can go into a Hifi store or order on line, gear at full retail. The challenge is to find decent and or vintage gear cheap (inexpensive) in a city with 3 hifi shops. One is a Magnolia..Yuk! and if you combined the other 2 stores together, I'm not sure that someone from NY City would consider it decent. I'm not sure that good sound always correlates dollar for dollar with money spent. I went to hifi shop a couple of months ago and listened to a pair of Wilson's (30k) on one end of the showroom and a pair of Sonus Faber's (5k) on the other. With the right amp and tt, I would have taken the SF's.
I found a pair of Zu Omen's Mk1 in excellent condition for $300.00 on Craigslist, the NuForce amp on AA for $500.00, Marantz tt15s1 with the Virtuoso wood for $600.00 in Omaha, and one of my favorites was a HK t65c turntable for $270.00. tmraudio for a phono preamp and DAC.  A new audio friend sold me an Audio Research LS3 for $500.00. I think they should have a dedicated thread for "audio pickers". (tv show Maybe?)

Don't you think stuff sounds better when you've gotten a good deal?

I have had several people that have been very helpful on here.. One is Mr. D.  I also have asked some very sincere questions and gotten few reply's. It is however, rather entertaining to ask a question on this forum and then read veteran Audiogon members correct and insult each other over some esoteric fact. You think to yourself.. wow! I didn't plan on creating this kind of trouble.

In closing I'd like to compliment n80 for taking that slight

I have been a mid-fi enthusiast for years. My system is usually comprised of a mixture of new and used, entry-level okay stuff and Craigslist/garage sale purchases. The Audiogon forums are populated by folks who are generally into more expensive and esoteric equipment than I am. I like to read hi-end hobbyist's posts, even though I am unlikely to be in their ranks. Audiokarma has a myriad of posts about great cheap equipment scores from thrift stores and such. There are outlets for all of us.

n80,  Again, for most people it is a matter of priorities. I seriously doubt that homeless people are on this web sight. There are snobs here and some advise might not be useful but I think most of use here like to help people build great systems at a reasonable price. I have seen good advise given to newbies frequently and contrary to popular thought I do not think this love for accurate music reproduction is dying. I think it may be growing. The surge in vinyl sales particularly to young people is evidence of this. 

The only forums I enjoy more than Audiogon are the ones which give me pointers on how to make my $ 10,000 snowmobile go faster, make more noise and burn greater amounts of fossil fuel.