What are/were the best sounding cheap components you have ever had?

ghdprentice,  Your advice is always "sound".     There is no cheap way to good sound,  no matter what your budget is.

Forty plus years into my HiFi journey I am finally able to afford some better gear.  I try to put those $$$ into well planned upgrades that are not subtle.  Most recent was my Toolshed 300b ,  in fact it's so good I sold my soul for it's companion preamp that's under construction now.   I took inventory of stuff I wasn't using,  sold some stuff including my existing pre and put my trusty Sonic Frontiers SFL-1 in the system temporarily.   That move demonstrated how good the Zesto Leto was , it was a giant leap backward in sound quality with that no longer in the system.

I think your rational in spending two or three times more than the component being replaced  for an appreciable impact is spot on.   Anything less is often a lateral move or slight improvement.  I'd rather be patient,  save a little more and enjoy marked improvement.

@oddiofyl 

Thank you. I try.

+10

@ghdprentice  and  @oddiofyl  .

You get what you pay for?

This Pyle Phono Stage, $14.

doggone thing beat fancy ifi ... cambridge duo, .... it hides behind, linear in/out, I prefer my phono in my mx110z and my Luxman, but to get up and listening, it's surprisingly good.

Flimsy wood floors, I still needed something to solve getting 2 steps away from my TT after dropping the needle in the run-in area

$13. rubber/cork blocks did the trick

see them under TT here (eventually I wrapped them with black tape