What is the best value you have encountered?

Any used Shahinian speaker; I picked up Obelisks for under $1,500. Any VTL amp; I found 300 monoblocks for under $1,500. Two Rotel CD players for $10 each at resale shops. An Accuphase E-202 at an antique shop for $25.
SMGa speakers for $40 at a resale shop. Any used Klipsch speakers and any used, but recent Decware amps. See Triode Electronics for NOS tubes unless you can find them in "antique" shops. Always ask for any cables to be thrown in, the worst answer is "No" and you may get Kimber KCAG interconnects for free like me.

Bought a used McCormack DNA-1 for $800, used it extensively for 8 years, sold it fo $750.

Or used Purist Audio Colossus I/C's & wire; sold for gain after almost 10 years of use.

Apogee Stage speakers. I bought a pair in 1995 new for $2,500 & although I no longer have them they still do wonderful things I have not heard since.

I just purchased a set of vandersteen 1b speakers for $144.00
That is my best value purchase to date.

In all seriousness acoustic reasearch cables for $14. were nearly as good as my bottom end harmonic tech's. River cable. The racket balls I use for isolation. Groove Tube Mullard reissues. Audio Experience. Marantz MA 500's. The old NAD Power Envelope Integrateds which can be had for about $80 now. This in absolute bargain basement terms, not in the OMG this was an f'ing steal sense... Then we would be into tube amps and carbon fiber tone arms, and pretty soon you're convincing yourself five grand is reasonable.