Shopping at Goodwill anyone?


I check out Goodwill a couple times a month for CD's . the audio equipment is not much to speak of ...until today. I saw this pair of Yamaha NX-E150 bookshelf speakers. All wood thick cabinet, 4.5" coned woofer and 1" tweeter.  I picked them up and they felt pretty substantial by weight.  hum...$6.99 each what do I have to lose.  Got home and set them up , put on my favorite B S and Tears SACD and WOW!  I was blown away...great imaging and soundstage.  They sound 4x as big as they are!   Happy Hunting today!
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10 years ago, I bought my first matched separates, a Tandberg tuner, amp and pro that appeared in 3 nearby pre-owned shops. This perfect match hooked me on component matching. Browsing on Audiogon and there, I eventually went all matched Proceed/Lexicon components. I’ve been happy since converting my front speaker cabinets (15’s, 7’s and tweets) from passive to fully adjustable active crossovers/tone controls.

Pre-owned Audiogon vintage components can be connected easily to modern components with newer convertors. The sound quality of modern USB/RCA digital/HDMI/Optical/analog “connections and convertors” is clean enough to integrate great sounding vintage components. I connected my iMac27 Thunderport audio digital output to my Proceed Pro with an Amazon HDMI to digital RCA 110 volt convertor and a pass-through HDMI to my Sony TV.  Sounds and looks amazing. Happy Trails !       
My local GW/Thrift shops are nothing like the ones above. Good to read that some of you guys are finding killer gear. Happy Listening!
I've personally have had not been lucky here az, however my buddy  who  goes every day scooped up a pair of a small pair of kefs not a top of line and I've seen Klipsch reference 2 for a ridiculous price and a pair of of reference 1 for $300 but sold. Other than that I check music section which is crap that are scratched.
At least I've learned one thing. If I donate it will be to Habitat for Humanity; not Goodwill.
My journey into the crazy world of hifi began when I picked up the iconic NAD 3020 at a Value Village (Canadian thrift store chain - not sure if it’s actually American?).

Now I make the thrift store rounds every few months, scouring the record bins for some mint Stravinsky or Kinks vinyl.


One day I walked into the local value village and picked up, side by side..a mint pair...of.... NAD3020 and a 3120. $14.99 each.

Last night....Picked up a Mint class d 150W 10" sub for $9.99...and.... a pair of Armani Sunglasses, $1.99. Oh the sunglasses. Dozens of sets of $200-600 a pair sunglasses. Mostly in the $200 range, but lots of them. The sunglasses in the car are worth more than the car....