Best "Bang for the Buck" you have owned?


Yes, the CJ ART, various Audio Research were all great...but I do remember lower priced items that gave much pleasure for their price.

In no order, The Large Advent,  DQ-10, Nakamichi SR receivers,  inexpensive Nordost cables, many tuners giving good vibes vis "FREE" music.  Also, in a different way, the Nakamichi TM radios and SoundSpace systems. 

There was a solid state ARC pre that was very good....ls-12?

And I do  remember "free" listening at some friends homes/systems that were great values. I was exceedingly lucky to have a best friend that bought most of my gear when I was "moving on".  It gave me the chance to listen to what I had had compared to what I currently had....at least once what I had sold to him was better than what my replacement gear was...........the old "live and learn". 





whatjd
Regarding AR turntables, way back when, a friend had one.
didn't know what I was looking at, tonearm looking precariously balanced on the plinth, he had an old Tube Integrated Amp wish I had paid more attention to amp and speakers. When he played a record was blown away. Been searching for that sound since. That was 1976.
 AR Turntables are the bomb.
Dynaco Stereo 70 ($99) and PS 2 Preamp. ($59) purchased along with a Thorens 121 turntable with ADC-1 arm and cartridge and a pair of KLH 7s.  I don’t remember the cost for the latter components, but the 7s were on sale at the time for less than the 6s. It was 1963, and I nearly flunked my college math course because I so much more enjoyed building the kits.  The reward was great tube and vinyl sound that has been superseded only marginally by my newer Mac equipment.  I sold the Dynaco and Thorens when I returned home from Australia in 1976.  My eldest son still owns the KLHs.
In the mid to late 90's or early 2000’s , a radio station decommissioned some Technics SL-1200 Turntables with Stanton cartridges, a friend who worked there got one, he was going to sell it to me cheap, but after he heard it he decided to keep it.
This was my first experience with these turntables, but this combo was another epiphany for me. Never new how good these direct drive turntables were. I had been using a Linn Sondek and Systemdek belt drives. This Technics blo them both, out of the water. Had high end Ortophon , Shure, Goldman, AT, Nagoaka and other cartridges over the years, but this combo.
So Technics SL-1200 and Stanton cartridge, the ones that got away!

Dynaco was the name of the Tube Amp with the AR Turntable experience.Bang for the buck, system. That influenced my search, for sound.
 Dynaco Tube Amp.
AR Turntables 
Harmon Kardon Signature 1.5 Power Amp $450 and a set of Magnepan MGllla's which i got for -$1100 . I made money from the sale of MG2.6's. Long story short. I shipped the 2.6's and they were damaged. I had a $2500 insurance policy placed on them. Replaced the damaged tweeters and made out well...