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

If my memory would serve a bit better, I am sure that there are more than this. I found that the Superphon revelation preamp to be just amazing back in the day. Since I bought it used and payed not a lot for it, then it becomes one of my most memorable buys. A little later in time, I purchased on ear headphones that were open backed. Damned if I can remember the brand and model, but for $100 they were such a step up from the Koss pro4 A phones before them. 

 Interestingly, a long-ago company by the name of Speaker Lab, had speakers that I bought, not as the usual kit that they offered but plug-n-play instead. The reason that I found it interesting is that I considered them to sound better than the previous set of Speaker Lab K-horns (in a kit no less) that cost so much more. No, you couldn't beat the monster bass of folded horns, but the rest played in neat.

  I found during my hobby as an audiophile that kits in general could be great or greatly disappointing. I am usually willing to take the chance and as far as price is concerned, they can be unbeatable. This of course, would not extend in just any case for me, since if there was ever offered a turntable kit, I would quickly pass!

 I look forward to future responses guys. What was your best (cheap) date in hi-fi? 

The first that comes to my mind is the Schiit Mani phono pre. I still have it boxed as an emergency back-up, too inexpensive to sell and then be without should I need it.

Besides that? My two B&K amps I bought used. Great bargain, and sound great. Still have one in my bedroom system

And not necessarily ‘cheap’ for their day, more mid-fi by todays standards, but I really liked my Polk 5 Jr speakers bought in the early 80’s. Still have them, not in use, but keep them as they have a sentimental value.

"Cheap" is a relative term.

What I now see as cheap I probably didn’t then. I am sure that many here would consider the stuff I now see in my system as higher dollar to be "cheap."

But the first pair of 2 way speakers I bought back in ’93 or ’94 were NHTs for probably $300 & change from Crutchfield, and I thought that they sounded quite nice, up until the time I bought a pair of B&Ws.

Later on in the mid 90s I bought a Muse Model 2 Dac for around $1500 which I thought had a significant positive effect on my system.

A few years after that, the CD player I was using for a transport started doing goofy things on occasion, so I boughtt a Rega Jupiter for under 1k that I thought was a good value & performer.

My first tube amp (in ’94) was a Cary SLA 70, and I seem to remember it being around 1500. I still have it & fell back on it while I was working on my bigger tube amp and I still like the sound.

In ’99 I bought a second hand Cary SLP90 for 1k and I absolutely loved that preamp.