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

@chowkwan: are you sure about the $750 price for the ET LFT-8? It’s price at introduction 30 years ago (!) was to the best of my knowledge $1500/pr, increasing slightly when the -8A was introduced with improvements, and again when the -8b appeared. The -8b finally settled at a stable price of $2499’pr for years (what I paid for mine), and has now crept up to $2800. In the opinion of more than a few (Harry Wesifeld of VPI, Robert E. Greene of TAS---yes, there ARE persons of integrity at the mag, a number of UK reviewers, and myself. Reviews available on the ET website), the best speaker value on the market..

Then there is the new -8c, which incorporates a new dipole woofer, woofer amplification, and an active x/o with DSP (beating Magnepan to market with same), selling for $3900. The new woofer/amp/DSP is available separately for current -8b owners (a simple bolt-on replacement for the -8b's passive sealed woofer), at a price of $1500/pr.

While the ET-8 IS inefficient (mid-80’s), its modulus of impedance is quite different from that of Magnepans. The woofer and magnetic-planar panel present a fairly even load of 8 ohms to the amplifier, the m-p panel alone (when bi-amping) an almost purely-resistive 11 ohms, great for tube amps. Magnepans in contrast are a 3-4 ohm load, which is why they prefer solid state.

No matter what cheap stuff you buy, over time, the cheepnis [ha ha]  will come to your attention.   And you will know you got what you pay for.

1. Crown PL-1 Power Amp $400

2. Crown SL - 1 Preamp $600 with adjustable separate external MM phone preamp.

Building JBL Laners from the JBL blueprints and Buying the LE 14A, Le20,LE5H mid components. Total speaker cost under $700. 

Sennheiser hd580 and hd650 headphones.

Schiit modi multibit dac

Zu mission rca ic's, $25 new off eBay

Onix Ref 1 speakers, $400

Belles Soloist 5 Amp, $400

Creek  Classic 5350SE Amp, free! Needed repair.

The one that stands out best in my mind was a pair of ADS bookshelf speakers, possibly the L300. They had a wooden veneer cabinet and a metal grill.   I recall a review about them that was full of praise and that said that in a dark room, the speakers seemed to disappear leaving only the music.  And, it was true.  They were in my second system In our finished basement.  The clarity and imaging were fantastic. I don’t remember what I was driving them with, possibly an NAD integrated amp, but, in a smaller space, the midrange and treble actually was a close second to my Infinity RSIIb’s, which were bi-amped.  Great little speakers.