what are your top "audio bargins" in your system history?


It is great to have all the money you need to have the best and endless upgrading.  But what about the components you've had that were inexpensive that turned out to be favorites of yours?

jusam

Forgot about my "Elcaset" deck Made by Technics in the late 70s it took a huge cassette that had three colors of quality.  Blue was the lowest and all you would ever need.  The unit automatically sensed the tape type.  I pulled and pushed the tape which was the size of reel-to-reel tape and it ran at twice the speed of a regular cassette.  

I had a guy at the stereo store going on and on about the Nakamichi Dragon how it was the best and highest quality cassette deck ever made.  So I lugged this monster into his store....game over.   I think retail was close to $2K back then and I got it on the base PX in the Philippines for $200.  Format never caught on and eventually sold it but it was a stud!

Sony TA-ZH1ES headphone amp! Got it for $900 used but basically new from a guys summer home.

Have an unnamed $3500 new headphone amp that hasn’t impressed me much after listening to the Sony with my Z1R’s. Can’t say enough good things about theTA-ZH1ES.

As far as other gear goes....

DAC: Cambridge Audio DACMagic 200. $500 and love it. Its just a great DAC and scratches the MQA itch for cheap. Powers my in ceiling and outdoor speakers along with my Stellar PS amp. However a Bluesound Node is still a better bargain since the streamer function is there.

Speakers: JBL 4309’s got them new for $1200 on sale and OMG love those sealers immensely. Paid double for speakers and haven’t enjoyed them half as much.

Amps: Schiit Aegirs in mono! $1600, mono amps and an incredible sound. Again, super enjoyable! But two new Azur 851w’s for 3k is a close second.

Integrateds: Technics SU-G700MK2... Not really cheap ($2,900), but really is a product that just wowed me start to finish. Sound, looks, tech (LAPC), etc. I remember having 4 integrateds in my house and the Technics outshined them all (Yamaha, Rotel, CA).

Headphones: Austrian Audio HiX55’s for wired headphones ($350) incredibly detailed and neutral sound.

BT headphones: Technics A800 for $275 new are a steal IMO.

Hifi at price point really does something. I honestly love hunting down pieces for certain price points and feel it adds to the experience.

I once picked up a used Bryston .5B preamp for $300.  Because it was 18  years old, it was still under warranty.  So when it developed a problem in the phono section, I shipped it off to Bryston.    Just a few weeks later, they fixed it at no charge, gave me a new power cord, new shipping box AND paid the return shipping.

It was a fine preamp.  I replaced it with a VTA tube preamp which I love.  There wasn't anything wrong with the Bryston.  I just wanted to go from solid state to tubes.

Audiolab 6000CDT, Denafrips Pontus II DAC, and Buchardt Audio S400 MkII speakers......all perform at double their purchase cost

Tekton Lores - $1200 

VanAlstine SET 120 Power Amp $1200

Schiit REKKR Power Amp. 2 watts for a desktop or horns. $150