Good Stuff Cheap

I'm on a roll now. The Vandersteen 2W sub ~$500. For front end stuff : Cal Icon MKII CD player, Pioneer DV-05 DVD/DAD/CD player and Sota Comet table - all for under $500 each.

I'll have to second the Classe' 70. For the used price you can't find another that is close.

Also, DIY inter-connects. I order whatever I feel like trying from Parts Connection and solder away. Usually, after they burn in they sound fine. Presently, I've been using a copper/silver/teflon, braided to WBT knock off. It cost me maybe $40 or less for 2-1 meter pairs. They have all kinds of cable and you can even make your own home brew- Cardis.

Grado Headphone amp=$300.00
Grado RS2 Headphones=$495.00

Handmade sandbox for my Well Tempered Record Player. (Which also isolates the motor). My cost was $00.00. I had an old 1/2" cabinet that I cut up and assembled at a friend's shop. It took me 1.5 to 2 hour. After I painted it, bought some foam insulation strip and filled it with sand the total cost was maybe $15.00 to $20.00.

Blank CDR's to back up mastered live music. .60 a piece and going down.

Used Rega Planet.

Used albums!!!!!

Properly set up room!!!!!

Late night with the lights out!!!!

I've seen several used Counterpoint amps in that range. That's a great buy if the mosfets are still working. Insert some older Mullards or other NOS tubes, and they can be very nice. The Pioneer Elite DV05 DVD players are selling for $400 or less used...they have excellent video and decent, musical audio (definitely better than most cheap CD players). I have a Studer A727 CD player that I bought for $250 about five years ago, and I still like it better than any player I've owned since (including a Denon 2650(?), Rega Planet, and Pioneer DV05). It's their old pro model from the late 80s or early 90s, and I'm sure it cost $3000-$4000 new. It's built like a tank, and has a very warm sound (much like a more refined Revox B226, with better parts, better bass, etc). I'm assume a new $2000 plus CD player would sound much better, but I haven't compared any yet. The used Revox B226 often sell for $200-$300 used, and I'm sure they're still much better than any new, similarly priced CD players.

Marantz 4240 4-channel amp, around $ 250 used. Killer.
This amp, a cheap table, medium cartridge and any four speakers is like Shaq w/any four players - a real team.

Haffler DH-500 255/ch for <$500 used.

Dahlquist DQ-10's, w/new driver surrounds or mylar caps.. They need juice though, so probably the Haffler at 255/ch is a good bargain match.

Music Hall turntables. Not bad for the buck, even new.

Ah!Tjoeb CD Players. Tubes added to a basic Marantz chassis that come up used for $ 300 to 400.

Jolida - any of their amps or cdplayer are tube bargains.

ELAD Morrison preamp - a clean, neutral solid state line stage, Class A sound for $ $ 700 to $ 800 new, should go $ 500 used if you can ever find one!
Houston GFP power amps (demo's about 5-600) is a great 60w tube amp with some features missing on the high-end spread.

Apt Holman Preamp - not the best in every regard, but an adjustable phono stage second to none anywhere near this cost. I have seen them for a couple of hundred used. Worth it just for the phono stage.

Cable bargains besides Tributary - Kimber 4TC or 8TC(used)
and Harmonic Tech(used) come to mind.

Spica TC-50 - modest bass but otherwise incredible if you can find some used. My sister has these and has kept them for over ten years. Buy a sub if you must, but they are magical all by themselves. Stands a must.

Allison One - used around $ 300. Unconventional classic that may overcome some room issues with its shape.

Hartley Zodiacs - $ 250/pr new (in '75)/used__?/ 10" 2-way bass reflex cabinets, around 33" that put most modern speakers to shame for smoothness, dynamics, etc. Wish like hell I still had them! What was I thinking!

Phillips GA212 turntable. New $ 250 in '75. 'Semi-automatic',(it stops at the end of the LP - that's it)
and was just a hair worse than the Connoisseur table it lost out to. Likes Shure Type III's or better, but tracks very well, and is gorgeous to boot. Another loss.

Bunsen Burner - to pre-heat your tubes.
Large bags of flour or rice - to reduce unwanted refractions
and dampen vibrations. Put on floor near equipment. Caution -Low SAF. Duh!
Zildjian or Paiste High Hat/Splash cymbals - will add that missing shimmer to your high end. :)

Nice post Prs123. I have owned the Hafler and the Philips and lived off and on with the Allisons for almost a year. Have to agree with you on these three, even down to the cartridge on the 212.