[cifani090]

I decided to make a thread that talked about any audio deals you have found that were just too good to pass up. My best was a pair of B&W DM610i's that i paid $60.

 

 

[davesmith]

I got some skullcandy hesh headphones for 17GBP instead of 45. Thanks Amazon!

 

[Arvid Audio]

Picked up a Rotel RX-830 receiver (circa 1984) at the local Goodwill for $25.00, swapped out a popped fuse and it's been working great for several weeks now.
 

 

[LordofDoom]

A pair of Sanyo SS-540's last weekend for $18.  They've been working out pretty nicely.

 

[sharkz]

I've had some good luck over the past 3-4 years. A few of my scores are as follows:
 
70's Kenwood receiver - $2 at a church rummage sale - still use in my main system
Rotel Turntable - $2 at a church rummage sale - used on and off for a year, decided I didn't need another table, sold for $75
Realistic Mach Ones (series 2) - $10 at Salvation Army - after redoing the woofer surrounds for $30, I sold these for $85 after enjoying them a few months. They just took up too much space.
Acoustic Research AR-4x's - $10 at Goodwill - Used these for a year and a half in my dorm room, had to sell for $100 after realizing I didn't have the room at home.
 
I hated turning around most of these things, but I did enjoy them all and it came down to needing space/money more than the components. I wish I could have kept both pairs of speakers though, they sounded great for different things.
 
Sadly the quality of items around here has dropped off sharply. I rarely visit that many thrifts around here any more, but the main Salvation Army on my way home from work has almost no records any more and have had essentially nothing audio related for the past few months.

 

[DougofTheAbaci]

My Acoustic Energy Aego M speakers usually cost $280 + $50 shipping. They are, however, extremely hard to find in the US and had I had to order them from the UK it would have been closer to $400 all told. Arguably worth it for the sound.
 
I found a guy on eBay selling his for $200 brand new. Cost me $20 to ship. I am NEVER getting rid of them. EVER.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Most of the stuff around here seems to have been picked through and most sellers are savvy enough to check values on eBay or Audiogon. The last good deal I found was the pair of ESL-63s for about $650. They were on Audiogon and the owner didn't want to ship them.

LPs seem well picked-over, as well. The cheap high quality ones have been taken. However, I am finding a lot of CDs for $1-$2, so I've been buying a lot of silver discs.

I do miss the pre-Internet days. Granted, I wasn't into audio back then, but from around 1990-1995, I grabbed a lot of terrific antique furniture that needed work for almost nothing. Fixed the pieces up myself.

 

[Skylab]

Yeah, that's the problem around here too - other than LP's, where I get great scores, garage sales yield nothing cool.  All electronics get sold on CL or eBay...

 

[Uncle Erik]

It really is a shame. I have great memories of old junk stores in out-of-the-way places with amazing treasures to be found. Gas was something like 95¢ a gallon and I had a Ford Escort that got around 40MPG. I'd take friends all over to my "secret" junk stores and haul home treasures.

As much as I love the Internet, those days were great. I wish I could load a few Head-Fi'ers into the car and take them to my favorite old places.

One favorite was a derelict-looking old place with about 5,000 square feet of old furniture, lighting, and other goodies. It was run by Marv, a seemingly cranky old guy always in suspenders. He had several friendly cats running around in there, too. But if you got to know Marv, he was as friendly as could be and had an amazing depth of knowledge. I learned a lot in there. But he closed up around '03 and retired. Hope he's doing OK.

 

[cifani090]

Quote:

It really is a shame. I have great memories of old junk stores in out-of-the-way places with amazing treasures to be found. Gas was something like 95¢ a gallon and I had a Ford Escort that got around 40MPG. I'd take friends all over to my "secret" junk stores and haul home treasures.

As much as I love the Internet, those days were great. I wish I could load a few Head-Fi'ers into the car and take them to my favorite old places.

One favorite was a derelict-looking old place with about 5,000 square feet of old furniture, lighting, and other goodies. It was run by Marv, a seemingly cranky old guy always in suspenders. He had several friendly cats running around in there, too. But if you got to know Marv, he was as friendly as could be and had an amazing depth of knowledge. I learned a lot in there. But he closed up around '03 and retired. Hope he's doing OK.

See being 15, im always looking back at those days. I know the internet is good, but its also bad. I know of many things that before the internet were "rare" and now they are not. Its to bad people like me will never be able to see the golden days, and things are only going to get harder

 

 

[Uncle Erik]

Oh heck, I'm closing in on 39 in July and remember the pre-Internet era. I'm a little jealous of my parents and grandparents; they were around when education and real property were cheap.

A lot of bargains aren't there any more, but DIY is better than ever. You can get plans for anything and parts aren't too expensive.

Today isn't a bad time to be around. I wish I had the Internet when I was 15 - I was on BBS systems. Fun, but not the same.

Don't obsess over the past. Look for what's good today. 2011 is a good time to be alive. I can't believe that you can get CDs for $1 or $2 each and you can buy incredibly powerful computers for nothing. Enjoy what's available right now. 20 years from now, people will be jealous about what's cheap today. Enjoy it while you can.

 

[cifani090]

Quote:

Oh heck, I'm closing in on 39 in July and remember the pre-Internet era. I'm a little jealous of my parents and grandparents; they were around when education and real property were cheap.

A lot of bargains aren't there any more, but DIY is better than ever. You can get plans for anything and parts aren't too expensive.

Today isn't a bad time to be around. I wish I had the Internet when I was 15 - I was on BBS systems. Fun, but not the same.

Don't obsess over the past. Look for what's good today. 2011 is a good time to be alive. I can't believe that you can get CDs for $1 or $2 each and you can buy incredibly powerful computers for nothing. Enjoy what's available right now. 20 years from now, people will be jealous about what's cheap today. Enjoy it while you can.

Maybe i should look into a Meridian CD player

But their is all that theory that vinyl is better, sooo, i was thinking a record player?
 

 

[RexAeterna]

only best scores in audio i had was a very nice perfect working condition 1972 sansui 5000x i found local trading post for 65 bucks. late 1970's kenwood kr-720 receiver for 40 bucks from a local on CL. a 1980's sansui au-d7 for 50 bucks from same seller. pair of technics sb-t200 floor towers for 75 bucks from same trading post in perfect working condition. audio wise i say i did pretty good i guess. i love my stuff. biggest score ever in my life is not audio related but was a legendary sony trinitron GDM-Fw900 monitor for free in perfect working order.

 

[nick n]

ooops saw this was in NON headphones... deleted

 

[DJ The Rocket]

In case anyone is interested, the reason Goodwill thrift stores suck these days is that the greedy bastards had a billion dollar idea to auction everything that might be good at their own website, so they don't have to play by any kind of rules. Use at your own risk though, the deals aren't all that great, and I got banned after getting ripped off on several orders at once and having the temerity to suggest that I should get a refund. Rather than answer a complaint, they made it so I couldn't contact them again. Real nice people there. Don't
forget about their policy of paying the neediest workers LESS than minimum wage (the same people they purport to support with your money). Meanwhile, their CEO is giving himself 6/7 digit bonuses. It's not a very ethical company to support.