[Socrates3000]

I am wondering is some of you have found sources that you like for <$100. Garage sale finds, used, vintage equipment, refurbs, mass produced equipment, etc. For my part, I would like to nominate the Emu 0202 usb. After all, source components tend to depreciate in value fairly quickly, and maybe some of us would like to get the rest of our system together before we spend a bunch of money on a source, and I am interested in hearing from people who have used this strategy.

 

[juniperlater]

Pioneer PD-91 - but that is the find of the century. It was a thrift store find.

 

[Socrates3000]

Wow. How does that thing sound. Another headfier from Texas also found one at a thrift shop.

 

[juniperlater]

I have only heard one better CD player - It was a T+A (rebranded Shanling I think), but it was marked $11,000. The only time I have ever seen my PD-91 for sale (doesn't happen very often), it was $950 used.

I was looking to upgrade earlier this year and a friend of mine - whose ears I trust very much - told me that there really wasn't such a thing (at least not in the sub-$2000 area) as an upgrade for the PD91.

 

[Uncle Erik]

There's no one specific brand or model, but the best cheap source is a used turntable. Garage sales, thrift stores, Craigslist, wherever. Find a decent one, clean it, adjust, new belt, and so on. Add a Grado Black and you'll be doing well. Not to mention being able to pick up new music for under a dollar each or a crate for $10. At those prices, you can be adventurous with trying new music. And that's the best part of being an audiophile, anyway.

 

[Socrates3000]

Yes, Uncle Eric, but then one would have to find a phono stage-- n'est ce pas, and one would need at least a carbon brush to clean records.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Try Garage-A-Records. You can get a phono stage for $30. You can also find cheap old receivers in the same places as used turntables. They almost always have a phono stage. They'll have a FM tuner, too, which is another fantastic source. $10 on an *external* antenna (easy to DIY) will make FM sound great. If you have NPR/public music stations around you can get much use from a tuner.

Also, you don't really need a carbon fiber brush for records. I clean them in the sink with a $10 artist's brush I cut down and pat dry with soft, old, lint-free t-shirts and bath towels. Get some new sleeves for a few cents each and you're good. You'll get hooked after listening to a few records, anyway.

 

[calaf]

I have been pimping the Toshiba HD-XA1 a lot lately. It was the 1st generation top-of-the-line HD-DVD player from Toshiba, and now can be found easily for less than $100 on ebay, buy.com etc
I use mine mostly as a transport feeding the Opera DAC, but I could be perfectly happy with the Toshiba internal DAC. Only clear difference between the two is the wider soundstage of the Opera DAC, but that's not necessarily a plus...

 

[tfarney]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif There's no one specific brand or model, but the best cheap source is a used turntable. Garage sales, thrift stores, Craigslist, wherever. Find a decent one, clean it, adjust, new belt, and so on. Add a Grado Black and you'll be doing well. Not to mention being able to pick up new music for under a dollar each or a crate for $10. At those prices, you can be adventurous with trying new music. And that's the best part of being an audiophile, anyway.

I've got an old Thorens with a Grado already in it, sitting on the top shelf of my office closet. Just needs a new needle. That would be a seriously cheap source if I had room to set it up.

Tim

 

[nick_charles]

I have obtained several very listenable sources for well under £50.61. My first was an ancient Denon DCD560 for $22.50, then a fantastic Philips DVD player (now sadly dying) for £30(new) , a Yamaha multichanger for £30, a 1990 Onkyo DX1400 for £5(still in current use) and I have just won a Yamaha CDX520 for £7.50 but that has not arrived yet so I cannot comment on it. My DAC is a £25 Entech 203.2. If you look around you can find some real bargains for not very much. I also have two, though one died at the weekend

, Creative Zen Xtras that were about $40(NOS) and $25(used) respectively.

 

[Budgie]

Playstation1

 

[jonnywolfet]

my spch1002 model PS1 cost me £10 including delivery. adding £6 for the blackgates, and a £2 for a remote control. i'm convinced i'd need to upgrade everything else before i'd benefit from a better source.