Last year at a local flea market I've been frequently for years I found a NAD C521 CD player.

One of the regulars had it. A guy with an old junky van with assorted well, junk.

I discreetly walked over and after a little bargaining, bought it for $12.

No remote, but it still works perfectly and sounds quite nice.

I know it's probably hotter than a Vegas whore, but I figure at least it has a good home now.

You guys have any stories of amazingly good deals you scored with your HT?

Thorens TD165 turntable, perfect shape, with a so-so cartidge and the manual. At a yard sale in suburban St. Louis for $10. Popped in my Shure V15-5MR and dumped my old Dual in the trash.

Years ago, when I worked at the store, one of my customers was remodeling the house of, shall I say, "a famous northern politician" (who will remain un-named).

He had some old McIntosh gear, which unfortunately was the old solid state variety, but also had... (drum roll please)... a Marantz 10B tuner.

The gear was all given to the contractor, who had no idea what it was or its collector value. After mutltiple phone calls to him, I offered to trade a new Denon receiver and our cheapest pair of speakers, which I picked up for dealer cost. He agreed. I then sold the two McIntosh components for what I had in the Denon receiver and speakers. So in effect, I got the 10B for free -- sort of: It was DOA and took extensive repairs to bring it back to life. But ultimately I got it cleaned up and working again, and now it remains a permanent part of my collection.

For a while the I thought it was the scam of the century. But looking back on it, in all likelihood he would have thrown the 10B out since it wasn't working. So in reality, I saved it from the garbage bin.

Not quite a component, but a $250 dollar equipment rack for $30 when a Magnolia just wanted to get rid of it.

I wish I had a sweet deal to share - but I don't. I've been lucky though outside the purchases. I received my Mode1 1070 as a birthday gift from my in-laws. I received my MKIV-12 sub as a birthday gift from my wife. And I won the Fathom F112 sub in a contest. Not bad, considering.

I'm a lucky (and grateful) guy all 'round. have been for years.

My biggest deal was on a "broken" Sunfire True Subwoofer Mk IV that I took a chance on and bought on eBay for $300. When I received it, it was obvious that somebody apparently had just stepped on a cable and broken the tip of a RCA plug inside one of the sub's inputs.

I know this is an old thread but just wanted to ad to it. In the late 90's I purchased the following for $750: 1 pair of JBL L7 speakers, 1 pair of JBL CF150 speakers, 1 JBL SC305 center speaker, 1 JBL PSW1200 subwoofer, 1 Harmon Kardon PA5800 power amp and a Harmon Kardon AVR25II Pro-Logic receiver. I still have them all except the AVR. The L7's are still used as my fronts, the CF150's were moved up to the living room for my wife's stereo. They were replaced with L5's for rear surrounds. The PA5800 was shelved in favor of a 7200. The AVR was trashed in favor of an Integra DTR 6.3. The SC305 has been shelved in favor of a CL505. This stuff was all slightly used but was being produced at the time of purchase.

Just got a 990 for $360 including shipping from Oregon to Indiana. Looks new and included all accessories plus 3 HDMI/DVI cables, so I'm pretty happy with that.

Funny, I didn't know anything about Outlaw until a month ago, but now I keep being drawn back here. I spent hours and hours researching various subwoofers--HSU, eD, SVS, emotiva, all the usual ID suspects--with no intention of being brand loyal to anyone, and it looks like I'll most likely be going with Outlaw again... As soon as I can find a bargain on a B-stock or used LFM-1 Plus.

Back in 1988 a friend of mine decided to go with all CDs because his 3 years old daughter wrecked the cartridge on his Technics SL 1200. He gave me the table and about a hundred albums for helping him move a piano with my truck. Replaced the cart, listened to some albums then put it away for about 20 years. Dug it out several years ago and it works fine.

A ways back a friend of mine was going through some problems and asked me to babysit his EV Georgian speakers (i.e. licensed copys of the Klipschorn). I got to enjoy those speakers for a number of years before he asked for them back. The only price I had to pay was to help him move them twice.

A few years back I was exchanging emails with a guy concerning tube amplifiers. During the conversation I said I had been looking for a pair of high efficiency speakers to go along with a low powered tube amp. He offered me a pair of 1960's Klipsch LaScalas for $100 if I helped carry them down from his attic. I couldn't drive the 150 miles quick enough. They were in perfect condition.

I just bought 11 albums in a thrift store. 7 of them were unopened and still in the shrink wrap. All of them are part of a collection of classical pieces featuring the great composers. Total price for all 11 albums - $2.92 including tax. They are not components but it is a great deal.

The only equipment I bought that wasn't on sale were my 2 Epik subs and Oppo. I guess my best discounts would be my Sony VPL-VW70 Projector that MSRP'ed for $6000. I paid $1299 for a B-Stock unit. It was brand new, but I soon figured out why it was such a good deal. During dark scenes with a small amount of light (like someone walking down a dark alley with a candle), there would be terrible pixelation around the lighted part of the scene. You wouldn't think it would be a big deal, but it made some movies almost unwatchable. The colors and black levels, right of the box on this thing, were amazing, however. It blew away my Epson 8100. In order to fix the pixelation problem, you needed an external video processor. I ran across a Lumagen Radiance XD that Spectracal had used as a demo unit. It was basically brand new. It retailed for $4500 and I picked it up for $1000. So for $2300, I basically have a $10,500 projection system. The other good deal I got, was when a local theater installer got rid of all his showroom stuff. I bought a row of 4 Bass Millenia rocking theater seats for $1000. They retailed for over $3000 for the set.

I'm kinda Mr. Bargain; I think the RR2150 receiver is the only thing in my system I've paid full price for. The most recent bargain was my NAD PP-3 Digital Phono/USB Preamp, what I use to digitize LPs. Someone on eBay was unloading what he thought was a defective one for $28, but it arrived operating perfectly. At the time it retailed for $200.

Klipsch RF-82s....$1400 per pair...bought demo units in pristine condition for $499.

I once bought a "Heathkit" AP-2510 premaplifier on eBay for $22 (and free shipping). It's actually a Harman Kardon preamp (even the circuit boards bear the HK moniker - I know this because the "Tape 1" switch was flaky, and I had to remedy that with contact cleaner - works like a champ now) that in its day sold for around $300 or so; I use it as the preamp for the system in my guest bedroom.

Next, probably the M-Audio CX-5's. I have been able to find these for $129 each on line, and while they are not the all out best speakers available (but seriously...which ones are?...it's all so subjective), and since the topic thread was 'bargains', these certainly apply. Great deal for the money (they have been discontinued for a 'newer' model, but some can still be had as of this writing).

After that, I would say the Turtle Beach Audio streaming devices (Audiotron). I bought two new in '05 and '06 (while they were in production) for around $200 each (which at the time didn't seem all that expensive as I have a pretty big digital music library), but since then, I have been able to find several on eBay, one of which was $14 (plus $15 for shipping). Seriously...$14 for a component that was perfectly operable. I use the 'spare' Audiotrons in other rooms of the house (one of the Audiotrons interfaces to my 990 in my main system).

I have other bargains of course...but in my case, audio equipment is to me what heroin is to Scott Weiland...and as such, it seems there have been many 'sweet highs' (borne of bargains), and yet...I'm always on the lookout for yet another bargain, away from which...I cannot walk.

I bought my Klipsch RF.82s with the RC.62 center and two RB-51s all for 1300 about 12 years ago and I love their sound.

7500 at 25% off and free shipping (to the border, so $80 credit) and the dollar almost at par.

I completely forgot about this one... but back in the day, I used to work at the place in Lansing, Michigan that was a catalog showroom. Anyone remember those? Anyway, it was rather unusual one in the sense that we also sold audio gear; there were two salons - the garden-variety room (Technics, Pioneer, Kenwood etc) but also a high end room (Dynaco, Gale (speakers), Rogers speakers (as in LS 35A speakers, Mordaunt-Short, etc). Also sold in the high end room were components from dB Systems. Mind you, this was circa 1980, and the DB-1 preamplifier sold for around $700 or $800 (I can't recall). If you wanted the tone control module, that was another $700 or so. Again...1980 dollars. Pricey.

Anyway, inventory rolls around. in the 'to be serviced' bin is a DB-1 preamplifier. I ask my boss whether it's to be counted etc as it is in the store, and it is inventory - but the unit is apparently 'defective'. So, my boss suggests that I should go ask the Store Manager. I explain to the Store Manager the status of the piece...that it has to be serviced...but I need to know whether I should count it as part of inventory. He asks the sell price, I tell him, and he says "since it's defective, what will you give for it?". So...I going into wise-crack mode and say "How's about twenty five bucks?". He looks up and says "Fine...just get it out of here by 9:00 tonight".

I take it home, with its outboard power supply, and remove the case looking for the obvious burnt trace etc. Nothing. So, I decide to plug its power supply into the preamp and see what happens... The green LED on the power supply is now illuminated (it was extinguished when connected to the preamp with its cover on).

As it happens, it was one of the sheet metal screws that had come into contact with the + supply rail trace on the PCB, causing the power supply to short out. So, I carefully put the cover back on, and gingerly fastened the screws on its case.

It has worked flawlessly ever since...and it has the quietest phono stage I have ever heard (having an external power supply is a great way to keep hum and noise levels very low). I use it now in one room of my house (where the 990 is not resident). Twenty five bucks, out the door. Later that year, I talked the same Store Manager into selling me a DB-6 (dB Systems) power amplifier - a floor model - for $175. I think they went for $700 at the time. I also bought the tone control module for something like $100 a year later, also at inventory time (floor model).

Talk about being in the right place at the right time...

At a flea market last year, I got a Technics SP-25 turntable, EPA-B500 tonearm base and an EPA-250 arm wand (no headshell or plinth). Oh, the price? $25.00US.

I'll double your money if you'd like!!

Via Craigslist I got a SP-25 with a Audio Technica ATP-12T tonearm all in the Technics SH-15B3 base with dust cover. All in almost mint shape for two bills. FYI I just missed an ebay auction the other day where a guy unloaded an SP-25 for 99 cents. Apparently it didn't spin but the repairs on the TTs are pretty easy; it was gone in 2 minutes!

Enjoy your Technics and if you get tired of that tonearm, let me know!

A few years ago I saw a Crown K1 power amp listed for sale. The owner stated
that it was not functioning, so I figured that, at the worst, I could use it
for parts for projects.

So, I bid on it and won it. When it arrived, I unpacked it and hooked it up.

It worked.

I turned it off and set it aside for a few days. When I tested it again, it did
not work. The old thump test showd that there was an intermittent connecton.

When I took off the top cover, I noticed an torroid type inductor on a circuit board
was positioned (bumped over) in such a way that it might be touching the amp's case.

I straightened it up and put some silicon sealant on the side that was nearest the
case.

The K1 has been working fine ever since. Very nice amp for suboofer use.

Paul

You will not believe this at all. But .... Here is my best deal
In 1995

A krell KSA 200 amp, a theta generation III d/a converter, 2 8ft pairs of MIT MH-750 speaker cables, and 4 pair of MIT MI-330 RCAs for ...... $750.00

All worked and I had the gear until 2005 when I sold off my main system.


I got a great deal this week also and upgraded my basement system

Paradigm monitor 11 v3, paradigm ADP 370 v3, paradigm cc 370 v3 center, paradigm PW-2200 subwoofer, with all monster Cables. 800.00

So. Can now sell off the stuff I had in that system and pay for my upgrade I love Craigslist.

A working Audio Pro B1.35 subwoofer, $75 shipped!

New $600+ (I think?) Granted it's 20 years old. It ain't baddest 10" sub available but NO ONE can argue the "bang for the $" factor. After I finish the system's details next year, I'll fix my "Sub sights" on a 12" SVS, Hsu, or Outlaw.

http://www.audiopro.com/sites/audiopro.com/files/expired_product_folders/SubB135_productinfo_eng.pdf

Denon DVD-2910. SACD/DVD AUDIO player. I think new it was like $799. I bought it at a pawn store in the box for $35. It looked brand new. And I used it for over 3 years as my main source for CD's and SACD. But finally upgraded to the Oppo UDP 203 so it is no longer in use.

Just picked up a Panasonic VT30 65 inch plasma for a whopping $450. Guy was the original owner and he had the receipt from 4 years ago. $3499.I would say that I got the better end of that deal.

Just picked up a NAD 7020 stereo receiver for $35. A little contact cleaner and a dusting and it's rocking the house.

I've never owned a NAD before. It's a nice unit.

An Audio Pro Ace bass B1.39, $100 shipped! Rated to 20hz. Needed a little TLC, not the baddest 10" ported sub, but hey.

Correction to previous Audio Pro post: it's an Evidence - 8" ported rated to 27hz. Just PU a second for $100 shipped. Using as dedicated Surround L&R subs.

Garage sale and there were 2 pairs of speakers. A pair of B&W 704's and a pair of small Cerwin Vega's. Asked the lady about them and she said she just want's them out of here 5 bucks apiece so I grabbed the B&W's. Left the CV's because I just never cared for them and somebody else hopefully got a deal. I'm using both my ML LX16's and the B&W's on the 2160 and they play beautifully together.

Gotta love garage sales. If I had more time on my hands, I'd make a hobby of hunting for good deals at garage sales. Congrats on that score, Sanford12!