Two best deals in audio

outlander

I thought it would be interesting to poll the folks on the site to see what they feel are the two best deals in two channel (new or used) audio. I know many of you could come up with a long list but for the sake of simplicity let’s keep it to two. It will be interesting to see if there are any common trends and if there is perhaps it will benefit someone going forward. For me I have a pair of speakers and an amp in mind that really strike me as great deals.

1) Polk Monitor 10B: I had this pair of speakers for many years and like most audio enthusiast I tried over and over to up-grade them. I tried Celestion, JBL, Revel and even a very nice pair of SDA-CRS+ and to me in my room with my equipment the synergy favored the 10B’s. Considering if you’re patient you can pick up a decent pair on Craigslist in the $75.00 range, I feel they are hard to beat. I have since moved to a Pair of Harbeth that I really enjoy but for the money the 10B’s are an incredible deal.

2) Golden-Tube SE-40 amp: This is a great sounding single ended 40W amp that has a sound that is tough to beat. The SE-40 has true old school warm tube sound yet still has nice dynamics. The amp is known for having a few resistors that are underrated but once replaced the amp is very reliable. If you look hard you can find one in the ~$400.00 range. I have since moved on to a very nice CJ amp but again for the money the SE-40 is a real bargain.

cnh

Can't disagree with you there. I've heard those amps. And I own some Monitor 10As that are not going anywhere. Though I find myself even more partial to the Monitor 7s below! A classic!

cnh

tonyb

The 7's are my fav's too from the old monitor line. That Golden Tube SE-40 is a sleeper for sure. Nice vintage piece worth holding on to.

Dropthebeat

monitor 10 speakers & rotel rb1050 . This has been the best two channel combo for the price, at least for me it has. I have yet to find anything else that has sounded better in that price range.

cubdog

There are a multitude of small chip amps now available that sound like amps costing many times more than their cost. Another low cost high value item are DIY open baffle speakers. For a few hundred dollars it's easy to assemble speakers that rival those that are unaffordable to many of us.

cubdog

tonyb

cubdog wrote: »

There are a multitude of small chip amps now available that sound like amps costing many times more than their cost. Another low cost high value item are DIY open baffle speakers. For a few hundred dollars it's easy to assemble speakers that rival those that are unaffordable to many of us.<br />
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cubdog

Are you from Colorado ? Just asking....because anyone with speakers costing a few hundies that will compete with those costing thousands....I've yet to hear.

mhardy6647

The little (current) Andrew Jones-designed Pioneer two-way speakers look to be the current "best bang for the buck" hifi product extant.

cnh

I have to agree. I bought a set of those bookies by Andrew and also got the center channel. They've replaced the speakers in my basement 3.1 hangout DVD studio. lol

I also run them in 2.1 with a CDP and a Polk 12" sub. They certainly punch well above their "sale" price. I have to admit that I got all three Pioneers for less than $150, new! What a steal!

cnh

cubdog

tonyb wrote: »

cubdog wrote: »

There are a multitude of small chip amps now available that sound like amps costing many times more than their cost. Another low cost high value item are DIY open baffle speakers. For a few hundred dollars it's easy to assemble speakers that rival those that are unaffordable to many of us.<br />
<br />
cubdog

Are you from Colorado ? Just asking....because anyone with speakers costing a few hundies that will compete with those costing thousands....I've yet to hear.

Ok, I should have said for under a grand. My point being open baffle speakers are indeed a low cost very high value project.

cubdog

unc2701

I haven't done the math on their more recent products, but IIRC, emerald physics initial speaker could be done for about $650. Open baffle and products like the minidsp make tinkering cheap and accessible.

Which brings me to my nominations:

-Minidsp: cheap crossover, very adjustable, use it as the end solution or to easily prototype what a give point and slope will do with your drivers, then build a traditional passive crossover. Also great for subwoofer use; get a high power driver with a low Fs, put it in a sealed box and use the minidsp for boost tuned to perfectly counteract the roll off to get super deep, super punchy bass.

-Abletec amp modules. Need a crapton of power for cheap? Want to use the same modules that all the high-end digital amp manufacturers are using? Buy 'em direct for about 1/4 the cost. All you need is a case, input jacks and binding posts.

gmjungbluth

I have to agree that the Polk Monitor series (I have restored Polk Monitor 7s) are hard to beat. I've had dozens of speakers come through the house in the past years and the Polks are the only ones that are consistently in the rotation. They're pretty forgiving of placement, room acoustics, and amp pairing, which is helpful.

Another super deal (to me) is the little Lepai 2020+. It's super cheap ($20!!!), gives you enough wattage for any relatively-efficient speakers in a nearfield monitor setup, and can be modded relatively easily. I used one with a pair of Klipschorns (admittedly those are super-super efficient) and I was very pleasantly surprised. If anyone has a line up on tripath amp DIY kits that offer more performance for reasonable price I'd love to hear about them.

I'm going to be a little controversial here and say that the next best deal in two-channel audio is an old iPod Classic. Some of the 120-160GB models came with very nice onboard DACs, and they can hold a huge amount of music. If you rip to Apple Lossless, you also aren't losing a ton of fidelity over CDs (let's leave the debate on compression to other threads - not every system and every circumstance calls for or requires FLAC or SACD).

My 3 cents. This is a fun thread!

G

steveinaz

I like multi-input DAC's (pick one) and the Oppo BRP's, due to their quality and swiss-army-knife functionality. HUGE value, IMO.

Msabot1

I have found my 10b's....Mac Mc240 and Mx110 amp and pre to be an effective team for two chan.....coupled with a MMF 5.1 table....let's that ole vinyl come alive....