todays bargin find

danger boy

I go scour the Good Wills whenever i get the time. I usually find a whole lotta nothing good. Today was a different story.

It all started in a small 500 Watt radio station.. Oops! wrong story. :rolleyes:

I knocked off work early today because i had a dentist appointment. I had some time to kill. So i stopped by my "favorite" Good Will store. Buried under about 4 used VHS VCR's was a NAD CDP. Hmmm? I checked it out as best I could. The store goes thru all the electronics before putting them out on the floor.

THe note on top said the display was out.. but that everything else checked out ok. I looked it over.. and it hardly had any scratches at all on top.. and virtually nothing wrong at all with the faceplate. I checked the price on it. $9.99 :eek:

I had to have it. Display out or not. I knew it was going to a good home, mine. ha ha ha

I dusted it off, cleaned the laser lens and plugged it into my 2 channel only rig downstairs. It consists of (top to bottom) Dynaco PAT5 pre, the NAD 5340 CDP i just scored, a Kenwood digital tuna (also from GW for $12) and a NAD 2600A amp (purchased from a club polk member). See pic below.

ANyway... i was using a Toshiba 3860 DVD player. Remember when they were all the rage a while back? Yeah that one.. unmodded of course. I thought it sounded pretty dang good. The DAC's were sure better in that thing. Well as i've heard over, and over again from the guys in here... garbage in, garbage out. That couldn't be more true today than it ever has been.

From the first few notes of a song from the CD that I put in the NAD CDP, i was actually beside myself. I couldn't believe what a huge difference the sound quality was. Much more open, lively, dynamic, bass was better, highs were clean, crisp and detailed.. and that's with the SL2000 in the SRS's too. :eek:

Amazing was the only word that was coming out of my mouth. Talk about a jaw dropping improvement in sound quality.

The NAD still has the display out.. i'll be taking that in for service to my highly trusted repair girl. She's awesome, and knows her stuff. She can even refoam speakers if needed.

Well, the NAD 5430 is from 89 - 91. has 16bit DAC's in it. 8X oversampling. And it sounds so much better than any other stand alone CDP i've heard.

I wish i could hook this CDP up to a tube pre.

So that's my bargin find for the month. I'm very pleased with the condition and sound quailty. *Oh yeah, i need a remote for it still. any of you know or have a NAD CDP remote you'd sell me??

NAD quality, who knew??

Shizelbs

Thats a great bargain find. Which Goodwill was this?

PolknPepsi

Great find.
Last few weeks checking Goodwill is what I've started doing and not too much so far, keeping my fingers crossed.

ND13

You fargin bastage!!!

Another great find.

Meeks32

Not to be a party pooper, but isnt the goodwill store for people who are hurting finacially and cant really afford to buy retail? Dont get me wrong, I love to find bargans as much as the next guy & even go places that are going out of buisness or are having closeouts to find deals & sell them on ebay. Im not rich by any means but can live a good life without much worry about money & something just feels weird about going to the goodwill to find cheap stuff. My dad does the same thing & I get on his case. Now if you're looking for a "members only" jacket for a 80's party you are going to, then thats a different story:)

shack

Meeks32 wrote:

Not to be a party pooper, but isnt the goodwill store for people who are hurting finacially and cant really afford to buy retail?

No. The items for sale in a Goodwill store are donated and the proceeds go to Goodwill Industries International. From their site:

The clothing and household goods you donate are sold in over 2,000 Goodwill retail stores and on our Internet auction site, shopgoodwill.com. The revenues fund job training and other services to prepare people for job success.

madmax

Meeks32 wrote:

Not to be a party pooper, but isnt the goodwill store for people who are hurting finacially and cant really afford to buy retail?

A few of us where I work have had the same discussion. According to their website their goal is to help people get back on their feet with training etc. They fund this by selling donated merchandise.

I used to think the same thing about it being for those down on their luck but now believe I was wrong. I believe to reach their goal they strive to sell to everyone.

BTW, I just picked up 35 NM LP's yesterday for 75 cents each!

madmax

danger boy

Shizelbs wrote:

Thats a great bargain find. Which Goodwill was this?

the GW here in Spokane. the other two here. ain't got squat. :mad:

ND13

Exactly, the money we spend at the GW stores goes to help the needy.

GW wants anyone they can get in the doors to buy stuff. Like it was said in the above posts, the proceeds go to the needy, not the goods. With that being said, the needy are more than welcome to shop there also, but I would say that few actually do. It's mainly middle class and upper middle class that shop at these stores from what I've seen. Alot of teenagers and college students shop at these stores to find vintage clothing and shoes.

danger boy

Meeks32 wrote:

Not to be a party pooper, but isnt the goodwill store for people who are hurting finacially and cant really afford to buy retail? Dont get me wrong, I love to find bargans as much as the next guy & even go places that are going out of buisness or are having closeouts to find deals & sell them on ebay. Im not rich by any means but can live a good life without much worry about money & something just feels weird about going to the goodwill to find cheap stuff. My dad does the same thing & I get on his case. Now if you're looking for a "members only" jacket for a 80's party you are going to, then thats a different storey:)

uhhmmm you're missing the point. I'm not doing anything wrong. i pay the same for items at Good Will that any person regardless of social status would pay. It's not like i'm taking anything away from anyone.

I paid the price listed on the tag, and purchased it fair and square. Plus i'm supporting GW and other second hand stores for people who need the money.

Bargin hunting isn't for everyone. and it takes plenty of time to find those so called bargins. I just happen to find this NAD CDP. Lord knows it's hit or miss.

I see your point. and you're wrong.

have a nice day.

danger boy

madmax wrote:

BTW, I just picked up 35 NM LP's yesterday for 75 cents each!
madmax

shame on you!!

PolknPepsi

Meeks32 wrote:

Not to be a party pooper, but isnt the goodwill store for people who are hurting finacially and cant really afford to buy retail?

I see what you are saying but GW needs anyones business. If someone is really desperate stereo equipment should not be on the shopping list. I am really looking for an old tube amp someone has donated and thought it would be a good cheap way to see if it would work before dropping mucho $$.

ND13

Hey PnP,

Where do you live in Indy? There's a few of us in the general area, we should all try to get together sometime and drink a few.

madmax

danger boy wrote:

shame on you!!

Hey, if some homeless person comes up to me and says they NEED some NM vinyl I'll be happy to sell it to them. Of course I would want $5 each...

madmax

Early B.

Interesting post, Danger. It helps answer a question I had re: the "newness" of CD players. All other things being equal, I figured a newer CD player (one built in the last 3-4 years) would sound better than a 10 -15 yr. old model due to technological advancements. Perhaps the sophistication of the DAC is only one part of the equation.

Glad to see you got a great deal. Enjoy.

danger boy

Early B. wrote:

Interesting post, Danger. It helps answer a question I had re: the "newness" of CD players. All other things being equal, I figured a newer CD player (one built in the last 3-4 years) would sound better than a 10 -15 yr. old model due to technological advancements. Perhaps the sophistication of the DAC is only one part of the equation.

Glad to see you got a great deal. Enjoy.

Thanks. I listened to music on it for several hours last night before bed. I too thought that a newer CD player would sound better.. as long as it was of a decent build. I"m not saying this 15 yr old NAD can out perform many others of today or in it's same age range.
I was just quite impressed at the total overall difference in better sound quality. The SDA's never sounded more wide and open. I heard background vocals in music i never knew existed or were very subdued. The SDA"s just opened up with the addition of the CD palyer.

NAD of course has a following for a reason. Even their older things sound good. I've also heard that their customer support is quite good. That's what i've heard anyway. We'll see.

cfrizz

Early B. wrote:

Interesting post, Danger. It helps answer a question I had re: the "newness" of CD players. All other things being equal, I figured a newer CD player (one built in the last 3-4 years) would sound better than a 10 -15 yr. old model due to technological advancements. Perhaps the sophistication of the DAC is only one part of the equation.

Glad to see you got a great deal. Enjoy.

I thought the same as you Early, which is why I got a new CD player from Rotel. But the truth of the matter is except for perhaps a small gain in clarity, I can't hear a big improvement from my 15 yr old Rotel cd player.

If you get something from a top notch vendor, I don't think you have to worry about upgrades until the old one dies!

Early B.

One thing I'm beginning to learn about the "audiophile" world is that these folks don't get caught up on the latest techno fads. For instance, the whole SACD thing, IMO, didn't catch on real big for audiophiles. I'm thinking that a good system already produces SACD-like sound quality on many redbook CDs, so why bother? I also noticed that, depending on the quality of your system, HDCD, digitally remastered CDs, XRCDs, etc. don't necessarily sound "better" than plain old redbook. Alternatively, some "commercially over mixed" CDs of popular artists tend to sound less than stellar on the good gear.

sucks2beme

quote Danger Boy:
DangThe NAD still has the display out.. i'll be taking that in for service to my highly trusted repair girl. She's awesome, and knows her stuff. She can even refoam speakers if needed.

Never mind the the GW stuff, Is she single? Refoams speakers

Polkersince85

Good find on the CDP. I found a Carver SD/A360 at GW for $19. Have you tried playing a CDR on it. Mine won't. I think that is the only thing wrong with the older units. Put a redbook in and it will knock you down. By the way, my local GW did $1.4 million in sales last year. They ain't selling to the pofolks.

danger boy

Polkersince85 wrote:

Good find on the CDP. I found a Carver SD/A360 at GW for $19. Have you tried playing a CDR on it. Mine won't. I think that is the only thing wrong with the older units. Put a redbook in and it will knock you down. By the way, my local GW did $1.4 million in sales last year. They ain't selling to the pofolks.

I haven't tried playing a CDR in the NAD yet. BUT, funny thing is there is a button you can push in that will activate something called CDR. I have no idea what it's fou. and when turned on.. i don't hear any difference in SQ on CD's.

I guess CDP's have been around long enough now.. whereby maybe not to much can be improved up. Even well made players from 15 years ago.. sound quite good today. I'd be interested in compairing it to a new CDP from the makers of say Rotel, Parasound, NAD, etc.

PolknPepsi

ND13 wrote:

Hey PnP,

Where do you live in Indy? There's a few of us in the general area, we should all try to get together sometime and drink a few.

I'm on the southside just off meridian street just south of I-465. I didnt realize there were others from around here.....missed the info under the avatar.

You guy's ever make it to HH Gregg or Ovation?

Mmmm.....can't drink but I could lose the wife and do lunch maybe?

RuSsMaN

NAD has great transports and laser assemblys. I've owned several. As for what I have now, I have a T550 for my source in the video rig, and it's 98% 'there' as far as I'm concerned. To realize that last 1-2%, would cost substantially more.

Cheers,
Russ

schwarcw

Congratulations on the NAD player! I never scored anything like that at GW.

ND13

PolknPepsi wrote:

I'm on the southside just off meridian street just south of I-465. I didnt realize there were others from around here.....missed the info under the avatar.

You guy's ever make it to HH Gregg or Ovation?

Mmmm.....can't drink but I could lose the wife and do lunch maybe?

That's cool, don't drink much anymore myself. Activate your private message option so we can discuss further.

madmax

Early B. wrote:

Interesting post, Danger. It helps answer a question I had re: the "newness" of CD players. All other things being equal, I figured a newer CD player (one built in the last 3-4 years) would sound better than a 10 -15 yr. old model due to technological advancements. Perhaps the sophistication of the DAC is only one part of the equation.

Two comments to add on the "newnes of CD players".

I have an older Luxman with tube output. It came out shortly after CD's became availible. It doesn't even follow the standard on where the controls are, you know, play, stop, eject etc. Takes me forever each time to remember where they put them. It sounds as good as most players on the market below the $1K mark.

The AudioNote DAC I have for my Theta transport is a zero times oversampling. Same as the very first ones introduced. On their web site they say something about some multiples of the sampling rate can cause audible problems.

madmax

PolknPepsi

Last week I did find a great condition 60 watt Pioneer receiver for $20.00. It was maybe from the mid 80's or so, not one of the huge old heavy ones.

I already have two Denons so that one did not come home.

---

My private messaging has also been activated...

reeltrouble1

Sure some poor down on his luck guy picks this thing up from GW and whamo another addict is born.\\ You did someone a favor DB.

Nice nab Al.

RT1

heiney9

It seems way back when the subject of the Tosh DVD came up I jumped in the fray to say that no "budget" DVD player was going to out perfom a good solid stand alone cd player....albeit, NAD, Adcom, Denon, etc. I guess this is proof about how true it is. I have an older Nakamichi (OMS-4A) manufactured in 1986 which uses a 16bit ladder type dual D/A converter. While it is outdated by todays standards.....it still sounds great and will run with any mid-level player of today. It can't run with my Adcom DAC however....that kills it in many areas if not all. It's all about quality of components and construction and design. And I never believed for a minute, regardless of what people stated here, the Tosh 3860 (modded or not) would hold a candle to any of the entry/mid-level stand alone players.

H9

My intention is not to stir up any new "discussions" on the Tosh DVD player...even though I know it will.... :eek:

heiney9

Early B. wrote:

One thing I'm beginning to learn about the "audiophile" world is that these folks don't get caught up on the latest techno fads. For instance, the whole SACD thing, IMO, didn't catch on real big for audiophiles. I'm thinking that a good system already produces SACD-like sound quality on many redbook CDs, so why bother? I also noticed that, depending on the quality of your system, HDCD, digitally remastered CDs, XRCDs, etc. don't necessarily sound "better" than plain old redbook. Alternatively, some "commercially over mixed" CDs of popular artists tend to sound less than stellar on the good gear.

+1...this is a very true statement. I could care less about SACD or DVD-A. Even HDCD doesn't really matter to me even though I can decode it. If HDCD is on the disc fine....but I don't seek it out specifically.

H9

audiobliss

Awesome find, man! The only 'bargain' I've come across was my Scott 208D bookshelf speakers. Not great stuff, I don't imagine, but they were $20 and I didn't have any speakers to go with my receiver at the time.