What's pound for pound the best equipment ever?

[eddie-baby]

Yes, I agree. I wouldn't buy an A400 today. I've just had one for ages.

Yes understand that, good time to sell them tho fetch decent money if people are prepared to pay it, let them carry on, lots of class Ds out there now half the price, and will last forever probably, they are different animals altogether, as I said A400s are getting on. 

 

[bigrod]

 Refurbished Gale 401 speakers. Go and have listen to a pair of really expensive state of the art speakers like Magico S5s and then to a pair of Gales on a really good system and you will hear how similar they are.The Magicos might go lower and have slightly better imaging but the dynamics, timing,cohesion and lack of boxiness is all there.And if anything the Gales are more musically involving.

I fully restored a pair of the 401’s with chrome ends about 5 years ago  all drivers refoamed , new crossover parts , silver wiring , re-chromed ..partnered with the Sonus Faber Musica in my second system they are superb .. You do need a little bit of spare power to make them sing at their best as they are known to be difficult to drive . The combination of the twin 8” drivers , the Celestion Hf 2000 tweeter and 5” Peerless mid drivers gives a beautiful natural sound across all frequencies..

A timeless classic speaker ..

 

[eddie-baby]

I fully restored a pair of the 401’s with chrome ends about 5 years ago  all drivers refoamed , new crossover parts , silver wiring , re-chromed ..partnered with the Sonus Faber Musica in my second system they are superb .. You do need a little bit of spare power to make them sing at their best as they are known to be difficult to drive . The combination of the twin 8” drivers , the Celestion Hf 2000 tweeter and 5” Peerless mid drivers gives a beautiful natural sound across all frequencies..

A timeless classic speaker ..

Never heard any would like to

 

[Beobloke]

I'm surprised you say this. I have a pair and they're pretty average. I put them up against a pair of similar bookshelf Wharfedales, and those were considerably better. Both were ex-BBC for office use so they did have that endorsement. 

Yep, I mean it - I think they're great.

Of course the real giant-killing dinky Goodmans speakers of that era were to be found elsewhere in the range...

 

[Nopiano]

Pioneer PL-12D turntable

Yes, I was thinking of that too, as it was my first turntable, and for £39 was an amazing value, together with a Shure M75ED for £9.95!

 

[Ian]

Quad 303, 306, 34. These specifically as they tend to be the lower priced older Quad gear. The 303 is a dream amp to my ears.

 

[JANDL100]

The Quad 303 is a dream amp to my ears.

Hmm, yes. True that. I was shocked. 

I've a refurbed one and it is indeed excellent. 

Not quite cheap as chips, but near as dammit. 

 

[Idlewithnodrive]

Provisionally I'll give a nod to my newly acquired Edifier S3000 Pro speakers too but I need to get them properly set up to make this definite (or not).

Superb sounding things for not a lot of money, especially when you consider that they are also the Amps and DAC

 

[MarginWalker]

A Raspberry Pi can do much more than the Chromecast for not a great deal more?

I'm sure it can, but I got my Chromecast for £16 ages ago and it worked straight out of the box without any arsing about.  Still working many years later.  I imagine I will try a raspberry pi at some point, more out of curiosity that anything else.

 

[uzzy]

Well my Hafler DH200 cost me £250 in 1979 and it was in permanent use for 40 years when I got another one (as the transformer was getting noisy) second hand for £140 (and a DH220 for £120) which means I have enough spare parts to keep one going for my lifetime and beyond.  Pound for sound they take a lot of beating.
I got my Decca Gold in 1978 second hand for £50 - been rebuilt a good few times since (back in 1979 the first one was Garrott for just over £100) and still in use today - that takes a lot of beating for sound per pound,
I picked up a pair of Rogers Pro9tl for £50 (had to veneer the cabinets) they ousted my Gale GS401s and whilst i upgraded the tweeter and mid range units (Dynaudio tweeters and Seas mid) they gave me many years pleasure - hellish sound per pound
My Audio Research SP9 arrived in 1992/3 cost me £720 - still in situ so again hellish value sound per pound
In the garage waiting for my lad to buy a house there are a pair of Timewindows 3 in mint condition I picked up for £100 .. and in the loft at the mo a Linn Sondek with Mission 774 arm I picked up for £300 and 150 respectively ..

but very few of us will manage to equal the member in here who picked up a Roksan turntable in a charity shop for £50 

 

[Rayymondo]

The Linn Classik cd/tuner/amp combo was a great little one box solution, used one in my static caravan for 10 years, first as main system, then got relegated to the caravan bedroom and now it's on radio duties and used every day on my bedside table. They were about a £1000 new and still fetch a few hundred used. At the time it was generally considered that they were equal to spending a similar amount on separates but with the advantage of being in one box (advantage for those with limited space or just didn't want a stack of boxes cluttering up the place)

 

[MartinC]

Superb sounding things for not a lot of money, especially when you consider that they are also the Amps and DAC

Exactly. Considering inflation, in real terms the Edifiers cost a similar amount to my first budget 'separates' HiFi I bought as a student in 1996, but even from my limited listening so far* it's pretty clear that my much loved first system would be outclassed.

*My lounge is out of action while I redecorate, so I've mostly been using the Edifiers as Bluetooth speakers, sitting safely upstairs and entertaining me while I work downstairs. They easily play loud enough to do so  B| . I've had a quick listen nearfield and it's clear they're a very long way from rubbish but my qualified mention of them earlier is because I've yet to get them properly setup in a room to really see what they can do. Their bass response is impressive for standmounts though. I bet if most people heard them blindfolded they'd guess they were floorstanding speakers.

 

[tkimages]

Meridian Explorer 2 with Edifier R1800 (non BT) speakers, under £200 for both new!  Sounds great on either side of the iMac playing from Roon, even MQA from Tidal.

 

[eddie-baby]

Of course the real giant-killing dinky Goodmans speakers of that era were to be found elsewhere in the range...

Goodmans used to be outstanding speakers back in the day, you can really hear the BBC lineage in the old ones as well. They were also associated with Jamo if I'm not wrong and the Jamo 'back then' were also exceptional performing speakers, not like some of the monstrosities that Jamo knocked out in the latter years.

Have very fond memories of owning a set of Goodmans Double Maxim, and boy were they fantastic speakers. I'd even put them up there as some of the best I owned. They looked really dated though even when I owned them in the late 80s I made some tweaks to mine as well, not much but just enough to make them slightly more enhanced which I thought improved them even more at the time. There were a couple of sets knocking around my village at the time and the owners all highly praised them. I paid £20 for mine back then, so those were a relative bargain. I've seen similar ones fetch a few hundred on eBay recently. But things can get out of hand with some of this old equipment and pricing, but they are great and I imagine collectable now as well, lovely speaker though those were.  

 

[Non-Smoking Man]

I'd put forward the NAD 3020, ATOC9 cart. and the Townsend, aka Elite Rock for the shortlist.

Jack NSM

 

[nomore landings]

 Refurbished Gale 401 speakers. Go and have listen to a pair of really expensive state of the art speakers like Magico S5s and then to a pair of Gales on a really good system and you will hear how similar they are.The Magicos might go lower and have slightly better imaging but the dynamics, timing,cohesion and lack of boxiness is all there.And if anything the Gales are more musically involving.

They were the standout performers at my first HiFi show, Brum 1973. Outstanding SQ playing the just-released DSOTM on a Revox R2R. I was in awe. Glad they still bring enjoyment - not seen or heard of them since as way out of budget!

Also at that show a Boothroyd _ Stuart (MQA Bob!) Lecson pre power. Bought a Meridian 506/24, pre and power in 1995. Sold 20 years later for 45% of new price. VFM. The new Bluesound Node is so far proving to be excellent at its price point.

 

[lindsayt]

About the best value audio equipment that I can think of includes

In the 1990's when the BBC and other radio stations were converting to digital and contractors were paid to remove EMT's and Studers.

Or for contractors that did theatre and cinema renovations that got paid to remove speakers like full sized Altec Vott's. Or Klangfilm over in Germany.

 

[rabidlistener]

My Maverick D1+ DAC/Headphone/Pre-Amp which cost me $100 AUS including upgraded Op-Amps & output valve. A fabulous piece of kit with the choice of valve or solid state output.

Also I must mention my Linkman K9 speakers as stunning value for money. These Chinese made behomouths weigh in at around 55 kilos each and cost the princely sum of $750 AUS. Trouble is with these is I have painted myself into a corner as they sound superb and would cost well in excess of $5000 to replace them - I still have a hankering for electrostatics though.

I suppose my original Proac Tablettes were also a real bargain - I paid 150 pounds for them secondhand and they lasted me over 20 years.

 

[eddie-baby]

suppose my original Proac Tablettes were also a real bargain - I paid 150 pounds for them secondhand and they lasted me over 20 years.

I sold many a PT for that, and yes they are awesome little things

 

[Hifi Hooligan]

Rotel 965BX 

Rega Kytes

AVI Lab Series Amplifier