Goodwill/SA/Thrift Store Discussions & Finds

N8Nagel said:
Too bad you're across the country, I picked up a pair of B suffix 7Ws last week, you could start a vintage sub/sat HT system :)
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Did not know there were so many different versions. My orphan is an A.

Stuart Pedaso said:
There are 4 iterations of the walnut Minimus 7W, designated by catalog numbers 40-2039, 40-2039A, 40-2039B and 40-2039C.

40-2039 began manufacture in 1982 and debuted in the '83 Radio Shack catalog. It's unique in that the front baffle is veneered in walnut just like the sides. The tweeter has a smooth metal faceplate and the spring-clip terminals are recessed in a terminal port routed into the wood cabinet. All are made in Japan.

40-2039A has no veneer on the front baffle. Price dropped $10 when launched in '85 (to match price of metal M7's). Otherwise outwardly appears the same as 40-2039. All are made in Japan.

40-2039B started production late '87. Changed the smooth metal tweeter face to a plastic face with a broad ring of fine concentric grooves. Spring-clip terminals now push down, rather than in, to open, and are mounted in a plastic terminal cup. Production moved from Japan to Korea about 1991.

40-2039C appears outwardly the same as the "B" suffix -- probably has some subtle internal changes. Price jumped $10 when launched in '92. "C" ran through '94, to the demise of the 7W (as well as "Realistic" and "Minimus" brands). All are made in Korea.

Yours is one of few testimonies I've read comparing performance qualities between specific models. Most tend to be somewhat more general.

There seems to be a narrative circulating on the web that "early" and somewhat "rare" M7's made in Japan "sound better" than the bulk made elsewhere afterward. Production changes from the supposed "original" are regarded as lower quality.

The fact is there was a long run of Japanese M7's, where more physical changes and model iterations took place than during the relatively short time production moved to Korea and Malaysia (not counting later Optimus variations on the Minimus-7 theme). Broadly comparing performance between "Japan-made" and "made-elsewhere" is pretty sketchy. Between "early" and "late" isn't much better. If there were more model-specific shootouts, I think we'd be more likely to arrive at an informed consensus about which, if any, model(s) offer performance advantages.
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Found a few records on the weekend while we were out of town, but the big scores were, in my opinion, a big floor vase and this First Edition Canadian printing of The Secret Garden. It has 4 colour pages inside.

4CFD657E-3543-46D1-9CCA-31BEF0D8A81C.jpeg
D3711944-DEDD-41EE-86C9-4E124DB7B582.jpeg

And then, tonight I popped by my local thrift and found the following!

29D36FED-F99E-438B-BE75-B6377D45ADCF.jpeg

A pair of Realistic RS-7B speakers in great condition, 7 excellent cassettes, and the record Eve of Destruction. Boy, that brings me back!
 
Sad but true!

Found a set of B&W CDM 1se. They are in not very good condition at all! One woofer was replaced, on the same speaker the tweeter looks to be in bad shape. $9 and change @ GW after discount.

Though I was going to leave them behind I eventually talked myself into taking them. I did test them once I got home and the one speaker sounds very good, the tweeter works on the second even with a mangled diaphragm
however the replacement woofer sounds terrible. Come to find out the replaced woofer is a Polk Audio MW 6502 worth about $30. Not sure what I will do with these, the needed parts are not available at this time.
There is a center channel listed for $199 currently that may supply the needed parts, not sure I want to invest that much for the time being. Even if I did pay to get them going they are not in the best condition........

$1,200 speakers roughly 20 years old- makes you wonder how could they have been mistreated so badly. I have owned speakers for 20 years that look as good as the day I bought them. I saw worse, 3 year old equipment that look like somebody dragged them behind a truck on a chain.

IMG_3345.JPG
 
VWGUY said:
Sad but true!

Found a set of B&W CDM 1se. They are in not very good condition at all! One woofer was replaced, on the same speaker the tweeter looks to be in bad shape. $9 and change @ GW after discount.

Though I was going to leave them behind I eventually talked myself into taking them. I did test them once I got home and the one speaker sounds very good, the tweeter works on the second even with a mangled diaphragm
however the replacement woofer sounds terrible. Come to find out the replaced woofer is a Polk Audio MW 6502 worth about $30. Not sure what I will do with these, the needed parts are not available at this time.
There is a center channel listed for $199 currently that may supply the needed parts, not sure I want to invest that much for the time being. Even if I did pay to get them going they are not in the best condition........

$1,200 speakers roughly 20 years old- makes you wonder how could they have been mistreated so badly. I have owned speakers for 20 years that look as good as the day I bought them. I saw worse, 3 year old equipment that look like somebody dragged them behind a truck on a chain.

View attachment 1194241
Click to expand...

Hold out in the hope of finding a spare driver, I have NEVER been disappointed with any of the bookshelf B&W's i've found, bet they're really heavy.
 
It's crazy, over the winter I got(from a single estate sale) a pair of 805 signature tigers eye($200), a nautilus htm2 center($100), a pair of CDM7NT(150), and an lcr600s3 center($25). It was absolutely insane. They had no idea what they had. Also a few incredibly rare books and about 40 blu rays for an additional $10.
 
Drugolf said:
This is an odd one, but still in the audio realm. A Concept4 16 channel/8 zone amplifier for $31.99. C4-16AMP3-b. Saw it on the shelf at the thrift here in our area with it's rear facing out and all I saw was the 32 big golden binding posts and 16 gold RCA jacks and it caught my eye. Had to look it up to figure out what the heck it was. Apparently it's pretty high end stuff for home automation and sound. Has input for 8 analog sources and each output can be assigned to whatever input of the 8 available that you want. 120watts/ch Parametric equalizer adjusts any of the outputs via an app of some sort. These don't appear cheap.

Only problem is how do I test it?!
Click to expand...

Very nice! - https://www.amazon.com/Control-Brand-C4-16AMP3-B-8-Zone-Amplifier/dp/B001E4CIZQ
 
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