How low$$ can you go to build a system. Beat my $15!

NJguy

NJguy

Super Member
Not counting hand me downs or gifts from friends/family but items you hunted down at thrifts, garage sales, online etc, show me your biggest bang for the buck system. A system that you actually use(d) together and not just scattered in different sheds.

In my tv room i have a setup which I just rotated and this as it turns out is a setup the cost me a whopping $15 and sounds really good. Pays off to hunt! This is the setup:

Yamaha r-300 receiver : $4 at Salvation Army last year.
Polk Monitor Series 5: $3 at Goodwill last year.
Sennheiser 250hd linear ii headphones: $8 at estate sale this year.
Realistic LAB 440 TT: got it for free today curbside find

All of the above working perfectly. Yamaha sounds sweet, the polk speakers are great especially for its size , the headphones are the best i have ever had and the tt is surprisingly very nice!

I may have other combinations but this is the one i rotated in today. Thats not counting the $20 cabinet I got at Goodwill that all this sits on.

So can you go lower than a $15 system for a similiar setup?!

attachment.php

ead77457e5f34c29ad75f087f238c4ee.jpg

5542e58df5ed4ecadaf2000392c218da.jpg

ee07589ce2e8f1079d21de86db032418.jpg

bbc2f10018b93d76176bcefa5d0bba83.jpg
262056d0aa7ecb1f7293d7e6f9b6a48f.jpg
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    54.4 KB · Views: 739
Last edited:
Register to hide this ad
Yeah, that's going to be tough to beat.

I have $16-$17 in a garage system with an early 90s JVC receiver and CD player and a pair of very decent Denon speakers but the cheapest fully functional turntable I have was $30. I actually have a pair of ~$25 Paradigm Atom v3s hooked to it right now so I'm WAY over budget.

:D

And your cheapo rig is decidedly prettier than mine.

:thmbsp:
 
Nice work! I thought I was putting my system together on the cheap, but you put me to shame! Most of my stuff has been from The Bay, though, as my local thrifts and SA have had nothing worthwhile in my searches of late. I salute you.
 
That's going to be hard to beat. I have a couple that were cheap, but not that cheap.

1. ADS L-880's (flea), Yamaha CR-840 (flea), Miracord S-40 (CL), $95.00
2. Kenwood C-1 preamp, M-1 power amp, tuner (all CL), Sony DD table (auction), and Bose 301's (CL), $85.00

Best I can do.
 
Dahlquist DQ-20, free yard sale+$3 foams.
Sansui 661 or Akai AA-1135, free yard sale and curb find.
BIC 980 TT, free yard sale
Ohm model L, free yard sale+$3 foam
 
Pioneer SX-980, $4.00 at auction.
Sony PS-X75, free off Craigslist.
Dynaco A-35, $1.00 GWO
Denon DN-790R cassette deck, $1.00 GWO
Sony 507ESD CD, $2.00 GW
Project Head Box II $1.00, GWO
 
OK, I'll play. Not including stuff I've gotten for free that needed repairs:

JVC AX-4 Super A integrated amp- Free curbside find
Merrill AR with Sumiko MMT arm and Grado cart $5 at yardsale
Polk Monitor 5 (same as the OPs) $5 at thrift

so... $10

for another $10, upgrade by substituting the $15 Rectilinear Highboys I got at the same thrift store for the Polks. $20 total.
That thrift store also had the Kyocera 461 I use in my video system, for $15, a Scott 350R for $10 and a BIC 960 with the deluxe base and Stanton 681 for $5.

They've since closed. I sure miss them.
 
Last edited:
kirk57 said:
OK, I'll play. Not including stuff I've gotten for free that needed repairs:

JVC AX-4 Super A integrated amp- Free curbside find
Merrill AR with Sumiko MMT arm and Grado cart $5 at yardsale
Polk Monitor 5 (same as the OPs) $5 at thrift

so... $10

for another $10, upgrade by substituting the $15 Rectilinear Highboys I got at the same thrift store for the Polks. $20 total.
That thrift store also had the Kyocera 461 I use in my video system, for $15, a Scott 350R for $10 and a BIC 960 with the deluxe base and Stanton 681 for $5.

They've since closed. I sure miss them.
Click to expand...


This has got to be the mother of all deals!! :drool:
If you ever decide to sell, please give me first dibs and I will pay you 10x your original purchase. :D :thmbsp: :music:
 
Ok:

Yamaha CA-1010 - free
Yamaha NS-690 speakers - free
Yamaha T-1020 tuner - free
Technics SL-D2 turntable - $6
Sony 5 disc CDP - $5
Technics dual well cassette deck - free

Not all hooked together at the moment, but could easily make up the system. Not bad for $11 methinks. I could put together a few different systems within the $15 limit with other gear (based on a Technics SA-700 -$5 or Onkyo TX-4500 MkII - $6) but perhaps fewer pieces in the system.
 
I though I was doing good at the whole thrifty system thing! My main rig cost me about $75-$100.

B&O S-75 speakers- $50
Realistic STA-960 receiver- $15
Kenwood CD-404 CD changer- $5
Technics M11 MkII tape deck- $5
JVC AL-A155 TT- free, gift from brother in law
Plus a few bucks in cables and speaker wire.
 
fiddlefye said:
Ok:

Yamaha CA-1010 - free
Yamaha NS-690 speakers - free
Yamaha T-1020 tuner - free
Technics SL-D2 turntable - $6
Sony 5 disc CDP - $5
Technics dual well cassette deck - free

Not all hooked together at the moment, but could easily make up the system. Not bad for $11 methinks. I could put together a few different systems within the $15 limit with other gear (based on a Technics SA-700 -$5 or Onkyo TX-4500 MkII - $6) but perhaps fewer pieces in the system.
Click to expand...

How did you aquire the free stuff?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom