Thrift Store Gold???

[desertrat748]

I stopped by a few thrifts to donate and also take a gander.

Last few gems I have found were pair of early advents 2 ways with 8 inch woofer, crooked tweeters in good shape $30. I use them daily in the bedroom/master bathroom for the daily voice lessons that some people call a shower and shave. Amazing how much I can get out of them by placement. Too much bass if set up in the corners. I’m more than pleased.

For $2.50 each I found a pair of Altec Lansing 2 way 10 inch woofer w matching 10 inch passive radiator / large 2 inch dome tweeters.

They are the cheap mass production and probably went for $250-300 back in the day. Have nice walnut veneer and don’t sound too bad. Not spectacular but worth every penny at $2.50 each. I cleaned them up and gave them to my young neighbors. They are helping me out with my dog and house after spinal surgery.
Great investment. Funny thing is that I found another pair that other neighbors in former house were putting out in the street for anyone to take. Only cost me $.20 in gas to drive truck to pick up.

Last pair I just wanted them for their beautiful wood veneer in immaculate shape were a pair of Sansui with the wooden crosshatch grills. $70 but I only use them for decoration. They work but sound wise it is another story. Radio news or talk is okay for them.

I’m not going to fight it or fix up. Fancy end tables for me. Adds the perfect retro look to a reading room. I’m going to get a nice wooden sided 1960-70 tuner and amp to match the look.

I don’t see many pairs of anything serious these days as everyone just looks up every pair with their cell phone. Wasn’t that way 15 years ago. About 10 years ago it started to change. Lots of retirement in my community.

 

[Yodathedog]

My best thrift store find was a pair of Polk Monitor 5B. They were originally marked at $75 each. Too much!! The ReStore changed to a new pricing system and marked them at $15 for the pair. Score! They are in great shape and sound fantastic. But they do not have the Peerless tweeters.

View attachment 1589568

I got a pair at an estate sale recently for $25. And I love the non-Peerless tweeters.

 

[Yodathedog]

Yesterday I got a nice pair of Infinity SL40s at Goodwill. One badly messed up grille, but otherwise in good shape. Will probably pass them along.

 

[lico]

Some of the better speakers I've found at thrifts were Polks. But the Fortes were probably the best I've found being lucky. Maybe it wasn't all luck but timing, if you are near a college town with a lot of out of staters when the leases expire and they move things show up.

 

[desertrat748]

I didn’t think I would have like the advents as much as I do. I’m a sucker for a good 2 way.

Speakers are so subjective to the individual though.

 

[Ramseybella]

I volunteer at a Salvation Army doing electronics..
So to be honest I'm on the front lines.
It doesn't always pay off but I've run across some nice items.
And i put my sweat into more than the electronics so the manager gives me good deals.
Picking up a NAD 533 TT and a pair of Altec Carmel speakers.

 

[ultumax]

These were $8.50, you tell me if there worth it lol Lancer mk12 and im not sure how to use those speaker wire terminals .

 

[ericj]

These were $8.50, you tell me if there worth it lol Lancer mk12 and im not sure how to use those speaker wire terminals .

You either use an rca type lead or you connect the positve to the positive screw and the negative to the negative.

Then toss them into the nearest dumpster because uh no unless the cabinets are particularly sturdy and i actually knew what I'd do with them i would give these a hard pass.

 

[SpruceMoose]

I’ve grabbed the usual advent, klh speakers over the years. But my best speaker score was a pair of Mirage OM10s and a Velodyne SPL1000 sub, all for $85. 2400 bux worth of audio goodness. Perfect condition except the Mirage badges were broken.

 

[bob smog]

JBL L100 for $60. Found in 2016. Listening to them right now

 

[bamark]

My best thrift store find was a pair of Polk Monitor 5B. They were originally marked at $75 each. Too much!! The ReStore changed to a new pricing system and marked them at $15 for the pair. Score! They are in great shape and sound fantastic. But they do not have the Peerless tweeters.

View attachment 1589568

For that price, you could replace the SL-2000 tweeters with RD0-194 replacements from Polk, new caps and resistors and have an excellent pair for not much more than the additional $120 that was asked.

 

[ultumax]

You either use an rca type lead or you connect the positve to the positive screw and the negative to the negative.

Then toss them into the nearest dumpster because uh no unless the cabinets are particularly sturdy and i actually knew what I'd do with them i would give these a hard pass.

Cabinets are sturdy ; and look durable .
Thanks for advice I knew that I overpaid , thrift stores selling junk for over value .
Any links now or pics were do you buy these connections?
There certainly not nice like Rtr.
Wish I knew more about x overs cabs could make some powerful 2-3 way econwaves .

 

[ultumax]

JBL L100 for $60. Found in 2016. Listening to them right now

Wow nice!! My uncle paid a few grand for some brand new like 30+ years ago .

 

[ultumax]

You either use an rca type lead or you connect the positve to the positive screw and the negative to the negative.

Then toss them into the nearest dumpster because uh no unless the cabinets are particularly sturdy and i actually knew what I'd do with them i would give these a hard pass.

The bass is very good on this old speaker it’s thevmid and tweeters need replaced
Easily goes down to 30 Hz or 20.

 

[onwardjames]

This is in the Speaker section, so I'll limit it to thrift shop speaker scores. They're all pairs. Thrift shop amps, tuners, CDPs, DACs, TTs et al not included.

LS3/5A, made by Chartwell, $10
KEF Reference 101 $10
JBL L-200B "Studio Master", $150
JBL L-220, $200
JBL C40 "Harkness" $80
NHT 2.9 $180
Dali 8 $50
ESS Heil AMT-1 $40
ESS Heil AMT-1B $50
ESS Heil AMT-10 $25
Yamaha NS-1000M $300
Yamaha NS-10 $10
Vandersteen 2C $30
JBL L-65 "Jubal" $40

Sweet jesus. There's some end of the road stuff there.

 

[darkblue94]

Wow nice!! My uncle paid a few grand for some brand new like 30+ years ago .

If that's true then your uncle was a moron.

 

[Sandstrom]

Cabinets are sturdy ; and look durable .
Thanks for advice I knew that I overpaid , thrift stores selling junk for over value .
Any links now or pics were do you buy these connections?
There certainly not nice like Rtr.
Wish I knew more about x overs cabs could make some powerful 2-3 way econwaves .

You won't need any special connectors, you could use bare wire on the screw terminals or if you want to get fancy, you can attach a pair of spade connectors on your wire for a neater appearance. You might want to cover the RCA jacks with something to plug the hole created by the RCA jack but I'm not sure how much effect such a tiny opening will have on the sealing of the cabinet...

 

[ultumax]

If that's true then your uncle was a moron.

He picked some good speakers , just be severely overpaid .
He’s not an audiophile my aunt said he just impulse buys stuff full price , she said .
He buys mostly used cars but his electronics new I guess.
I’ve seen him go threw two Samsung TVs I’m like is your tv 4k , nope I’m like how did you even find a Samsung smart tv not 4k??
Got no explanation.

 

[darkblue94]

He picked some good speakers , just be severely overpaid .
He’s not an audiophile my aunt said he just impulse buys stuff full price , she said .
He buys mostly used cars but his electronics new I guess.
I’ve seen him go threw two Samsung TVs I’m like is your tv 4k , nope I’m like how did you even find a Samsung smart tv not 4k??
Got no explanation.

A few grand for L100s thirty years ago would have been several times full retail price.

 

[ultumax]

A few grand for L100s thirty years ago would have been several times full retail price.

Yeah unless that was the Cost of his whole system , maybe his memory is bad ?? Haha