I used to hoard gear. At one time, I had two bedrooms and two basements and one garage literally crammed with stuff that I never or rarely used- thousands of units, I'm sure weighing an actual couple tons or more. Then I had "the great purge" where I gave away most of gear to anyone who would accept it. What I could not give away, I sold. What I could not sell I brought to the dump. There was stuff of many pedigrees and varieties in all categories (you know it's come to something when you drop off a Marantz 2600 at the same dump you rescued it from). Still, even after the purge, I have some under utilized bit's of kit, waiting in the wings.
-Adcom GFA-535: This is one of the great sleeper power amps of all time. It was the bottom rung of Adcom's lineup at the time, but there is no mistake that the company put every effort into making it a small, value oriented power amp that could stand proud with similarly spec'd rivals costing 2-3x more.
-Sony TC-FX1010: The design outwardly is the epitome of garish, 1980's "push button/digital forward" design, but this is a top-notch stereo cassette deck. A DSP system allowed the deck to analyze the actual tape before recording and adjust all settings accordingly. Brushless DC servo motors and SNR's that would take almost a decade and Dolby S to top polish off this beast.
-Sony ST-5950SD: Not Sony's penultimate tuner, but their TOTL unit when released. It looks good, and performs very well, especially since the town I live in is essentially a valley surrounded by hills of almost solid Iron (hence the term "Iron Range"). I can pull in stations from Duluth, Ely, and Grand Rapids (MN) with simple twin-lead, an accomplishment that I could not achieve even with more highly regarded tuners.
Yaqin MC-10L: A remarkable tube integrated amp, and my first real introduction to tubes. This amp remains my first choice when recommending a tube amp to someone wanting to dip their toes into valve audio. Even new, it was inexpensive and stylish, and in the decade since I bought it, it's proven not just reliable and good sounding, but robust! A quick reminisce about an AK get-together at doucanoe's: I was carrying the amp out of Ron's house to BobFalk's minivan when I slipped on some ice. The amp went flying (all 45-lbs) and landed hard on the sill of the sliding rear door. The front panel gained a notch, the door sill a good-sized dent, but the amp was none the worse for ware. Credit also goes to my Cambridge Audio 640c CD player, which I was carrying under the Yaqin, and also went flying, though it landed in a comparatively soft snow bank.
Audionics of Oregon CC-2: Another "I cant't believe this" power amp, though not nearly as famous or common as the Adcom GFA-535. There is lore and history behind this amplifier that can be found in more detailed (and first-person) perspective elsewhere. That said, I consider myself fortunate to not only have heard this amp but own one. Although rated (conservatively) a modest 70 WPC (similar the the GFA-545), it's capable of almost doubling down to 4 and even nearly tripling into 2-ohms. Like my much adored h/k 775's, the CC-2 was designed on the precepts of Dr. Matti Otala, a fellow son of Suomi. Despite the technically "inferior" componentry used in the CC-2, it is an almost verbatim copy of what my 775's (twice as powerful for each channel) has to offer. Indeed, for 90% of my listening, the CC-2 would more than suffice. The only time it would not is when, in a fit of pique, I decide to demand 8x the power the CC-2 is capable of. If ever you find one of these amps, re-cap it and cherish it. It's something special. Lookout for one of my classic "Inside and Out" reviews on this amp in the future.
-Domus Module: DLK. Domus. Omega. Three names that are, at least locally, somewhat legendary. Schaak Electronics sold, along with Pioneer, Teac, and other such brands, their own house-line of goods. Specific to this post, speakers. The Domus Module is a two-way speaker with a Norwegian made low-range driver (~4-inch) with a 2-inch Motorola Piezo tweeter. This would not usually result in a Good Speaker™, especially since piezo tweeters are usually associated with low-end units, but the Modus Module is piezo done right. It's not shrill or squawky, and the crossover takes the atypical load of the tweeter out of the equation. Backed up by the solid cabinetry and very decent mid-bass driver, the Module is a potent (if limited) compact bookshelf or desktop speaker. The Module was also used in some versions of the DLK 3 and DLK 4 loudspeaker, where it was accompanied by either a single or dual 12-inch woofers to fill out the low end.
Onkyo Interga A-8190: A decent integrated amp that combines 1980's mid-range value with a bit of high-end TOTL intrigue. A solid performer where I can find no real complaints (on the other hand, there is not a lot to crow about either...). Definitely the nerve center of a secondary or tertiary system, but a reliable performer with better performance than many out there.
Pioneer S-55 Twin (with matching stands): They were part of Pioneer's TAD-designed "Twin" series of loudspeakers from back in the late 1980's and early 1990's. The overall construction and woofers were strictly consumer-grade Pioneer, but the design and tweeter came from TAD. They're of the HT-friendly MTM configuration with two wide-range (woofer) drivers and a centrally located ceramic/carbon composite tweeter from TAD. They're out of service currently owning to the need for a re-foam of the woofers. However, in the brief period I listened to them before the need of a re-foam became obvious, they showed potential.
Yamaha PX-2 w Benz Silver: This has been on loan to the Falkowski collection for years, as I've been hesitant to move my vinyl out of it's well-maintained stasis for the fleeting moments I've had the opportunity to listen to music over the past few years. Further, it's now located 60 miles away at the port city of Duluth, and I rarely make a visit there any more. And finally, as one of the two mechanical items in my system I'd rather it get some use than just sit and collect dust. This turntable was a gift from the ever generous and golden-eared Mark B. The Benz HOMC cart is a real singer, outperforming many other carts I've owned in it's price point. Indeed, it would take almost doubling the cost to notice a real improvement (on my system, with my source material, etc for the usual caveats), and the turntable itself I can find no particular fault with, unless it comes to trying to perform a proper alignment, which the PX-2 makes almost impossible due to it's automatic operation. It won't give Mark's GT-2000/Zyx combo a run for it's money, but it comes within the envelope ignorance is bliss, and for many, such the PX-2 with the Benz Silver would fulfill their vinyl desires for life.
Nevertheless, I'll attempt a list of the stuff I have "waiting in the wings", such as it were:
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