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Master "deals" (massdrop, ebay, Amazon, etc.) Thread on Audio Product Sales

Johnb

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For those of you looking at used receivers for 2-channel audio, may I suggest Yamaha RX-595 (or RX-597 or RX-770), two such on shopgoodwill.com. (items 81367207, 81303127)
Typically, much below $100, I bought one for $20 at estate sale, other for $10 at goodwill. Goodwill offers low priced shipping, which is a good alternative to ebay, where people make a profit on shipping. Should be able to snag <$50 inc shipping

Think of receiver at comparable to modern A-S501 or 701, minus dac, but with tuner. Also MM phono stage. Same controls, motorized volume control, etc. Advertise S/N 110db on CD Direct, which should contribute to good SINAD. These are modular designs and I doubt that Yamaha has changed much in the last 20 years, which is why their integrateds are so reasonably priced, even new production. Real extruded heatsinks, massively built, aluminum fronts.

Amir has my second unit in his queue, but auctions will end before he gets around.
If anyone bids for and wins, shoot me a line on whether you liked it.
 
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probably slightly off-topic , but is there an alternative to Drop and Monoprice but for UK/EU? I know Drop are experimenting with EU but currently stands at 12 products
 

RickSanchez

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probably slightly off-topic , but is there an alternative to Drop and Monoprice but for UK/EU? I know Drop are experimenting with EU but currently stands at 12 products

Haven't used this myself (I'm in the U.S.) but you could try this:
https://www.monoprice.uk/

I also know that Monoprice sells a fair number of their products through Amazon Germany and Amazon UK.
 

Veri

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probably slightly off-topic , but is there an alternative to Drop and Monoprice but for UK/EU? I know Drop are experimenting with EU but currently stands at 12 products
Drop EU branch and Monoprice EU site(has very little gear except for some headphones etc). If it ain't on there you likely have to import it..
 

Ultima Thule

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[edited for clarification about the v2]

The Topping DX3 Pro is up on Drop for USD $180:
https://drop.com/buy/topping-dx3-version-2-dac-amp

It's listed as "LDAC v2". Hardware / setup:
  • XMOS XU208 USB chip
  • dual AK4493 DACs
  • OPA1612 op amp
  • AK4118 receiver
However, this version has not been tested and may differ from what Amir tested previously: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...of-topping-dx3pro-dac-and-headphone-amp.4967/

Topping DX3 Pro LDAC Version 2 DAC/Amp is up again at Drop, but currently only in "request" mode, seems like a fresh listing on the way.
https://drop.com/buy/topping-dx3-version-2-dac-amp
Estimated shipping date Jan 7, 2020.
 
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JJB70

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When is a deal not a deal? Read on. I purchased the crossover which came with a money back, free shipping offer. After using it I decided it wasn't helpful, so I called Harman for a return ticket. I was told it would be emailed in 10 minutes. Now, a week later, 3 calls later, and after two Web contacts, I've got nothing to show for it. I finally instituted a credit card dispute asking them not to pay the bill. I'll call Harman a fourth time and see what sort of story I'm told.

Very disappointed in Harman's lack of ability to process something very simple. I should have driven to my local Guitar Center and bought one from them. They take anything back and are generally very helpful.

PS: the 40Hz cutoff filters (two switches for stereo) were both defective. The were stuck and couldn't be defeated. Great customer service, and great QC.

I have to say I won't be in a hurry to buy from Harman after my experience with their customer service when my AKG N90Q headphones went tango uniform.
 

beefkabob

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When is a deal not a deal? Read on. I purchased the crossover which came with a money back, free shipping offer. After using it I decided it wasn't helpful, so I called Harman for a return ticket. I was told it would be emailed in 10 minutes. Now, a week later, 3 calls later, and after two Web contacts, I've got nothing to show for it. I finally instituted a credit card dispute asking them not to pay the bill. I'll call Harman a fourth time and see what sort of story I'm told.

Very disappointed in Harman's lack of ability to process something very simple. I should have driven to my local Guitar Center and bought one from them. They take anything back and are generally very helpful.

PS: the 40Hz cutoff filters (two switches for stereo) were both defective. The were stuck and couldn't be defeated. Great customer service, and great QC.

My struggles with Harman were pretty bad too. It took several phone calls to different numbers and a couple hours. In the end, I got my RMA done, the speaker replaced. If I had to do it all over again, knowing all the time I'd need to spend, I might have gone somewhere local.
 

gvl

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I grabbed a pair of JBL 104s. Not that I need them, but, couldn't just pass a pair of active monitors for 50 bucks.

Received mine today. Frankly I expected them to sound a bit tinny, but to my surprise they sound pretty "big" for near field and open. There is some hiss, but I can't hear it with music playing. I think I'm happy, especially considering the price.
 
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amirm

amirm

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If you ever wanted to try Alexa or an Amazon streaming audio player/DAC, the 'Echo Dot w/o a speaker' - the Echo Input - is right now - $9.99...
Echo Input - Bring Alexa to your own speaker- White https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BFRKV9K/
I didn't even know they had such a device. Just bought one. Perfect to power my woodshop system with JBL Powered speakers! :)
 

gvl

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LKS MH-DA004 DUAL ES9038PRO DAC $825 on drop. Looks nice at least but discrete output stage... But discrete can be good in theory given the high current of the 9038Pro chips... Unproven specs look decent. @WolfX-700, any opinions on the LKS gear?
 

beefkabob

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Received mine today. Frankly I expected them to sound a bit tinny, but to my surprise they sound pretty "big" for near field and open. There is some hiss, but I can't hear it with music playing. I think I'm happy, especially considering the price.

I just hooked my JBL 104 set up, heard how good they are, and had to come and post about it. $50 for this performance? Amazing! A deal at full price. The bass hits just enough, though it isn't especially low. Pretty clear, even with my crappy laptop integrated DAC. Wide soundstage. Perfect for a desktop. Plenty of power for nearfield listening, and it doesn't distort noticeably, even on full volume.
 

Tircuit

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I just hooked my JBL 104 set up, heard how good they are, and had to come and post about it. $50 for this performance? Amazing! A deal at full price. The bass hits just enough, though it isn't especially low. Pretty clear, even with my crappy laptop integrated DAC. Wide soundstage. Perfect for a desktop. Plenty of power for nearfield listening, and it doesn't distort noticeably, even on full volume.
Good to hear! Mine arrived at work but I’ve been on vacation so won’t get to hear them for a few days. Too bad there’s not an elegant and cheap way to add a sub.
 

RickSanchez

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Good to hear! Mine arrived at work but I’ve been on vacation so won’t get to hear them for a few days. Too bad there’s not an elegant and cheap way to add a sub.

It's a separate add-on subwoofer module. Both elegant and cheap, perfect for the office ... :p


9fd6711d8fa41a53bc97e15d89913023.jpg
 

Budgeter

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Not related to the topic, but does Drop allow using multiple coupons at the same time? I have 3 coupons with a total of $50 off, but it seems only 1 of them is activated at checkout ($20 off)?
 

anmpr1

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My struggles with Harman were pretty bad too. It took several phone calls to different numbers and a couple hours. In the end, I got my RMA done, the speaker replaced. If I had to do it all over again, knowing all the time I'd need to spend, I might have gone somewhere local.
After a fourth call, I finally received the return authorization. I'll see how long it takes them to credit my account. From now on I'm buying from my local Guitar Center, or Crutchfield. If there's a problem, I know they will take it back, no questions asked.

I think the thing with buying Harman direct is that they are so big and so international that they just don't have the time or care about one-time individual buyers. Maybe a corporate account buying dozens of Crown amps at a time might get their attention.

To compare, I've bought several times from Benchmark and the experience has always been first rate.
 
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