BolusOfDoom
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In the mid-90s, I found a pair of Hegeman Model 1 speakers next to a dumpster. Then I traded them for a pair of carpet-covered Altec Lansing 9844As
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Share your best “bargain of my life” story.
- Thread starter Jeremiah Sheets
- Start date
A pair of 1961 vintage DuKane Ionovac DUK-30 full range towers in return for helping a friend paint his home. His wife utterly refused to let them into the living room.
Probably the second was a system I built with a pair of Samson Rubicon 5a ribbon active monitors and a Gemini rackmount preamplifier for about $450 U.S.
Probably the second was a system I built with a pair of Samson Rubicon 5a ribbon active monitors and a Gemini rackmount preamplifier for about $450 U.S.
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2019
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I have 3 "Bargains Of A LIfe Time That Got Away"...and one that I actually snagged.
The Gotaways:
1. MBL 101D Radialstrahler: the famous MBL omnis most are familiar with from their shows. In the late 90s/early 2000s I became obsessed with the MBLs having heard them in some dedicated set ups. Waaaay out of my price league though. Even decades ago they went for around $40,000 or so. But I got a tip through a reviewer pal of someone selling a mint pair "fire sale" price - divorce style. I was put in touch and this guy said he'd sell them to me for about $11,500 IIRC. Which was insane. But still more than I'd ever paid for any audio gear, so I had to mull it over, talk with my wife, check my finances and future work...and when I finally realized I could buy them he said "too late, I put them on audiogon!" Aagh! So I decided to bid for them on audiogon, willing to pay more for them. Last 15 seconds I had a bid that was going to leapfrog the other guy, sent it off....software glitch. Didn't go through. He got them. Ouch! (And I found out it was a well off guy who placed them in his gym while he was working out!)
2. Waveform Mach Solo speakers. They of the famous (at the time ) egg-shaped head module. I reviewed those long ago, one of my favourite speakers of all time. But I'd just bought other speakers so didn't go for the accomodation purchase. Regreted it later. Always wanted them again but Waveform shut down shortly after my review and very few of the Mach Solos were ever made or sold, and owners did NOT part with those suckers! Very rare. Sor for years and years I kept my eyes on the used market. And a while back, after probably around 17 years or so of looking, a pair popped up for sale. They were an insane bargain: just over $2,000, the last pair ever made an in fact the personal pair of Designer John Otvos, with a custom upgrade! And not only that, they were RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER from me, in my city, so an easy pick up, no shipping! It was like a fantasy. EXCEPT...it happened to hit me during the worst financial crises I'd ever had. I had no money at all to grab them. So I watched as they were snapped up after a while by someone else. Literally a couple months earlier and I could have bought them, a couple months later and I could have bought them, but not at that exact moment! Still gets to me.
3. Was offered a pristine set of Quad ESL 57s for free, just an older audiophile moving out of using quads that I'd known a long time. One of my favourite speakers. But try as I might I couldn't figure out how they'd work in my current room in terms of form factor, and I couldn't figure out where I could store them even to put them in and out of my system. I passed. Still hurts.
The Once In A life time bargain I Snagged:
I happened upon a crazy bargan for some MBL 121 stand mounted speakers, which share the same omni/tweeter mids as the big 101s. A dealer shipped them new to a customer but they got damaged on route so now he had to sell them damaged. These went for about $18,000 new at the time, and he sold the speakers, the dedicated MBL matching stands (themselves expensive) and even threw in some expensive speaker cables (why not? I'll take them). Got it all for about $3,000!
When I recieved them, the damage was entirely cosmetic: the grills were mostly no good but I'd never use them anyway, and then some nicks here and there and one chip of the bottom corner of the finish. But this was "examine them up really close" kind of stuff. From even a foot away they looked gleamingly finished and brand new! So I finally got my own MBL experience, at an amazingly affordable price!
I kept them for 10 years, loved them, had to sell them to get my current speakers. I decided to sell them for about the same price, though I could have asked more, because I figured it would be nice for some other person who lusted after MBLs but who could never afford them, to land a similar deal. When I put them up for sale I got about 36 immediate "will buy right now" offers on the same day. Easiest sale ever.
My MBL 121s, when I put them for sale:
The Gotaways:
1. MBL 101D Radialstrahler: the famous MBL omnis most are familiar with from their shows. In the late 90s/early 2000s I became obsessed with the MBLs having heard them in some dedicated set ups. Waaaay out of my price league though. Even decades ago they went for around $40,000 or so. But I got a tip through a reviewer pal of someone selling a mint pair "fire sale" price - divorce style. I was put in touch and this guy said he'd sell them to me for about $11,500 IIRC. Which was insane. But still more than I'd ever paid for any audio gear, so I had to mull it over, talk with my wife, check my finances and future work...and when I finally realized I could buy them he said "too late, I put them on audiogon!" Aagh! So I decided to bid for them on audiogon, willing to pay more for them. Last 15 seconds I had a bid that was going to leapfrog the other guy, sent it off....software glitch. Didn't go through. He got them. Ouch! (And I found out it was a well off guy who placed them in his gym while he was working out!)
2. Waveform Mach Solo speakers. They of the famous (at the time ) egg-shaped head module. I reviewed those long ago, one of my favourite speakers of all time. But I'd just bought other speakers so didn't go for the accomodation purchase. Regreted it later. Always wanted them again but Waveform shut down shortly after my review and very few of the Mach Solos were ever made or sold, and owners did NOT part with those suckers! Very rare. Sor for years and years I kept my eyes on the used market. And a while back, after probably around 17 years or so of looking, a pair popped up for sale. They were an insane bargain: just over $2,000, the last pair ever made an in fact the personal pair of Designer John Otvos, with a custom upgrade! And not only that, they were RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER from me, in my city, so an easy pick up, no shipping! It was like a fantasy. EXCEPT...it happened to hit me during the worst financial crises I'd ever had. I had no money at all to grab them. So I watched as they were snapped up after a while by someone else. Literally a couple months earlier and I could have bought them, a couple months later and I could have bought them, but not at that exact moment! Still gets to me.
3. Was offered a pristine set of Quad ESL 57s for free, just an older audiophile moving out of using quads that I'd known a long time. One of my favourite speakers. But try as I might I couldn't figure out how they'd work in my current room in terms of form factor, and I couldn't figure out where I could store them even to put them in and out of my system. I passed. Still hurts.
The Once In A life time bargain I Snagged:
I happened upon a crazy bargan for some MBL 121 stand mounted speakers, which share the same omni/tweeter mids as the big 101s. A dealer shipped them new to a customer but they got damaged on route so now he had to sell them damaged. These went for about $18,000 new at the time, and he sold the speakers, the dedicated MBL matching stands (themselves expensive) and even threw in some expensive speaker cables (why not? I'll take them). Got it all for about $3,000!
When I recieved them, the damage was entirely cosmetic: the grills were mostly no good but I'd never use them anyway, and then some nicks here and there and one chip of the bottom corner of the finish. But this was "examine them up really close" kind of stuff. From even a foot away they looked gleamingly finished and brand new! So I finally got my own MBL experience, at an amazingly affordable price!
I kept them for 10 years, loved them, had to sell them to get my current speakers. I decided to sell them for about the same price, though I could have asked more, because I figured it would be nice for some other person who lusted after MBLs but who could never afford them, to land a similar deal. When I put them up for sale I got about 36 immediate "will buy right now" offers on the same day. Easiest sale ever.
My MBL 121s, when I put them for sale:
Set of 4x Tannoy 15" dual-concentrics at a 2nd-hand shop. They were in grey-carpet PA speaker cabinets, but the adjustable crossover and look of the drivers gave it away. One pair were the usual HPD385s, the other were a little more obscure and I can't remember right now.
They were on at £50 per pair. I offered £80 for all four and the manager enthusiastically accepted - he wanted the big pile of grey speakers out of his shop asap. Guess he didn't know what he had.
The other was when I was working at a nightclub (I'd been hired in for an Artist You've Heard Of... Probably). The installed PA had just been upgraded, so there was a big pile of amplifiers sitting in the corner, not-being-used. Including a Crown MA5002VZ (in great condition), a couple of JBL amps, a few Cloud VTX... All old-school class AB PA amps. In-house tech said the Crown was dead, but most of the rest still worked. Haggled down to £200, which one of the JBL amps fetched when I sold it.
My 2003 Polo was probably sitting on the rubber blocks the whole drive home.
The Crown fired up first-time and I've kept it since.
Chris
They were on at £50 per pair. I offered £80 for all four and the manager enthusiastically accepted - he wanted the big pile of grey speakers out of his shop asap. Guess he didn't know what he had.
The other was when I was working at a nightclub (I'd been hired in for an Artist You've Heard Of... Probably). The installed PA had just been upgraded, so there was a big pile of amplifiers sitting in the corner, not-being-used. Including a Crown MA5002VZ (in great condition), a couple of JBL amps, a few Cloud VTX... All old-school class AB PA amps. In-house tech said the Crown was dead, but most of the rest still worked. Haggled down to £200, which one of the JBL amps fetched when I sold it.
My 2003 Polo was probably sitting on the rubber blocks the whole drive home.
The Crown fired up first-time and I've kept it since.
Chris
Not my story but a good slightly off topic one.
If he was alive then, I hope he got a cash settlement.
Bought a pristine pair of MartinLogan 40i, for $800.
Revel F206 pair for $900 including IsoAcoustic feet. Those had cosmetic issues with paint chips but sounded excellent.
Cambridge Audio AXR100 $400 (2021, refurb direct from Cambridge)
My current Emotiva T2+ pair cost $770 new.
Revel F206 pair for $900 including IsoAcoustic feet. Those had cosmetic issues with paint chips but sounded excellent.
Cambridge Audio AXR100 $400 (2021, refurb direct from Cambridge)
My current Emotiva T2+ pair cost $770 new.
Count Arthur
Major Contributor
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2020
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Free education.
Increasingly rare in certain parts.
Increasingly rare in certain parts.
No such thing. More like "education that other people paid for." Most of us who teach get paid for it.
Haflermichi
Active Member
I posted this same story under a thread about buying speakers without auditioning them first. But it applies to this thread as well.
I bought a pair of used Hales Revelation Three un-auditioned based on reviews (yes, unfortunately Stereophile) but also recommendation from a trusted friend who owned a pair and whom has similar musical taste. The Veneer was beat up and the grill-socks were completely missing.
However.
1. The seller was a business owner who runs a High End AV install business and turns around traded in equipment.
2. He tested them in his shop to verify all drivers were working.
3. The price was $350 (!for the pair!)
4. He delivered them for free...in a WHITE VAN (!!!)
I ended up re-veneering them and they have purred away in my system for years now.
I bought a pair of used Hales Revelation Three un-auditioned based on reviews (yes, unfortunately Stereophile) but also recommendation from a trusted friend who owned a pair and whom has similar musical taste. The Veneer was beat up and the grill-socks were completely missing.
However.
1. The seller was a business owner who runs a High End AV install business and turns around traded in equipment.
2. He tested them in his shop to verify all drivers were working.
3. The price was $350 (!for the pair!)
4. He delivered them for free...in a WHITE VAN (!!!)
I ended up re-veneering them and they have purred away in my system for years now.