[stump4545]

putting together a new system and wondering if you guys had any suggestions on which brands to look out for to buy at great used prices.  Looking for the following used:
1. 2 channel amp
2. CD Player/ volume control
3. Full range speakers

Looking for great sounding gear that i probably couldn't afford new that i could pick up used.

I heard pass labs makes great amps, maybe a Mark Levinson CD player, and Talon speakers, any other suggestions or opinions or 2 cents?

[JimJ]

How much do you have to spend?

[john1970]

For two channel amps I would consider Bryston.  Their amps have a 20 year transferable warranty.  You can easily pickup a 3 year old amp for significantly less money than retail and still have 17 years of warranty service.

Just my 2 cents,

John

[GDeering]

I don't want to be overly critical, but what have you heard that you liked?  I can recommend lots of gear that is a great bargain used.  I can recommend much more that I have not heard, but base my opinion on how much it cost new and how much hype it received when released/reviewed.   Levinson and Talon might fit the latter, neither would be my first choice.  But I've never heard the Levinson in any system I'm familiar with, so I umm... should not comment.

So $15,000.00 for speakers?  Have you looked at some past audio shows?  Lots of mega gear to whet your appetite.  There are a dozen well regarded speakers that I can say would be fantastic deals at 35-50% off, but so what?

That is to say, until you know what you like in high end sound recommendations are fun to think about but useless as advice.  To say a speaker is a killer deal is meaningless unless you know what it will do to the "killer" amp you want to score next.


Gregg

[stump4545]

Salks are defenitely in the running by budget is as follows

speakers- full range with good bass extension- 5k
pre amp- tubed                                        - 3k
amp                                                        -3k
dac                                                         -3k

looking for used gear from great names that i can find on audiogon for a lot less then retail

thanks for your suggestions

[Mountain-ear]

With your budget, why buy used when you can get some outstanding gear from Audio by Van Alstine that is brand new, sounds amazing, remains current through upgrades rather than replacements, and is designed and built in the good ol' US of A?  You will periodically find used gear from AVA -- Frank even sells some it directly when he takes gear back on trade -- but his new prices are quite reasonable because he sells to you directly and spends little or no money advertising.  The other part about dealing with AVA is, if you have a problem or a question and call the office, there's a good chance Frank Van Alstine himself will answer the phone and help you out.

I'm on my second AVA pre-amp (traded the first back to Frank for a new model with a remote control), bought a new power amp from him and a used AVA DAC from A-gon (or was it eBay?).  It's not the fanciest stuff you can get aesthetically, but it is hard to do much better sonically.  Check out his web-site and his circle here on AC.

Steve

[ecramer]

De-Havilland-Mercury-2-preamp -   $2500.00 obo

Merlin-Vsm-Mx $3700.00

Pass X250.5 amp

North Star M192 MK2 Dac

North Star Transport 192 silver

THat should be a really nice sounding system

ED

[ltr317]

I agree with everything that Ed recommended, except for the transport.  You don't need to spend a lot of money for a transport if it's a stable platform.  I've heard a lot of expensive transports that don't justify the cost.  The other pieces are capable of really good sound, especially at used prices and can compete with components costing a lot more. 

[ecramer]

I agree with everything that Ed recommended, except for the transport.  You don't need to spend a lot of money for a transport if it's a stable platform.  I've heard a lot of expensive transports that don't justify the cost.  The other pieces are capable of really good sound, especially at used prices and can compete with components costing a lot more.

The dac and transport when hooked together via I2S cable makes a team better then the pieces by them self other wise i would have went with a cheaper transport

North Star Model 192 - CD transport review

I would love to own the system that i listed. I think it would put a big smile on a lot of peoples faces


ED

[ltr317]

I agree with everything that Ed recommended, except for the transport.  You don't need to spend a lot of money for a transport if it's a stable platform.  I've heard a lot of expensive transports that don't justify the cost.  The other pieces are capable of really good sound, especially at used prices and can compete with components costing a lot more.

The dac and transport when hooked together via I2S cable makes a team better then the pieces by them self other wise i would have went with a cheaper transport

North Star Model 192 - CD transport review

I would love to own the system that i listed. I think it would put a big smile on a lot of peoples faces

ED

I understand what you're saying about buying components from the same manufacturer for better performance.  From my extensive experience with cd playback systems though, spending a lot of money for a transport just isn't cost effective, and if there is an improvement it is minimal at best.  I can't justify spending a grand or more on a transport, even when it's a used price, but that's just me.  I rather spend more money on speakers, preamps and dacs with system synergy in mind, which do make a bigger improvement.  I wouldn't mind owning the system you recommended either, as we both heard these components, though not together, several times. 

[stump4545]

i really contemplating getting van alstine gear, but i came across a good deal on a pass lab amp x250 and pass lab pre amp x2.5 used going for the about the same as new van alstine gear.


still go with van alstin or used pass labs (forgetting about the warranty issue for a second)?

going to be powering a future pair of HT2-TL's.

[Ericus Rex]

These are a bargain:

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1262654973&/Meadowlark-Nightingale-Full-Ra

The listing says they were 15K new but they were actually 20K.  I'd guess you could talk him down a bit too.

[ecramer]

Pass Labs  but then again i recommended Pass in the first place  I like the way the music flows from those amps. totally without effort 

van alstine has a circle on AC so i will no doubt get out voted. but if its a good deal on the Pass labs id go for it

ED

[Uptown Audio]

I'd not buy a used CD player. Too much risk there and the technology is moving so quickly that you can buy a new $1k CD player that sounds better than many used $5k players. Bryston amps are always a good value, used. If you want vacuum tube products, be careful. There can be some nice nits found used but there are also many with problems. Tubed preamps are slightly less risky in that regard. It's best to either buy tube gear new or from a trusted seller who services the products. Speakers are the best bet for used gear as are solid state preamps and amps. The problem with speakers is mainly shipping. Damaged goods can ruin your interest in buying anything heavy out of your immediate area.
-Bill 

[*Scotty*]

stump4545,I would vote for the Pass Labs X250 and X2.5 combo. This equipment is very good and very robustly built, I am sure you could get it serviced if necessary and frankly with the build quality it is unlikely to need servicing or have reliability issues. It may also be upgradeable if you deem it necessary. See this review for further info. http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0202/passx250.htm
Scotty