soldering iron

the main item of concern is the iron's power rating, which is determined by the type of work you want to do. If you are soldering / desoldering components on a circuit board, then use a 25 watt iron with a pencil point tip shape. If you are soldering wires, then a 40 watt power rating with a spade tip shape is more appropriate. If you are doing heavy work then a 60 watt iron is probably going to work better.

I usually use a Weller iron myself but there are many good choices available. I found a nice little dual-heat 25/40 watt iron (with a selector switch) that I like to carry in my field service kit (I think it was from RadioShack).

I was in the same boat till two days ago when I bought a 40 watt Weller for $ 16.99 at
Sears Hardware, 7 year warranty.
Hakko is very good quality too.

Next up is this nice Mini Solder Pot from a company called Hexacon for about $ 70.00
Part # MP-945, 946, 947 or 948 depending on your temperature preference (last number denotates temp. in degrees) perfect for my wire stripping & tinning chores.

appreciate the responses, I spoke with the amps tech and he is sending out a resistor that I need to solder to some caps, he mentioned there are a bunch of wires attached to the terminal so what heat range would be appropriate, thanks again

Adding to Jasljs's good post: The wattage has to be appropriate for the job. If there isn't enough, you will get a cold solder joint. Too much and applying to much heat (contacting for too long) and you start melting things other than solder. The lowest wattage irons are only good for component replacement, but won't nearly be enough heat for the speaker binding posts. For general purpose use, a spade tip, like a common screwdriver, is best. A pointy conical tip will drive you crazy with inadequate heat transfer most of the time, unless doing very fine work. And don't move until the solder solidifies. Blowing helps.

I recently posted this question on audiogon and was given the following excellent advice:the Hako 936.excellent machine