Best bang-for-buck purchase you have made?

Sean, email me...I promise not to reveal anything to Francisco. :-)

BTW, I mention the product only because it's the truth. I have no doubt that, were I looking for my first TT today, having wider knowledge about what's available (and if I had never DJ'ed at that college station), I probably wouldn't ever think to even consider the 1200. I bought it out of ignorance to some degree, and in a way I keep it out of ignorance too: I've heard a few 'high end' TT's in passing, but have never really auditioned one under familiar conditions. Even if I wanted to shop around, I don't know where I'd go or what I'd do - none of the dealers near me seem to stress analog. I had to buy my last cartridge sound-unheard through the mail; I assume I'd probably be facing a similar situation for an audiophile-approved TT, and how much would that tell me on a comparitive basis about anything other than that TT vs. my present one - after I'd already bought it? A TT is one component I'd want to get brand-new, but it's also one of the few that it seems you can't comparatively audition at most dealers. So since I'm not unhappy, here I stay...

Well with me it was two Spectral 200 Class A amps in the eighties for 2000 Swissfrancs each, which would be about 3000 bucks at today's rate of exchange. I still use them to this day to drive the Stax stators in my setup and without MIT wires to boot!

SET EL84 amp for $26 fully tubed with GE tubes. One of best sounding amp I have heard ( Jadis SE-300b is more romantic but not in terms of dynamic and the price tag.) Compared with Sun Audio SV3 on JBL horn system and it blewed the Sun Audio away in terms of clarity and bass response. This little guy with no feed back really brings the music out of the speakers. For my second setup, it matched perfectly with Jensen TF-3 and Dynaco PAS-3 modified and DIY silver interconnects and speaker cables.

Novus plastic cleaner for about $4.00 and a microfiber polishing cloth from Wal-Mart for $2.00. Use on CD's.

Denon DL103R. An outstanding cartridge for around $200. Not available in the US, but if you are very good at researching sources, you can get them.

The other great bang-for-buck item I think is Lowther speakers. If you can DIY a cabinet, they will give unbelieveable sound for under a grand. The clarity and coherence of Lowthers is incredible.