Lucky Find.

[Bisguittin]

I think the luckiest find I have heard of recently is @Pops110's VPI turntable at the local dump. I don't think anybody will come close to topping that anytime soon. But yesterday I think I had my share. Walking past a s/h furniture business, amidst the assorted sidewalk chairs, tables and sea chests, sat a pair of bookshelf speakers which had apparently just arrived minutes before. Heart racing, and $120 later, I walked off with a pair of Proac Super Tablette speakers. Barring several scratches on one cabinet side (which I can remedy), they are in perfect condition. I have just hooked them up and they sound very, very good indeed. As my wife was non-commitally disinterested in the whole affair, I just felt the need to share this with someone.

Edited November 4, 2020 by Bisguittin
Typo

[audiofeline]

Congratulations, I hope you get lots of enjoyment from them. 

[Guest]

That's most wives in a nutshell really, no?

 

Great score Leon!

[Pops110]

That’s a very good pick up Leon.

Have heard nothing but good things said about the Tablette’s.

Not very often you get bargains like that from shops anymore, it only takes 2 minutes to google prices nowadays.

 

[Dean Gale]

Why God is it always some lucky bloke in another state and not me ! Well done mate you have a keen eye 

[Guest]

11 minutes ago, DEANO23 said:

Why God is it always some lucky bloke in another state and not me ! Well done mate you have a keen eye 

I work in mysterious ways XD

[alistairm]

One my favourite all time speakers. Awesome find! 

[blakey72]

Damn, great pickup. Well done mate they are a great little speaker.

[Steever]

Well done.

I know the feeling.

Go out and grab a lotto ticket now.

[illusion]

We have the Stonnington Council hard rubbish collection this week in our neighborhood, and I can tell you all there no Proac or VPI's out on the nature strip.

I did put my 2006 Sony TV out there in the box that my LG C9 came in and....POOF...was gone in 5 minutes.

The vultures driving around in circles waiting for a tasty morsel.

[xlr8or]

Noting those gem finds above are in another league of their own, here is my local find on the same street I live on during council clean up last year. Those fergies were sticking out calling for a new home.

 

 

[doogie44]

I was riding my pushie past the neighbour's house last year when I saw out of the corner of my eye some 'neat-looking' black speakers on the verge. With most of their furniture and kitchen gear. Yes, renovating and not moving; chucking everything.

 

Gave the B&W 685 speakers and one of the ASW610 subwoofers to my daughter. Kept the other sub for my desktop system. Score! Actually my only, and best, score.

 

This was after I bust a gut riding home and bringing back the car in under 3 minutes! Felt like knocking on their door and asking for a surveillance tour of the house--but decided otherwise...

[aussievintage]

9 hours ago, xlr8or said:

Noting those gem finds above are in another league of their own, here is my local find on the same street I live on during council clean up last year. Those fergies were sticking out calling for a new home.

 

 

 

 

Lovely little guitar amp.    That would convert to a great mono system  I use a Fergussen  UL output transformer about that size, with a pair of 6L6s in my mono system.

[aussievintage]

On 03/11/2020 at 9:55 AM, Bisguittin said:

As my wife was non-commitally disinterested in the whole affair, I just felt the need to share this with someone.

 

 

I love these "lucky find" threads. 

 

A mate of mine sent me a picture just a few minutes ago, of a small 20 watt Gladwyn transistor stereo amp.  I had to say no, as I have to much of this stuff in the shed.  Still I was tempted.

[Mat-with-one-t]

I love a find too.  A few thoughts always jump to mind:

 

- I hate waste, and still can’t fathom how/why people simply throw out items (like one of the posts here referring to a reno).  It pisses me off.  We have CHARITIES, we have tightarses (like me), and we have audiophiles.  Seriously, how hard is it to arrange a free pickup with the Salvo’s, or to post of Gumtree as a free “come and get it”, or on your local Good Karma network or Freecycle!?  We have a local bike-building charity who will be thankful for bike donations, and who teach (for free) bike maintenance and building, and will supply needy kids with free bikes.  We have at least 2 nearby metal recycle places who will pay you for metals.  There are innumerable websites, such as this one, where you can “pass it on” 

I get it.  Doing a reno, for example, is crazy busy and fast moving.  You need to make space, change things, move on.  But if you are the type to simply chuck stuff away, imagine the waste occurring throughout the whole process!  

There is so much to be gained, personally to globally, by switching one’s mindset.

 

I simply don’t buy the “too much hassle” excuse.  

 

- like the shop ProAc pickup!  No, I have no sympathy for a shop or private seller.  As stated above, it only takes a quick Google to estimate the price of almost anything these days!  A bargain can still be hadgyikt free.  I only make an exception to charities (although they are well aware of Google), where I love to score at an OpShop,  but will meet in the middle if price is way too low.

 

- I also love nature strips.  Anything left on one (except maybe plants in the ground!) for more than 20sec’s if free game!

 

happy hunting all!  I’d best get down off my extra-tall soapbox before I hurt something!

 

Mat

 

Edited November 6, 2020 by Mat-with-one-t

[Pops110]

1 hour ago, Mat-with-one-t said:

I love a find too.  A few thoughts always jump to mind:

 

- I hate waste, and still can’t fathom how/why people simply throw out items (like one of the posts here referring to a reno).  It pisses me off.  We have CHARITIES, we have tightarses (like me), and we have audiophiles.  Seriously, how hard is it to arrange a free pickup with the Salvo’s, or to post of Gumtree as a free “come and get it”, or on your local Good Karma network or Freecycle!?  We have a local bike-building charity who will be thankful for bike donations, and who teach (for free) bike maintenance and building, and will supply needy kids with free bikes.  We have at least 2 nearby metal recycle places who will pay you for metals.  There are innumerable websites, such as this one, where you can “pass it on” 

I get it.  Doing a reno, for example, is crazy busy and fast moving.  You need to make space, change things, move on.  But if you are the type to simply chuck stuff away, imagine the waste occurring throughout the whole process!  

There is so much to be gained, personally to globally, by switching one’s mindset.

 

I simply don’t buy the “too much hassle” excuse.  

 

- like the shop ProAc pickup!  No, I have no sympathy for a shop or private seller.  As stated above, it only takes a quick Google to estimate the price of almost anything these days!  A bargain can still be hadgyikt free.  I only make an exception to charities (although they are well aware of Google), where I love to score at an OpShop,  but will meet in the middle if price is way too low.

 

- I also love nature strips.  Anything left on one (except maybe plants in the ground!) for more than 20sec’s if free game!

 

happy hunting all!  I’d best get down off my extra-tall soapbox before I hurt something!

 

Mat

 

I hate people throwing perfectly good things out as well.

Im a little bit torn with the VPI TNT that I found. The budget I have to restore would probably be better spent getting a second hand deck in good condition like the VPI that has just come up for sale in the classifieds.
But I really want to see the poor old girl restored and back up and running. 

[bob_m_54]

1 hour ago, Mat-with-one-t said:

I love a find too.  A few thoughts always jump to mind:

 

- I hate waste, and still can’t fathom how/why people simply throw out items (like one of the posts here referring to a reno).  It pisses me off.  We have CHARITIES, we have tightarses (like me), and we have audiophiles.  Seriously, how hard is it to arrange a free pickup with the Salvo’s, or to post of Gumtree as a free “come and get it”, or on your local Good Karma network or Freecycle!?  We have a local bike-building charity who will be thankful for bike donations, and who teach (for free) bike maintenance and building, and will supply needy kids with free bikes.  We have at least 2 nearby metal recycle places who will pay you for metals.  There are innumerable websites, such as this one, where you can “pass it on” 

I get it.  Doing a reno, for example, is crazy busy and fast moving.  You need to make space, change things, move on.  But if you are the type to simply chuck stuff away, imagine the waste occurring throughout the whole process!  

There is so much to be gained, personally to globally, by switching one’s mindset.

 

I simply don’t buy the “too much hassle” excuse.  

 

- like the shop ProAc pickup!  No, I have no sympathy for a shop or private seller.  As stated above, it only takes a quick Google to estimate the price of almost anything these days!  A bargain can still be hadgyikt free.  I only make an exception to charities (although they are well aware of Google), where I love to score at an OpShop,  but will meet in the middle if price is way too low.

 

- I also love nature strips.  Anything left on one (except maybe plants in the ground!) for more than 20sec’s if free game!

 

happy hunting all!  I’d best get down off my extra-tall soapbox before I hurt something!

 

Mat

 

 

I bet the odd lawnmower has disappeared like that ... LOL

[Mat-with-one-t]

2 hours ago, bob_m_54 said:

 

I bet the odd lawnmower has disappeared like that ... LOL

Well, that’s just the Law of the Strip.....

[akjono]

Great score. How do they sound @Bisguittin?  

 

I was at a garage sale 2 years back and the owner was moving fast, had some old SAE gear, 120V, with a small transformer, and said what would I pay. I asked first does it work and he said," yes when I ran them last time." When I asked how long ago that was he said over 10 years. So I passed.

 

Then the following weekend he was garage sailing again and I stoped by. The equipment was there, and I said I would take it away for free.... And if I did not keep them and fix em up that I would give them away for free. So- the Amp and Pre were from the mid 70's with Big VU (Mark IVCM) ,  and sounded actually decent with some old 'sacrificial speakers' and hooked up to a 1990 cdp from Harman Kardon. I decided to give them to a young bloke at the local computer shop who I know would restore them. He was gushing over the Big Meters... . The fact that they still worked enough to give sound is a testament to the quality of build from those days, and that company - SAE. Cheers.

[Bisguittin]

40 minutes ago, akjono said:

Great score. How do they sound @Bisguittin?  

I am amazed at how much high quality sound comes out of these little boxes. They were (are) quite justifiably rated highly. The sound is pristine. Their imaging is quite exceptional. Female voice in particular is scary real. I was able to slot them straight into my system - in place of my Duntech Statesmen. This setup  incorporates an REL t9i subwoofer and they certainly did not disgrace themselves driven by the Halcro MC20. Whilst they're never going to replace the big boys, they are a more than adequate backup. I am not broadcasting their exceptional powers too loudly though, lest my Duntechs unwittingly become victim to WAF. (or maybe dis-approval factor)

[mr_gray]

spying a quality item amongst dross - a great feeling when all that interest in your hobby pays off i think

 

my version, and i presume people will let me know if i have lost perspective here, is i was having the woofer on my speakers repaired  (old and tried JBL 4344 that has become a "project") and my Monitor Audio 5si were not adequate stop gaps (to be rid of them all i could do is hope one of the posters on this thread came along after i put them on the nature strip - before Council did fined me for dumping trash of course)*. 

 

so trawling the sites for speakers and on ebay found some audio note alnico kit version (but the correct birch cabinets) for $2,500.  

 

i knew nothing about the an-e at the time, the blue woofer (being a blue baffle addict) drew me in i think along with the unusual baffle width.

 

the speaker has been a God send and has led me back to the sweetness of an amp (SPEC M#ex) i was in process of selling and away from the brutal power game.  diverted me off the jbl path to SET and possibly even vinyl i think.  

 

 

* - they actually weren't the worst thing to listen to and i have a sub to supplement so i should not complain.  it is remarkable however IMO the number of speakers out there that people appear to be quite literally unable to give away.  speaker depreciation, and large format speaker depreciation particularly, is a very real thing.  even for some of the strongest brands.

Edited November 8, 2020 by mr_gray
grammar

[t_mike]

On 07/11/2020 at 10:31 AM, Mat-with-one-t said:

I love a find too.  A few thoughts always jump to mind:

 

- I hate waste, and still can’t fathom how/why people simply throw out items (like one of the posts here referring to a reno).  It pisses me off.  We have CHARITIES, we have tightarses (like me), and we have audiophiles.  Seriously, how hard is it to arrange a free pickup with the Salvo’s, or to post of Gumtree as a free “come and get it”, or on your local Good Karma network or Freecycle!?  We have a local bike-building charity who will be thankful for bike donations, and who teach (for free) bike maintenance and building, and will supply needy kids with free bikes.  We have at least 2 nearby metal recycle places who will pay you for metals.  There are innumerable websites, such as this one, where you can “pass it on” 

I get it.  Doing a reno, for example, is crazy busy and fast moving.  You need to make space, change things, move on.  But if you are the type to simply chuck stuff away, imagine the waste occurring throughout the whole process!  

There is so much to be gained, personally to globally, by switching one’s mindset.

 

I simply don’t buy the “too much hassle” excuse.  

 

- like the shop ProAc pickup!  No, I have no sympathy for a shop or private seller.  As stated above, it only takes a quick Google to estimate the price of almost anything these days!  A bargain can still be hadgyikt free.  I only make an exception to charities (although they are well aware of Google), where I love to score at an OpShop,  but will meet in the middle if price is way too low.

 

- I also love nature strips.  Anything left on one (except maybe plants in the ground!) for more than 20sec’s if free game!

 

happy hunting all!  I’d best get down off my extra-tall soapbox before I hurt something!

 

Mat

 

 

 

I found $20 on the ground while walking the streets of New York last year. Gave it to an old black guy begging for food outside Wallgreens on the corner of 77th and Broadway at 1 am. He got a feed and I felt good about it. Win, win.

 

Sometimes the best part about the find is how you feel about it, and not the physical gain.

Edited November 10, 2020 by t_mike

[bob_m_54]

I was in a supermarket car park one day, and found a $50 note on the ground. Later on, on my way out of the store i saw a little old lady looking for something. When I asked what she was looking for, she said she had lost her money that she was going to buy her weekly groceries with.

 

Seeing as I had a lucky find earlier, I thought I'd share that good luck with her, and gave her $20.00 she was so pleased at the generosity of a stranger.

 

@t_mike yes, it does make you feel good passing on some good fortune eh?

 

Actually, there is a crime of stealing by finding in Australia, if you find something and don't take reasonable steps to return it to it's rightful owner.

[mr_gray]

@bob_m_54 what a lovely story.  you are so kind it almost made me cry.  

[doogie44]

If you are the original owner of a gatefold 2LP classical orchestral vinyl sold in a mixed box from the 2MBS record fair around 1992, please contact me. Your $250 in notes is in my safe-keeping... for security purposes, you will need to name the recording. Shouldn't be too hard.

True story.