An Old School Stereo for Less than $30

Are you looking to get a stereo cheap?  A few weeks ago, I came across a couple of interesting stereo components that could have led me to the construction of a pretty nice sub-$30 old school stereo.

First, in a Goodwill in the far flung suburbs of Atlanta, I found two stereo receivers for $24.99 each.  The first component  was a Sherwood RX-4100 receiver.  It's a 105 watt 2-channel stereo unit with 0.05 THD distortion.  The Sherwood RX-4100 Stereo Receiver received mixed reviews on Amazon.com due primarily to the lack of tone controls.  If you need a manual for this stereo receiver it can be found on manualslib.com. 

Sherwood RX-4100 Stereo Receiver

The second component was an Insignia 200 watt stereo reciever.  Insignia is well known as the house brand of Best Buy.

Finally, a solitary Lxi brand single-disc CD player was selling just down the aisle for just under $4.  Of course, the $20,000 question remains:  will a $4 CD player work?  It did power on and off.  The door also opened and closed.  A simple CD player from Goodwill just might work.  It's the multi-disc CD players that get clunky.

 

That's a lot of stereo for $29.  Of course, speakers are another matter.  However, I've often seen mondo speakers for as low as $20 a pair.  Small bookshelf speakers could go for as little as $10.  As long as you can see that there are no tears in a speaker cone and that the foam surrounds around a speaker are intact, you almost can't go wrong with speakers from a thrift store.  However, there are also some great speaker deals on the Internet.

We live in an era when any resourceful kid can put together a great stereo.  We are lucky to be living in the twilight of a golden age of stereo technology.

Stereo Component Review: Insignia 5-Disc CD Changer

We've spent about a year now with the Insignia 5-Disc CD Changer doing light CD playing duty on our home component stereo system.  It's still going strong and we still like it.  I'm reposting my original review here --

When the CD changer on your stereo goes whirrr, kathunk, kathunk, thunk, spin, thunk, kathunk, and totally ignores two of your five compact discs before starting to play music, it might just be time for a new CD player. There is a real risk that your old CD changer could even scratch or shatter your discs. My quest for a new CD player ended when I found the Insignia 5-disc CD and MP3 disc changer.


I started watching Amazon.com and Sunday Newspaper advertisements and soon came across a Best Buy insert. The Insignia 5-disc CD Changer (Model NS-CD512) was advertised for $79.99. It was an astonishingly low price. Even though CD players are considered old fashioned in a world of streaming Internet audio, I went and got my new CD player in a truly old school way. I got up and made sure that I was one of the first five people in the store on Sunday morning. I raced to the stereo aisle, found the CD player on display, and found a couple of boxed examples. Sure there was dust on the box, but I still felt like I had won the competition. Since online reviews were middling and disc changers are complex, I went ahead and bought a two year protection plan. With tax and the protection plan, I was out of the door for just than $100.

Installation of the Insignia NS-CD512 CD Changer was easy. I simply swapped out the clunky twenty year old Sony and plugged in the Insignia. I was impressed that the unit came with an RCA cable and batteries for the remote. The enclosed documentation and included setup diagrams were easy to read.

The Insignia CD player does a good job playing CDs. The sound is crisp and clear to my non-audiophile ears. However, this unit does not boast of oversampling or vibration protection or any other optional frills. A headphone jack is provide for direct listening. It is a basic disc changer and it does what it is intended to do at an attainable price point. It has an easy to use random play feature that can be activated for a single disc or the entire selection of five discs. Since the vast majority of my music is on CD, I haven't tried playing an MP3 disc on this unit.

As a basic entry-level five disc changer, this Insignia has two drawbacks. One it is a little slow when transitioning between discs and when responding to commands from the remote control. You can press the remote control and wait several seconds before the CD changer responds. The second drawback is the lack of "spiral play" functionality. In the nineties, I had a Technics player that would play the first song on each disc, then the second song on each disc, and so on. I don't see that spiral play feature on this CD player.

Overall, the Insignia CD five disc changer meets my needs at a very competitive price. If you watch Best Buy sale prices and shop carefully, you should be able to get the Insignia five disc CD changer and an entry-level stereo receiver for around $200. That makes this CD changer part of a very affordable way to get into a component stereo system.

In truth, I'm sure that there are many Multi-Disc CD Changers that would fit your needs. If you listen to pop, rock, or dance music, a multi-CD player is almost a necessity.

 

New Stereo for Less Than $200?

Can you buy a stereo for less than $200?  Would you like a totally new stereo for less than $200?  Amazingly, you can build a component stereo system for less than $200.  First, check out the Insignia brand at Best Buy.  It's the Best Buy House Brand.  This week their Insignia 5-disc CD Changer is on sale for an amazing $49.99.  It may be a tad slow in responding to remote commands, but for less than $50 it can take its time.  It's a nice basic CD changer and it sounds good.  I've reviewed it here - Stereo Component Review:  Insignia 5-Disc CD Changer

The Insignia 200W 2.0 Channel Stereo Receiver is only $129.99 at Best Buy.  It is a basic 2-channel receiver with few frills.  However, there are sellers on Amazon.com that have these basic Stereo Receivers used ("Like New") for as low as $85 including shipping.  If you are patient, it will also probably go on sale at Best Buy.

Alternatively, you could pair the Insignia CD changer with an inexpensive Pyle PT260A stereo receiver and you would be in the stereo business.  The Pyle stereo receiver costs well less than $100 and it can provide up to 50 watts per speaker at 8 ohms impedance.


So, yes, you can get a basic stereo together for less than $200.  Of course, you may have to hit Goodwill for some speakers! However, Amazon could come to the rescue again with some basic 50 Watt Monoprice Bookshelf Speakers like these for $30! They would be a perfect match for that Pyle receiver.

Our grand total for this system without shipping or wires would be about $160. $160 for a complete entry level stereo would work. Now, it won't make you an audiophile or convey any bragging right. But, it would get you started. Then, you could slowly evolve your system into something awesome as funding permits! Good luck!

My Newest Component - The Insignia 5-Disc CD and MP3 Disc Changer

One of the first additions I made to my low budget stereo was a brand new CD changer. The twenty year old Sony unit that I originally bought at a thrift store was making horrible noises. It was going to damage some of our CD collection eventually. It had to be replaced.  I had to place something new in our tower of power.

 
I surfed the internet and found all kinds of low cost CD players on Amazon. They had great deals on Sony disc changers and TEAC single CD players. But, I'm a retro guy.  I had to do things backwards.  While I shopped on Amazon, I actually bought from a brick-and-mortar Best Buy store!

At $80, the 5-disc changer was too good of a deal to pass up.  Tonight, I saw this CD Changer advertised at BestBuy online for just under $50.  At that price, run don't walk to your nearest Best Buy.  FIrst, you can read my review of this dirt cheap CD and MP3 disc changer here:

 Stereo Component Review:  Insignia 5-Disc CD Changer

When I was surfing Amazon, I thought this CD player would also have been great option: