Built my first real CD setup entirely from thrift stores for under $50 — where do I go from here?
A couple months ago, I randomly fell down the physical media rabbit hole after getting tired of listening to music through my phone speaker and cheap Bluetooth audio. I’ve always loved music, but I never really experienced what it felt like to sit down and actually listen to an album front to back until recently.
What started as casually collecting CDs from thrift stores turned into trying to build the best possible budget home audio setup I can through patience, secondhand finds, and a lot of trial and error.
So far, my setup is:
- Sony STR-DG710 receiver: $40 (thrift bundle)
- Sony SS-F5000P tower speakers: - (same bundle)
- Sony DVP-NC615 5-disc CD/DVD changer: $4.99
Total spent so far:
~$45
One thing I want to make clear is that none of this gear is “endgame” to me. If I find something better down the line, I have zero problem upgrading or replacing parts of the setup. Half the fun for me is the hunt itself (digging through thrift stores, Facebook Marketplace, etc). Sure, I could probably buy a perfect setup online right now, but that kind of defeats the purpose for me. I enjoy the process of learning, searching, finding deals, fixing old equipment, and slowly building something piece by piece instead of getting instant gratification.
My questions for the people here:
- What brands/models should I realistically be hunting for secondhand?
- What are the best thrift-store sleeper brands?
- What upgrades would make the biggest difference for CD listening specifically?
- What should I avoid?
Would love to hear what you guys think of the setup so far and where you’d go next.