# Need a dirt cheap stereo receiver



## dmspen

I want to put some old speakers (25 year old Polk studio monitors) in my garage to good use. I'm gonig to mount them in the corners but I need a basic receiver to power them.

Any suggestions for a place to get a good dirt cheap basic used stereo receiver?


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## sigma1914

ebay or craigslist


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## Herdfan

dmspen said:


> I want to put some old speakers (25 year old Polk studio monitors) in my garage to good use.


I've got a pair of those and they still sound great.

Define dirt cheap.


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## lugnutathome

Goodwill
Target/Kmart/Walmart UGH
The "Shack"

I've cleaned out my garage and basement of all the stereo receivers, cassette decks and the like so no joy here.

Don "stereo? How quaint" Bolton


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## Cholly

How high are you willing to go in price? You might try Fry's or BB for open box stereos. Otherwise, check ebay or local paper classified ads. You might also try local Goodwill or Salvation Army store.
As to retail: B&H has a Pyle Pro PT260A AM/FM receiver for $73.33. Amazon has it for $72.91. Both offer free shipping.


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## CCarncross

Try the consignment shops in your area...


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## Scott Kocourek

I agree with the others mainly because receivers tend to be very heavy and end up being expensive to ship. A local tv repair shop may have something for you too.


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## WestDC

Local Pawn Shop


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## Nurseryman

Maybe open box at Best Buy?


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## Davenlr

Your speakers woofers havent dry rotted after all that time?


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## armophob

My father just bought a surround Kenwood at the flea market for $60


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## dmspen

Flea market...good idea. I went to the local Goodwill store and there was an old Sony stereo receiver for $20. The cord had been cut and knobs were missing. Pawn shops are expensive generally. Maybe garage sales coming up.

Define cheap? Free! but probably less than $50. I've had 2 old receivers that I gave away...dumb me.

Maybe I should take my current AV receiver and put it in the garage and get a new one! Boy, would the wife let me know about that!


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## Getteau

I went through this a couple of years ago for my garage and my dad's garage. We wanted something that would let us play music in the garage and also power some outdoor speakers for the pool. We ended up spending around $100 and picked up one of the boom boxes/stereo's with detachable speakers from Wal-Mart because we also wanted to be able to play CD's and I needed an MP3 input. I could have done the MP3 input with a composite to headphone adapter, but the CD part is what forced us to go with the all in one solution (I had given away my Sony 6 disk CD player about a year earlier and was kicking myself when I ended up needing it again).


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## Rich

dmspen said:


> Flea market...good idea. I went to the local Goodwill store and there was an old Sony stereo receiver for $20. The cord had been cut and knobs were missing. Pawn shops are expensive generally. Maybe garage sales coming up.
> 
> Define cheap? Free! but probably less than $50. I've had 2 old receivers that I gave away...dumb me.
> 
> Maybe I should take my current AV receiver and put it in the garage and get a new one! Boy, would the wife let me know about that!


I have a good Sony receiver, but the cost of shipping would be prohibitive. I did sell a couple of them on eBay when that model was new. Shame you don't live near me.

Rich


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## dmspen

Rich said:


> I have a good Sony receiver, but the cost of shipping would be prohibitive. I did sell a couple of them on eBay when that model was new. Shame you don't live near me.
> 
> Rich


I was born in New Jersey though...


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## Rich

dmspen said:


> I was born in New Jersey though...


Good for YOU!

Rich


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## Carl Spock

Davenlr said:


> Your speakers woofers havent dry rotted after all that time?


 Polk Audio, from day one, has always used butyl rubber surrounds on their woofers. It's the funky foam surrounds that dry rot.


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## dmspen

Carl Spock said:


> Polk Audio, from day one, has always used butyl rubber surrounds on their woofers. It's the funky foam surrounds that dry rot.


Maybe I'll pull the fronts off and look. Maybe I'll even hook them up to my system in the house to see if they are still viable.

I got these from my brother in about 1985. He worked for Good Guys and bought them for cheap (floor models).


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## dmspen

After scouring Craigs List for a while, I finally purchased a Sony receiver for $35. It's in good condition. The guy updated his home theater and the receiver went to his garage.

Now I need to hook it up and figure out how to hook up my iPhone...shouldn't be too hard.


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## Rich

dmspen said:


> After scouring Craigs List for a while, I finally purchased a Sony receiver for $35. It's in good condition. The guy updated his home theater and the receiver went to his garage.
> 
> Now I need to hook it up and figure out how to hook up my iPhone...shouldn't be too hard.


You're gonna love the manual....:nono2:

Rich


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## dmspen

Rich said:


> You're gonna love the manual....:nono2:
> 
> Rich


Manual? Who needs a stinkin' manual? I figure I'll get a 3.5mm headphone jack to rca adapter and stick my iPhone in the CD port.

Here's MY manual.

Stick adapter in phone
Stick RCA plugs in CD jacks
Press Power
Select CD
Adjust volume
Boogie:stickman:


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## MysteryMan

Rich said:


> You're gonna love the manual....:nono2:
> 
> Rich


:lol:......I have Sony's STR-DA5600ES and STR-DN1020 A/V receivers. Great receivers but there were times I thought the Operating Instructions Manuals were written by a partly trained ape.


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## Rich

MysteryMan said:


> :lol:......I have Sony's STR-DA5600ES and STR-DN1020 A/V receivers. Great receivers but there were times I thought the Operating Instructions Manuals were written by a partly trained ape.


I actually called Sony about their manuals. Seems they get the info from Japanese engineers, write the manual in Japanese and then translate that into the various languages that the manuals are written. Since they are relying on engineers who aren't really able to address operating instructions on the level Joe Six-Pack (or I) can understand, you end up with a manual that only an engineer can understand.

What's really astounding is that you CAN figure out what Sony manuals mean (sort of) after a lot of tinkering and study, which is something you can't say for other manufacturer's manuals. Toshiba, for instance.

Microsoft makes manuals for all it's programs that are easy to understand. I kinda doubt they outsource the manuals to other countries. I used to read the manuals for Excel, Word, Access (terrible data base, I think) and other programs before teaching classes for those programs.

Rich


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## Rich

dmspen said:


> Manual? Who needs a stinkin' manual? I figure I'll get a 3.5mm headphone jack to rca adapter and stick my iPhone in the CD port.
> 
> Here's MY manual.
> 
> Stick adapter in phone
> Stick RCA plugs in CD jacks
> Press Power
> Select CD
> Adjust volume
> Boogie:stickman:


Betcha you still end up reading parts of the manual. What model did you get? I think $35 might have been enough to ship that unit I have to CA.

Rich


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## dmspen

It's a SOny STR-D655. No manual although I suppose i could find one online.


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## andouille

Any pawn shop.


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## Rich

dmspen said:


> It's a SOny STR-D655. No manual although I suppose i could find one online.


Can't remember if I've ever had one of them. Mine, the one I don't use, is a 955.

Rich


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