Drove to an estate sale over the weekend. It was that of a musician/music teacher. Though there was a manual for H/K Citation most of the stuff was newer Technics and Sony except for the TT. It was a Technics SL1015. From what I've gleaned it is a somewhat rare piece and expensive in its day. But, its reputation as "Audiophile" is somewhat grey. A great studio unit but lacking in the finesse. Reputed to have some common performance problems. Brings up the question of some much lauded "rare" pieces eg. Pioneer SX1980, Sansui 33000 etc.. Apparently no one can truly say how many of these were produced and IMHO and experience if I empty a bottle of Two-Buck-Chuck wine into a Mondavi merlot bottle 99% of the people will convince themselves it's a fine wine. So, if I listen to what seems to be 99% of SX1980 owners I would be buying a unit that sounds $2000+ better than anything else Pioneer offered? Well if I happen onto a $50 SX1980 then I will comment but I digress somewhat. The SL1015 was priced at $185. It was a massive unit size wise. Sweet looking arm. I passed. Why not buy and try to flip? Not much info on the 1015 but the SP15 doesn't appear to be worth the time, YMMV.
Just a small dissertation on personal worthiness and to show that yes, I do pass on some "buys," but not often enough .

your show of restraint is commendable.

You probably don't drive a Mercedes either, do you?

Went through a couple BMW 2002's and a 911 though.

Funny thing is, had this been a couple years ago at at the beginning of this episode in my life I probably would have bought it. I came to realise rather quickly that there is a lot more out there available than people know. The only piece I would consider rare is the Marantz 10B only because there is, supposedly, a definite number of 5,500 known to have been produced. I've mentioned before I bought a non-working SX-1250 from amechanic. It was his shop unit and he had a couple more at home he used for music transfer. He told me he got an SX-1980 off e$ay for $1000+ S/H. He was very unimpressed by the 1980 compared to the 1250. The price is somewhat within reason to me but the relative return has not been encouraging to hear.

(post deleted and offender banned by moderator) because ....

What I find amazing are postings and hoopla (won't say where) about record setting prices then whining about "high" prices. Yet things like this go by. Had this auction been in my neck of the woods I would have been tempted even though way over my self-imposed price point. If the page expires it is: Pioneer SX-1980, Magnepan MGIc, reverb, cassette and timer. For pick up only. Winning bid — $798.88 . If true, one heck of a deal. Not a Bolly but ....

http://cgi.ebay.com/Pioneer-Sx-1980-Stereo...id=p3286.c0.m14

thats a good deal for that price, it will make some very good sound. i've heard Superfly's Maggie+Pioneer SX-1250 combo and it is stellar.

Zero feedback AND refusal of cash for local pickup are both red flags.

Yup. Very, very true. Just have to look. I've lately developed the trend of passing on stuff that a few years ago I might have picked up. Too much stuff, not enough time or storage space!

Yes, sad what many people are paying for some of these things . I mean, come on what are they thinking .