- Jun 10, 2020
- 857
- 677
- 11,770
I was recently advised someone looking for a 2nd hand, budget integrated amp. I started with my usual advice: Marantz, NAD, and Cambridge Audio from the early 2000's offers the best bang for buck. Older and you start to pay a "vintage" premium, and they may have less life left in them. Newer will cost more for no real gain. There are other great brands worth considering, but I find these three to be a great place to start.
It quickly became clear that 2nd hand price (like prices in general) have crept up with things that cost around £50 a couple of years ago creeping very close to £100 or even more in a few cases. This made me decide to revisit my £99 experiment.
Two years ago I tracked prices on the basic components of a budget system to see how cheaply you could realistically get on the first rung of the HiFi ladder. these are genuine prices paid (not by me) on ebay in Jan/Feb 2024.
This time I didn't put as much time in, just looking at starting prices, and followed a few auctions that ended yesterday, as well as "buy it now prices". The conclusions I came to; entry level Marantz, NAD, and Rotel are regularly selling for £65 to £95 and nice examples have exceeding £100. Cambridge Audio's entry level falls below these brands and can still be found bellow £50, but they also have models that are on a par with and similarly priced to the other three.
Mission M71 and M72 are achieving around £75, the price you would have paid for Mission 701 which are now over £100.
Chromecast Audio 2nd Gen seem to be around £35 to £45, but realistically you are probably better off stretching to £89 (often on sale for £80) for a WiiM Mini.
The big shock was CD players which were very cheap a few years ago, but are on the way up. Turn of the century entry level models from Marantz, NAD, Cambridge Audio, and Rotel are coming in at between £75 and £100
So what is the 2026 equivalent to the £99 HiFi?
It quickly became clear that 2nd hand price (like prices in general) have crept up with things that cost around £50 a couple of years ago creeping very close to £100 or even more in a few cases. This made me decide to revisit my £99 experiment.
Two years ago I tracked prices on the basic components of a budget system to see how cheaply you could realistically get on the first rung of the HiFi ladder. these are genuine prices paid (not by me) on ebay in Jan/Feb 2024.
- Cambridge Audio A4 £38
- Mission M72 £34
- Chromecast Audio 2nd Gen £27
This time I didn't put as much time in, just looking at starting prices, and followed a few auctions that ended yesterday, as well as "buy it now prices". The conclusions I came to; entry level Marantz, NAD, and Rotel are regularly selling for £65 to £95 and nice examples have exceeding £100. Cambridge Audio's entry level falls below these brands and can still be found bellow £50, but they also have models that are on a par with and similarly priced to the other three.
Mission M71 and M72 are achieving around £75, the price you would have paid for Mission 701 which are now over £100.
Chromecast Audio 2nd Gen seem to be around £35 to £45, but realistically you are probably better off stretching to £89 (often on sale for £80) for a WiiM Mini.
The big shock was CD players which were very cheap a few years ago, but are on the way up. Turn of the century entry level models from Marantz, NAD, Cambridge Audio, and Rotel are coming in at between £75 and £100
So what is the 2026 equivalent to the £99 HiFi?
- Like for like today £160 to £195
- Upgrade to WiiM Mini £205 to £239
- Add a CD Player £235 to £314
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram