# Did I make a good find?



## dusnoetos (Jun 1, 2010)

On Thursday I was out and about doing some garage sale shopping. Mostly looking for clothing for my kid.

Well at one place I found: Yamaha Orthodynamic Headphones YH-3. 
Price? A whopping .50¢ :wow:

They are near mint condition. Even had the original box. In fact it it was not for the box I may have just passed them over.

As far as I am concerned, these are the best headphones I have ever listened to (except the $1300 Sennheiser HD800 I listened to at a audio shop). 

























My quick Google search did not bring up much info about these... So if any of you kind folks know anything about these that would be great.


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## bambino (Feb 21, 2010)

50cents! What a bargain, i say good find, i unfortunately have no experiance with headphones.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Wow that is a great find! I really need to go Garage saleing more often as I hear that that is a great place to find hidden gems.


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## JCD (Apr 20, 2006)

Sweet deal! I haven't heard them either, but if they're the best you've ever heard (well, second best) and you only paid $0.50 -- well, it's the steal of the century!


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## JoeESP9 (Jun 29, 2009)

Come on man! They are practically new. They're in the original box and cost _*Fifty Cents!!!*_ . What more could you ask for?


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## recruit (May 9, 2009)

It is nice to come across some good finds, they don't happen often


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## dusnoetos (Jun 1, 2010)

Finds like these are more common than many would think.... Just gotta keep your eyes open. 

You would also be surprised by what people throw in the dumpster... later this evening I will post pictures of what i found in the dumpster this past winter.


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## dusnoetos (Jun 1, 2010)

I found these vintage (1989) Yamaha components in the dumpster out side my apartment.:bigsmile:
It was still winter her in Minnesota so they were wet from the snow. 
knowing that water does not necessarily kill electronics I took a hair dryer and dried off all the noticeable moisture. Then I let them sit for a week. I hooked them up.... and even to my surprise they work... I cant find anything seriously wrong with them (aside from some scratches and tarnish:huh I even was able to get a universal remote to work with it. (too bad i did not find the original remote also....)


This setup is the heart of my bedroom system. Sure it is only first generation surround sound (4 channel - no center or sub) but it works great for watching movies in bed.








The model of the Pre-amp is: AVC-70 
And the power amp is: MX-70


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## recruit (May 9, 2009)

dusnoetos said:


> Finds like these are more common than many would think.... Just gotta keep your eyes open.
> 
> You would also be surprised by what people throw in the dumpster... later this evening I will post pictures of what i found in the dumpster this past winter.


I suppose it is being the right place at the right time...


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## dB_WB (Jun 10, 2010)

good ...:gulp:


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## pl8er (Sep 4, 2009)

I actually purchased a pair of Quad's (electrostatic speakers, for those who do not know) for something like 20 bucks awhile back. I was going all crazy on my way home. They did not work  I believe I still have them though. There was a stereophile article about restoring them, so I may look at that in the future.


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## ojojunkie (Jun 23, 2010)

Wow! that's really a big bargain for a mint headphone!... 

The Yamaha set is also a great find! I envy for picking-up those fine gears just around the corner!...


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## lcaillo (May 2, 2006)

Back in the 1970s-1980s Yamaha made some fantastic headphones. I had a pair that I loved. I wonder what happened to them. Probably lost in some move, or snagged by a roomate, an ex-wife or ex-girlfriend like so much vinyl and furniture.


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## dusnoetos (Jun 1, 2010)

Well it is time to add a new find to this thread.

Yesterday while leaving church, someone had a set of speakers, tuner amp and a VCR sitting on there front lawn with a "FREE" sign on them. I just could not pass them up. The real sad part is that I had to have my wife put them in the car since I was unable to lift any of them due to a back injury that has flared up. 

the VCR is a *Mitsubishi HS-U500*. (Can't seem to find much actual information on it:huh:, but it looks like a very high end VCR.) 

The Amp is a *Realistic STA-2700*. 








And the Speakers are *Realistic Mach 2's*








The amp and speakers seem to come from the heyday of Radio Shack's history. And just a simple Internet search tells me that the Mach series has a rather decent following. 

Any information or comments on these components would be great. (Hence...Did I make a good score???)
(I will post actual pictures of the components tomorrow - my camera has dead batteries.)


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## bambino (Feb 21, 2010)

Can't beat free! What kind of shape are the speakers in? The tweeters must be piezo (think thats what there called:dontknow the 45000hz frequency response is what is giving me that clue. As for the VCR that could become a museum peice someday, overall i'd say a pretty good score.:T


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## dusnoetos (Jun 1, 2010)

The Speakers are in great shape. Unfortunately I have not been able to listen to them...(They are still in the trunk of my car - they are just to heavy to lift and carry up to my 3rd floor apartment until my back gets better). 
As for the Tweaters... they are not Peizos... But i am not sure how to describe them better...
Here is the original Radio shack catalog add for them....








Can any one here explain the Design of these tweeters????


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## 4U2NVME (Aug 20, 2010)

You can't beat free!!!


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## Lucky7! (Jan 7, 2008)

I remember those Yamaha cans from way back when; quite good if I remember correctly too.

The Realistics have a bit of a following still today and are quite decent speakers. I have a set of Mach Ones here, but don't believe the posted efficiency number or the FR.


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## dB_WB (Jun 10, 2010)

good but old


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## dusnoetos (Jun 1, 2010)

Well I just love the YH-3's but I just don't have the space for the Mach 2's. 

If I were to try and sell them locally do you all think that $120 would be a fair starting price?? I have never been all that good at pricing used stuff.


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## Docks (Jan 16, 2011)

Nice find


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## tesseract (Aug 9, 2010)

I used to sell for Radio Shack in the 80's. I was 18 years old and had just moved from a village of 300 people in Nebraska to Kansas City. 

Anyway, we used to rock the mall with those Mach 2's, we even used 2 pairs for a 3 day outdoor graduation party. Unfortunately, I can not give you anymore info on the tweeter over what you have already found.

Great finds, Dusnoetos!


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## dusnoetos (Jun 1, 2010)

I made a new find Yesterday.:bigsmile:

A set of large floor standing speakers. Sony SS-U581AV 12" 3 way's They were sitting next to a dumpster by an office building. 

Aside from a number of blemishes on the cabinets, they look rather nice. After a quick listen side by side with my Home built 12" 3 way's, I determined that the Sony's sounded OK. But in comparison to mine* they sounded empty and hollow, a touch boomy with limited articulation in the bass region. The mids lacked any real umph. The metal dome tweeters sounded decent but ringgy compared to my Silk dome tweets.

I am thinking that with some internal bracing, and dampening material (since there is none:coocoo, upgraded mids and possibly better tweets; and a real x-over (vs caps on the mids and tweets) I may be able to turn these into speakers worthy of selling (I refuse to sell junk:foottap.

As always I am open to suggestions.
















Yes my cat Dante wanted in on the picture.:neener:


OH.. one more thing: 
Does any one know anything about these particular speakers? It is obvious that they are not High end units, but I cant seem to find any reviews on them.... were they apart of a whole system?

*yes I am biased toward my home built speakers. But in my defense I did spend nearly an entire year building and tuning to my personal musical taste.


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## tbkent (Jul 31, 2011)

dusnoetos said:


> I made a new find Yesterday.:bigsmile:
> 
> A set of large floor standing speakers. Sony SS-U581AV 12" 3 way's They were sitting next to a dumpster by an office building.
> 
> ...


i received a Sony stereo system as a gift in about 1997. it was purchased at Circuit City. it included a receiver, dual tape deck, 100 CD changer and 5 surround speakers, including the fronts you found. i'd be interested to hear what you do/did to them to make them sound better, as i may start using them again soon.


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## dusnoetos (Jun 1, 2010)

tbkent said:


> i received a Sony stereo system as a gift in about 1997. it was purchased at Circuit City. it included a receiver, dual tape deck, 100 CD changer and 5 surround speakers, including the fronts you found. i'd be interested to hear what you do/did to them to make them sound better, as i may start using them again soon.


All i really did was put in internal bracing and stuffed each with poly fill stuffing. Made quite a difference - particularly with bass output. I ended up selling them at a yard sale for $75. 98% profit:cha-ching: arty: I kinda wish I could have done more but I needed the cash more.


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## Coilvoice (Aug 18, 2011)

Nice cans. At .50 cents, all I can say is wow! Great score. :rubeyes:


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## flyng_fool (Apr 10, 2010)

I hear a lot of guys regularly visit their local Goodwill stores and pick up some amazing deals. I still haven't gone to mine, I need to though. You never know, I might get lucky and find something worthwhile.


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## dusnoetos (Jun 1, 2010)

My wife has limmited my shopping at second hand shops. I often find great finds.


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## PoTee (Oct 8, 2010)

I'm always checking out goodwill and other thrift stores for speakers and HT stuff. Oh! by the way I've even found some pretty good golf clubs a couple which I still use. HAPPY HUNTING.


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## phreak (Aug 16, 2010)

Today I found 3 Adcom GFA5300 amps and 1 Anthem PVA2. Some cosmetic scratches, and 1 of the Adcom's is missing the plastic cap from the power switch, but it was too good a deal to pass up. New MRSP total $2000, available used for maybe $800-1000. I found all 4 in the dumpster at work. Some day soon I'll get around to testing them. I have been wanting to to get amps, but I don't "need" them, and couldn't justify the expense. But I can definantly justify a couple bucks for cables to hook up free amps.


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## HionHiFi (Feb 18, 2007)

phreak said:


> Today I found 3 Adcom GFA5300 amps and 1 Anthem PVA2. Some cosmetic scratches, and 1 of the Adcom's is missing the plastic cap from the power switch, but it was too good a deal to pass up. New MRSP total $2000, available used for maybe $800-1000. I found all 4 in the dumpster at work. Some day soon I'll get around to testing them. I have been wanting to to get amps, but I don't "need" them, and couldn't justify the expense. But I can definantly justify a couple bucks for cables to hook up free amps.


I need to come to your town. In the trash. Now that's a find.


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## Mud_Bone (Mar 6, 2010)

being that u gave 50 cent , its a rather silly question if u made a good find. lol ANY headphones for 50 cents is awesome find.


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## ultrabike (Jul 1, 2012)

For .50c it is an incredible find. The YH3 headphones are well regarded.

Though I have not heard the YH3 in particular (have heard a couple of Audezes and Hifiman), Orthos in general tend to be the best (vs dynamic and electrostats) in terms of low frequency reproduction (both extension and distortion).

The YH3 have also been reportedly modified successfully to improve their sound (cup damping.) There was a ortho-DIY contest at Innerfidelity, and 3rd place went to a modified YH3 (FR was fairly neutral and well extended at both ends of the spectrum.)

Very good find indeed :T.


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## dusnoetos (Jun 1, 2010)

The YH3's are my favorate headphones. I love them for gameing at my computer.,


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