That's right. I'm ditching my carefully selected equipment over the next couple of months (June/July 1999) for bargain prices in preparation for a move abroad. This could be your chance to get some good quality gear for cheap. Read on for what's on offer. Everything comes with boxes and manuals and is in perfect condition so you can pretend it's band new! The variation in the discounts depends on the age of the gear or if it's been heavily discounted in the shops since (e.g. the Minidisc deck).

Technics SDLP 887 Multi-CD Player
Admittedly not the best available, nor the best sound for the price, but that's the tradeoff with multi-disc machines. It has a fairly good sound, though and as it was the first component I bought, I wanted convenience of a multi-player as much as good sound. Probably one of the best multi-players for the price, even now. What Hi-Fi gives it 4 stars.
Cost: £220 Will Sell: £140 o.n.o.

Technics SU A700 Amplifier
A nice Amp, I think. I tried it against the Kenwood 3020SE among others and found it better for some types of music and worse for others. Nice to have the one remote for CD, amp and tuner.
Cost: £250 Will Sell: £150 o.n.o.

KEF Coda 8 Speakers
Rich, strong, fast wonderful. The nicest part of my original system without a doubt. These babies are just lovely. Extensively tested against all rivals at the price and definitely my favourite by quite some way. To enhance the sound, I recently invested in some nice stands and some new cable. At the time, this got 5 stars across the board from What Hi-Fi. Even now, they get 4 despite some tough new competition.
Cost: £180 Will Sell: £120 o.n.o.
Stands Cost: £60 Will Sell: £40 o.n.o.

Aiwa ADF-450 Tape Deck
Nice Deck for the price. This aquisition was fine for making excellent recordings for my Walkman™ and for car stereos. Now I hardly use it, because of my lovely Minidisc Walkman™. Well recommended by all.
Cost: £100 Will Sell: £50 o.n.o.

Technics ST-GT350 Tuner
Since I sorted out the VHF/FM aerial on our house, this has really come into its own. The reception is incredible and it is so different from listening to the crappy kitchen radio. It even gets perfect FM reception of all the BBC stations, which, in Dublin is excellent.
Cost: £120 Will Sell: £80 o.n.o.

Marantz CD-63 MkII K.I. Signature CD Player
A fantastic new CD player and the first component of my new system. Now I just have to sell the old one! Five stars all the way from What Hi-Fi.
Cost: £400 Will Sell: £340 o.n.o. (almost new)

Sony MDS-JE520 Minidisc Deck
A competent and user-friendly deck. Pity the remote is so chunky but I guess tha's necessary if you want to cram in all that functionality. Fine for making copies and compilations for my Walkman™. Optical and Coaxial Digital input.
Cost: £200 Will Sell: £110 o.n.o.

Sony SLV-E720 Hi-Fi VCR
This was an impulse buy and I don't think it's normally the best value. The picture and sound are both very good though and I got a hefty discount. After a year's use I grew to like it, especially for it's dual SCART which allowed the Nintendo 64 to fit in nicely to the system. The only compaint I'd really have would be that when the volume is down low, you can really hear the mechanics working away. But that's just a VHS thing, I guess. Oh, and it des rather a good job on NTSC videos too.
Cost: £320 Will Sell: £200 o.n.o.

All lashed together with
Cable Talk Talk 3, the dodgy Cambridge Audio Arctic and the much better Cambridge Audio Pacific, various other phono and optical digital cables.
Cost: £120 Will Sell: £60 o.n.o.

Mitsubishi CT-21M5L Colour TV
A good solid 21" TV. Good, sharp, bright picture. SCART input/output and various picture presets. No teletext, but that's not a big deal when you can get a TV this good for 210 quid, which is what I paid. Whoo hoo!
Cost: £210 Will Sell: £150 o.n.o.

Nintendo 64
Well, what system would be complete without a games machine. And what better machine than the N64. This little baby is just plain fun. Nintendo games are traditionally bright and happy and ludicrous and that great tradition continues with such genius as Mario 64, Mario Kart 64 and Banjo Kazooie. Golden Eye provides a more PC style challenge and as does Turok 2 which really highlights the power of the N64. On sale with the 4Mb memory expansion pack, two joypads, Mario 64 and Mario Kart 64, Golden Eye and Wayne Gretsky's Hockey and a SCART converter for improved picture and stereo sound.
Cost: £400 Will Sell: £150 o.n.o.

Minolta Vectis 40 APS Camera
Just one year old, this camera has proved pretty good on the road. It's small, light, splash-proof and allows you to over-ride some of the usually-automated features. It's pretty much at the top-end of non-SLR APS cameras. It includes automatic film loading, mid-roll change, 30-120mm (35-150 on equivalent 35mm camera) zoom. I comes with a strong carrying case and is darned sturdy. The pictures are great and being able to control the composition a little can really help.
Cost: £300 Will Sell: £220 o.n.o.

And on the Road (Not for sale)
Last year, I traded up to a WM-EZ35 Minidisc Walkman™. It's a little less convenient than my old a Discman™ as it's necessary to prepare discs, but it's so little and light and skip-free that I'm not disappointed. Besides, preparing your own discs and compilations allows to leave out all those duff tracks you wish they hadn't padded the album with!