Ever Bought an Audio Product that was Stupid Good for the Money?

You obviously have me confused with someone else. 

Although I generally keep away from those discussions, I agree with Geoff on that...

So many have discussed wire directionality, and staked out the cases for or against.  The tone of the conversation routinely crosses the line of usefulness, and transcends the magnitude of the issue itself.  I feel content to let both sides live happily.  If you believe in the directionality of wire, fine.  If you don't, also fine.  No one should lose any sleep over it either way.  Perhaps the one thing I can add is my belief that the resistance measurements folks in audio employ to disprove the phenomenon may lack the sophistication to actually do so, and provide the real answer.

Just out of school in the early 90s, I worked as a material scientist / R&D chemist for a company that produced (conductors, resistors, dielectric, solder, etc.) materials for the electronic industry, including those that build the resistors and capacitors we use in audio.  Through the course of my experiments, I often encountered situations that left me wondering how the results could impact the world of high-end audio.  Don't miss the low salary, but do miss the environment and equipment that would allow me to kick such things around.  Had access to the internet, forums like this, and the sharing of knowledge that we do existed, I would have conquered many of those hills, but such is life.

Sadly, the quantity and quality of folks working in this realm continues to decline.  With few exceptions, what remains doesn't strike me as having the sort of background, equipment, time, or personality that ask and answer such questions

My my greatest audio bargain was a pair of Acoustat 1+ 1's that I bought used for $600.
I have been enjoying them for the last 16 years. I know there are better speakers out there. I have been able to listen to some impressive speakers at audio shows. I also understand that I will never have the resources to afford said speakers.  I always return home from listening to high end speakers at shows and I sit down in front of the acoustats and think " They are still really pretty good".

1 Chromecast Audio, for convenience at a bargain price.
2 DSpeaker Antimode 8033 room eq unit for best sonic improvement for a modest price. Room acoustics is where the biggest sound quality improvements can be had and this one does a great job taming in-room response of subwoofers.

The David Berning designed Linear Tube Audio Micro ZOTL2. Nothing sounds like it for the price and it’s an audio Swiss Army knife. An incredible preamp, head phone amp and a 1 watt integrated amp, used with high efficiency speakers sounds like nothing I’ve heard.