Second Hand Audio Shops
pkgum;
If you are humble enough to be seen in pawn shops and the "Vinnies" (if you are an Aussie you know what that means) you can find some good bargains. Also if you can really swallow your pride and keep an eye on the sides of the road during community cleanups, you would be amazed at what people throw out.
So the answer to your question is haunt small electronics repair shops(seen a huge Sansui amp for around $300 the other day), Cash Converters(they can be a bit pricey at times, you can find some bargains), pawn shops, "Sallies", "Vinnies" and etc. I picked up a pair of speakers along side the road at clean up last week, that are a pair of old Philips using Belgium drivers and just needed the one 10" driver pole piece aligned, a bit of work on the crossover and sound fantastic(OK, I know there are some eyebrows raising about my listening abilities), for an hour of tinkering and pottering I have a pair of good sounding speakers. Peter at Speakerworks will be replacing the surrounds on the woofers, and I plan to replace the caps and resistors on the crossover board. If you are wondering about the quality of the boxes, well when fully assembled with all the drivers, they probably weigh around 30kg or 70lbs each!
I expect to be driving through Double Bay someday and find a pair of B & W 801's on a clean-up! Yeah, right!!
Also garge sales and estate sales can be good, because the kids do not think gramp's stereo is cool because it is old, does not have a remote and lots blinking lights.
Good Luck,
Surf, Sun & Sound