[lrieves]

it's really just how you play your cards. i think if you are buying gear secondhand, then there are generally more 500 series goodies for sale in the classifieds than there are 19" units, mostly because part of the point of the lunchbox is having that kind of flexibility to sell a preamp or two and replace it with another flavor more easily and affordably.


out of curiosity i just put the pencil to the pad and figured, for a pacifica, great river, and two channels of chandler germaniums (so six channels altogether) it works out to be $6,806.94 (from sweetwater). that's including a 6 space rack unit of $120.

for a lunchbox consisting of a pair of brent averills, p1's, and ma5's , it works out to be about $4,958.88. that's including the lunchbox.

that's not mentioning the pair of power outlets you save with a lunchbox (since the germs run off the same power supply), so it could potentially cost you another furman, so depending on how much you want to invest in a good power supply, it could cost you another 20-500 bucks, respectively.

bear in mind that formula drastically changes when you change the preamps, and/or stumble upon a good deal here on the GS classifieds.