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Buying Used Speakers

Want to get the group's thoughts on buying used speakers.  The value proposition in many cases is compelling.  However, there is a pretty good element of risk as well, even from reputable Audiogon sellers.  What exactly does, "completely tested mean?"  Or "performs flawlessly?"  You don't in most cases get a warranty for starters and you're at the complete mercy of the adds and pics.  Some of the sellers are broker dealers (with stellar reputations), so do they even know how they were treated?  Prob not.   Let's face it - the vast majority of condition ratings are based on the cosmetics IMHO.  

Has anybody bought expensive speakers on AG or elsewhere?  What questions did you ask the seller to help ensure they're as sonically good as cosmetically?  Did you test them yourselves once you received them?  Any good lessons learned would be much appreciated as well.  I know for starters to get a complete  description of how they're going to ship them.  Thanks in advance!   

cubbiesman

Showing 1 response by helomech

helomech
1,519 posts
 

I’ve owned 35+ pairs of speakers over the last 11 years. About half were either pre-owned or dealer demos.

I’ve had both positive and negative experiences buying used, but also a couple bad experiences with new speakers as well.

One thing I’ve come to conclude is that one seller’s “7/10” condition speaker might be a 9/10 (allegedly) in the eyes of other sellers. This seems to be ever more prevalent in the post-Covid era. I can’t count how many times I’ve see a pre-owned speaker listed as a “9/10” when it’s obvious to me that the drivers were abused, such as tweeter domes with ripples or dimples (very common with Dynaudio tweeters for example).

 

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