How many people here generally buy used?

hi there, I’m new to audiogon but not new to high-fi. I often buy ‘preowned’ gear. Some of my equipment is no longer manufactured, some is custom made,so I have no choice. Lots of super great deals for high end stuff, mint condition with boxes-like my VTL MB450’s..however after using them for a month they completely stopped working, blew a tube and needed to be biased. I paid $3200 cash local pickup, and another $650 in repairs. My point is if you buy used gear, be prepared to put extra money in it, for replacing tubes, caps, etc.. I still came out saving around 80% , however time is another issue, if you don’t have time to tweeK used gear then buy new. Be careful buying used cables, lots of fakes from China.

Also note that some manufacturers rebrand the same item with different cosmetics, however the schematics are pretty much the same.
there are some people that buy vintage gear and love the sound, but it may have worn caps and be a little noisy. They take and get it re-capped and then don’t like the new sound. My theory is if it’s not broken not working, leave it alone. There’s a reason why it sounds that way..

I’ve also had good deals buying floor/demo models. Demos and used gear is also broken in. Try to know who you are buying from and if they give any guarantees. My setup would probably retail for $300k, which I could not afford. But buying preowned, and custom gear I’ve saved a few hundred thousand. Good luck!

doodle6

"Still have tons of stuff that I never bothered to sell when I “moved up”."

That struck a chord with me. I had to think a bit and recollect some of the gear I've stashed away up in the attic or stuff that I'm not using anymore.

At the very least there's a pair of decent Tannoy floorstanders, a pair of Rega bookshelves, 1 Denon tapedeck, 1 analogue tuner, 1 Panasonic VCR, one Dell PC monitor, tons of cables / interconnects, a couple of midi systems and small speakers. Oh, and a dozen headphones on top of all that.

To be honest if it wasn't for marriage and the kids, I'd have probably have accumulated a lot more. On the plus side, lacking the time or energy to stick them on eBay, I have tried to give stuff away for free to close friends or family.

Surprisingly, I found that people are generally very reluctant to accept audio gear (headphones excepted), even for free. It must just be us audiophiles who care for this stuff. 

The last resort for me nowadays is usually the charity shop. It's a nice feeling to get rid of something you definitely don't want to somebody who does want it. 

I might try to sell on eBay again, but it's difficult to justify all the time and effort for the money you will get back. My Rega speakers cost £450 new, but if I sold then now, what with a few marks and grille damage I'd be struggling to get £100 back.

Then there's that feeling, familiar to all hoarders, of not knowing when I might want to use them again. Even after years and years..

Thankfully my wife is less emotional and far more practical in these matters than me. I have seen sympathetic cases of people who have ended up almost buried under stuff they will never be able to move.

Just occurred to me that one of the great unsung qualities of digital storage must be the sheer amount of storage space it can save.

Except for a REL sub...everything I buy is used.

I have bought and sold a ton of gear over the years (check my feedback and you will see) as I enjoy trying out many different things and investigating system synergy, and in order to do it in a manner where I don't lose a ton of money, used in 8/10 condition or better is the only way to go. However, interestingly enough, the equipment I have kept the longest are pieces I bought new from a great dealer, Taylor at Goldprint Audio. If you ever want to get off the audio merry-go-round, he's a great place to do it! I can also recommend Bel Canto gear. Great sound and great people!
Enjoy the music and be safe, but hopefully, very soon, we'll be able to get back to it!

I bought a Cambridge Audio Azur R650 and Vincent SV237 and my prized used Marantz 2275 all used, in excellent condition. I had the Marantz 2275 restored a couple years ago and recently the Marantz had a stereo channel issue and I took it in to a local Audio Service repair and after the repair was complete; the technician told me he found the issue in a dirty pre-amp switch. He then told me that the Marantz 2275 sounded amazing and how well built amps they are and they tend to run cooler than most brands.  He then said he has worked on many Marantz through the years and the 2275 will come in a while and he was really impress with hearing the 2275 once again. The 2275 was not restored by the mentioned Audio Repair shop. The used audio mart allows you to purchase a awesome system at a lower budget and all three of my systems are used audio purchases. Chuck