I want to buy new speakers for 50,000 and see it used for 30,000, what should I do?


two issues here, would it be smarter to buy the used speakers not knowing where they’ve been or how hard they’ve been played or maybe there’s something wrong with them. And the other issue is what happens to the value of my speakers immediately after the box comes to my house. And I guess the third issue is, amI insane for buying $50,000 speakers.

It seems like I’ll be losing $20,000 immediately and of course probably a little more since if I ever sell they will need to be reduced further so used price can be 30,000 if a dealer is involved which they probably will be.

This raises a serious concern that very nice speakers are just too expensive.

Fortunately (and luckily) I’m not married so that makes this process a lot easier

emergingsoul

Showing 4 responses by phusis

@tannoy56 wrote:

However, at this level of pricy equipment, you should be knowledgable enough to decide for yourself.

This says it all: have the money at hand, and your knowledge automatically follows 🙄

The speakers I’ve bought used have always been from dealers I know very well and trust. Never had an issue here; those speaker all performed flawlessly and looked mostly new. My current EV pro cinema speakers I bought used from a cinema technician in Germany that I didn’t know (they’d been used in a cinema in the Hannover region), but after some phone calls, e-mail exchanges and looking over his sales history at Ebay Kleinanzeigen, and not least upon receiving the thoroughly packaged speaker pallet and after rigorous inspections and tests once set up, I came to realize everything was A-OK and in perfect condition and working order. Worked like a charm ever since.

I’d concede that buying used speakers privately wouldn’t be my first option. I can certainly understand the concern in many, not least with expensive speakers, that would ultimately keep them from buying used speakers privately, but having said that: if I would get to inspect and audition the speakers thoroughly at the seller prior to purchase, and if the gut feeling told me I was having a conversation with an honest and level-headed guy, I might consider it. Still, haven’t been there so couldn’t say.

Which brings me to:

@ghdprentice wrote:

Some guys would be proclaiming what a genius they were for getting such a bargain and they would love that every time they sat down and listen to them.

For one, I’d rather pay less than more for the same product or what would grant me the same or better overall sound - wouldn’t you? I might suggest it could also be the other way ’round with regard to what you propose: that those who’ve been shelling the more or less full dime on a pair of brand new high-end speakers might be sitting content in their listening chair and feel all proud about themselves (and a bit better than others) knowing they could afford those new and very expensive speakers.

I know the feeling of unpacking and setting up new speakers and the joy it evokes, but at the end of the day all that matters to me is how it sounds, and sometimes what sounds the best or has the particular sonic traits one is looking for isn’t new stuff, the most expensive, preassembled, of smaller size, fancy looks, from a known brand and hifi segment or what is otherwise readily available at a store somewhere, so whatever it takes with an open mind.

To me the primary concern would be getting the most of what I want within a given price range, and ’new’ as a vital parameter would seriously impede with that goal.

@unreceivedogma wrote:

It seems to me, judging from some of his comments in the thread, that he is trying to coax a discussion about the political economy of audio. Not in so many words, but that’s sort of it in a nutshell and that’s why I responded, because that’s an issue for me as well. Not the issue, an issue. And why I made it more explicit.

... imo the people who are saying he is not “real”, just don’t want to pursue what he is hinting at. Which is fine, but then why not just ignore it? Theres an unconscious thing going on here.

Agreed, and well put.

Essentially, if one lists the total price of the setup he/she owns that has been acquired with mostly used components and chooses to go by new retail prices, it rubs some people the wrong way because it’s not the price that reflects what they were bought for by the latest buyer. And yet the product is the same but simply changed hands on its way to the current owner, and if well-kept and used sensibly (and not excessive in age) will do its job just as well - on top of the likelihood of it being properly run-in.

Matters can be made worse or credibility lessened - that is, in the mind of the individual who insists on buying only new, expensive products, and as a rule lets price dictate quality - when a different, potentially lesser known brand from a different segment at a lower price is deemed the equal or (not least) better sounding equivalent compared to a range of more expensive alternatives, because it disrupts the saying that "you get what pay for" as well as the overall narrative of what constitutes audiophilia and the type of products used here.

Maybe, at the core of things, the issue appears to be that one who has less of a financial basis isn’t really "allowed" to have the same sonic experience as the more wealthy individual; if so the one with the lower income is essentially cheating or even lying and must be belittled for having bought used and/or (it is probably assumed) dubious, ill-regarded products. Meaning: he isn’t part of the club but just a poor(er) sap who couldn’t get by a claimed, good sound any other way.

If that sounds a bit dramatic and rather exaggerated, it likely is, and yet the subtlety of these mechanisms shouldn’t be ignored and underestimated; they’re right there alright, and you needn’t look too hard to see them for what they are.

@tannoy56 wrote:

Only rich and  dumb cowboy will spend $50,000.00 on a pair of speakers without any knowledge and experience ...

And yet previously you wrote:

Do you really asking this forum for an advise of how to spend $50,000.00 on pair of speakers?

Do you realize that most of the opinions you’ve got is from members whose entire system cost less than that, and they should be asking you for an advise instead.

My earlier reply to you still stands. 

... not to mention  that he is asking total strangers for an advise.   

It's what most are to each other around here, more or less strangers, so that's just the terms under which we mingle. Nonetheless we should be able to gain from the experience and opinions of others.