2. misc-audio
  3. 189544-90040

Should we care if a piece of equipment comes from a pet-free, kid-free, smoke-free home?

I agree that I do not want a preamp or speaker coated with a film of smoke, but I am confused as to what a child or pet could do that would not be otherwise visible. You would see the cat scratches on the speaker grill, the dog chew marks on the rack, the iguana turds in the amplifier cooling vents. And what's a little dog hair among friends? As a 3 year old, I supposedly put my finger through my grandfather's new DIY speaker but I'm pretty sure he replaced the drivers so even that doesn't really matter. Most things will be visible and/or easily remedied.  Maybe the price will even be a little lower because of the cosmetics. If it doesn't mess with function, not a big deal to me.

What concerns me more is does it come from a drunk-free, drug-free home.  I think befuddled owners are far more worrisome than pets or children.

 

tcutter

Showing 1 response by larryi

larryi
3,742 posts
 

It actually does matter in some cases.  A friend recently told me that his Audio Note M 8 linestage had developed a problem with turn-on—it would frequently blow a fuse when the switch was thrown.  The problem turned out to be caused by a massive collection of cat hair inside the linestage chassis—the warm linestage was a favorite sleeping spot of the cat.

When I wanted to sell my Acoustat 1+ 1 electrostatic speakers to a use equipment store, they would only buy it if I took off the outer sock so that I could confirm it was used in a smoke free environment.  Smoke is attracted to the charged diaphragm and leaves a thick sticky deposit that degrades performance.

 

 

 

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