This was a timely post; because I’m actually getting ready to replace all my speakers; I originally built out an entire theater room with Focal Chorus 836v/cc800v/sr800v; with 4x sr700v as front height and side surrounds … now I am in the process of a teardown and rebuild for sound proofing and two tiered seating arrangement. I have a full speaker matching setup which performs very nicely in 5.1.4 configuration (made mounts to angle and ceiling mount the sr700v, I have no real reason to sell other than the itch to have Focal Utopias… needless to say I’ve already started the Utopia journey and soon will have two full theater setups, which I don’t need … which leads to me to your original question; what to look out for when buying used. Condition of course; animals or not; smoker?; consistent climate controlled environment (not a cabin or beach house) and lastly WHY the person is selling; I’m in a situation where I just don’t need them; I’ve upgraded and I would like to keep them, but don’t have a place for them. Rather minimize and have the speakers be in a happy home being used versus in a closet and/or unhooked not being used.
What to ask when buying used speakers?
I have purchased used components in the past and I can do this with confidence their functionality is well defined and easily verified. I am starting to look for a new set of speakers and will consider buying used. Assuming that I am doing this over distance and will not be able to inspect or demo the speakers in person, what are some good questions to ask to determine the real state of the speakers? Any red flags? Can used speakers have incurred subtle damages or wear that will affect the sound? For the sake of discussion, let's assume that they are less than five years old so we can rule out decaying surrounds and old caps, etc.