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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.

zlone

Showing 2 responses by oddiofyl

oddiofyl's avatar
oddiofyl
3,465 posts
 

I am a lot more likely to buy a used component than speakers.    My last few speakers have been new , reason for that is my last pair of used speakers needed a part that took months to get...   the seller was kind enough to pursue the warranty but it took 4 or 5 months.     

The only used speaker in my experience that is a safe bet are speakers like Heresy, Forte, Cornwall....   if you have a problem they are easy and relatively cheap to fix.  

Best bet is a speaker that isn't too old and has a transferable warranty,  but not too many speakers have transferable warranty...     ATC is the only one I know of.  Maybe there are others?

oddiofyl's avatar
oddiofyl
3,465 posts
 

Grisly, not so sure many mfg would be open to that. Worth a call for the right speaker though.

And there’s always the chance of nothing ever going wrong. Which honestly is probably the case with most quality speakers.

 

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