Would you buy a piece of gear with a defect?

Many times I’ve purchased units with issues. Many Have been restored to full operation. Some have taught me a lot about how much I don’t know. Nothing gambled, nothing gained?

A new JC2 BP is like 4500. If you were patient, a used one could come up at some point for 2500-3000. 

1500 for a broken unit is a little high for me. You have no idea what is wrong. It could be something cheap or extremely expensive. 

What does Parasounds inventory look like right now? We are in the middle of a pandemic that is wreaking havoc on supply chains. Will they have the preamp in for repair for two weeks, four, twenty six? No way to know.


There is a JC-2 on Audiogon for 1900, full working condition as a like for like comparison.

My Melody integrated amp sold new for $2500. Checking around I found the importer had one with shipping damage, all cosmetic, cracked transformer cover, small paint chip. Offered it to me for half. I asked about a warranty. He said buy it as-is $800. Sold. I mod my stuff anyway. I would totally buy damaged goods. But it all depends on the details.

Why buy someone else’s headache? And it’s not cosmetic. Obviously the seller doesn’t want to deal with the problem. Do you? 

It would be a pass for me. No discount is worth damaged goods. YMMV.  

If you think you can fix it, yes. I'd offer 50% of what he's asking at the most.

No

Depends on the defect and the asking price.
If only left input of channel 1 (input 1 ?) is not working could be a faulty relay, diode or the switch for the XLR/RCA connection that could be fixed relatively easy. Otherwise the asking price seems a bit high and may prove that it is not a bargain.
You could check the possibility of asking Parasound first whether they have a record of this unit.

No!

Would you buy a piece of gear with a defect?
I’m auditioning a Parasound JC2 pre amp that the left input on channel 1 does not work.

"could be just the rca or could be the circuit or board, bad news if it’s multi layered"

Love it, get it cheap fix it myself and sit back and marvel at what I got dirt cheap, and if I don’t need it, sell it for a nice tidy profit.

In the case of this Parasound JC2 with one channel out, I would offer 1/3rd of what they sell for good used working condition.

There is a JC-2 on Audiogon for 1900, full working condition as a like for like comparison.

So $700-$750

Cheers George

if it's just one input one channel, its likely something bad between the rca jack and the switch, and likely easily fixed.  I'd worry a lot more if one channel didn't work on all inputs.

Any competent tech could diagnose and most probably fix it.

If it were me, I'd go for it, especially if I didn't need all inputs immediately.  

Have you looked inside? JC2 Manual Online (htguide.com) I'm guessing you don't have a schematic. Preamps are usually an easier fix than other components. I read something that this is an FET preamp, if so I'd be concerned about obsolete parts. Do a lot of research! I would offer less than George. Good thing is you have a channel that works, so if it's an open trace on a multilayer board, time and patience could serve you well.

If you have the relevant DIY skills, maybe yes.

Although only 400 off a used comp for a unit  non cosmetic damage seems high to me as others have noted.
(Cosmetic damage is another matter, and I'm I'm happy to buy discounted items where that's the only issue)

If you are not DIY, note that finding a competent tech can be difficult, and some problems will vex even competent techs.  And in any case it won't be free, which is likely to eat up a good hunk of any savings.
Early in my time in the hobby I bought an Adcom GFA-555 from a friend.  It sounded like they sound, but had a buzz (amusingly, his cat puked on it, and gunked up one of the boards, through the vents). 

I took it to the only local tech I could find (in St. Louis, a pretty large metro).  Twice.  He claimed falsely to have fixed it, and was abusive to me in front of other customers on the return visit, when he denied hearing the fault.
I then, with a bunch of hassle, got the schematic, and a friend who is very smart electrical engineer went through it.  He couldn't fix it either.
So ton's of headache, and no cigar.
If you are not DIY adept with electronics, I'd pass. 

I do,  I normally look at what the repair would cost from a reputable shop, then offer according to about 15 to 20 percent below used market value.  Then I do the repair myself. 
In my opinion to buy something and go through all of the time and trouble to get it repaired and not come out ahead doesn't make much sense, unless of course, you are obsessed with a certain piece or they are just near impossible to get.   Good Luck 

Depends on why you are buying or selling the component. I am currently selling an non working Sony SCD-1 for parts as it appears the laser is dead and parts are unavailable. I have also tried to purchase a working unit to fix mine but not willing to pay the prices folks are asking. So if I can sell mine for parts to someone to help them out then we both win. 

Chuck 

Cosmetic maybe if minor, functional no!
Damaged goods are a possible gateway to more trouble.

I wouldn’t buy modded gear either. They would have to be designer approved and there’s not many of them.

I still recall all those Linn Naim mods from the 80s/90s.

What are they worth now?

you have to give yourself financial room for the worst case scenario for repairs.  I like the suggestion of offering 1/3 of what they sell for in very good condition.  Typically many already had it evaluated and know exactly what is wrong with it and how much it would take to fix it.

Another suggestion is to tell the seller to get it evaluated and get a price to repair it and offer to split the cost to repair it.  

Take for example a Mark Levinson 23.5 amp. There is a very good history of what the used price is for a good working unit.  If one channel is out, The price to diagnose and repair can be substantial, depending on what is wrong.  But, if the sale price is low enough, I would jump on that unit in a minute and fix it myself or send it to George Meyer AV in LA and have them fix it.  However, then you also have to consider whether the caps should be replaced also.  

I think the price of the unit is question is too high for one that isn't working and also since I have no clue what is exactly wrong with it and how much it would take to fix it. So, about $1000 or less for that non-working unit sounds right to me.

enjoy

NO unless $1500 is like throwing away 5 cents to you.

Today I sold some Thiel COAX drivers and 1 of the drivers has a tweeter issue. Buyer is aware and can fix it. I am selling the drivers for 1/3 the price new.

@czbbcl I still have my SCD-1 going strong, love this player There is a poster, @TomThiel that is looking to fix his SCD-1 you may want to ask him if he is looking for parts.

Would never buy something with issues.

A new JC2 BP is like 4500. If you were patient, a used one could come up at some point for 2500-3000.

1500 for a broken unit is a little high for me. You have no idea what is wrong. It could be something cheap or extremely expensive.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
True
But if Ben has a  local tech geek who is fair, honest, as we do here in the New Orleans area, Richard Gray who will give us best advice,, then he should ask his tech geek, If no tech geek avaliable, then Ben is on his own, Issue might bea  simply fix, maybe worse. 
I'd  tell Ben to buy it and ship it to RGray to ck it out. 
This is what I would advise. 
You say used @ $3k, here it is at $1500 = bargin. 

My Sunfire 600 signature was a B stock unit.  Unused for a substantial price.
had some loose screws on the transformer.
 Sent to two places, first sent to Bill Flannery’s for look see,..replaced some caps, new front meter light, said “is this unit new?” Yes it is, he said there were no signs of use at all.
  Then to sounds classic in Rockford, ILL 
replaced all screws, tightened perfect!
added a thick rubber mat to the top, between the cover and top of transformer. Been flawless since. A great amplifier!

I would be skeptical because of miss hooked up equipment but you might take a chance but i would go for a fully functional working unit for sure because the input stage may be fried on that side.

My Sunfire 600 signature was a B stock unit.  Unused for a substantial price.
had some loose screws on the transformer.
 Sent to two places, first sent to Bill Flannery’s for look see,..replaced some caps, new front meter light, said “is this unit new?” Yes it is, he said there were no signs of use at all.
  Then to sounds classic in Rockford, ILL
replaced all screws, tightened perfect!
added a thick rubber mat to the top, between the cover and top of transformer. Been flawless since. A great amplifier!

Oh how I wish you you could sell it to me!!

I'm always wary of picking up a defective unit for substantial money unless I have a pretty good idea of what's wrong and can either fix it myself or have a good idea of how much it would cost to get it repaired (if possible).  I also always assume that the current owner has looked into it and decided it was not worth their effort or there was a issue with repair.  I had an 80's McIntosh SS amp that had issues of my own making but found it very hard to find replacement parts - I know you hear that McIntosh services all of their equipment no matter how old, but there are some parts you just can't get anymore.  I trashed a couple of volume pots and I thought, how hard to get those?  But McIntosh nor my local vintage repair store wouldn't touch it because they couldn't get the exact part - the Mc contact called it a "boat anchor".  I finally did track down a pair of long shafted pots with the proper value, cut the shafts down to the proper length and fixed it myself, but what if it was something more substantial?  Some resistor values and ribbon cables for older Mc's are really hard to find.

One just sold on eBay from Overture for $2224 and free shipping, tested and in excellent condition.

Has anyone noticed that OP has not posted since the original. He must not have truly wanted help or opinions. Maybe this was the seller, not the buyer. Time wasted...

Hey man! I still have not made my decision to purchase or not. What do you want me to say?

My current pre is an Ayre K5xe-mp. I keep switching back and forth but every time I put the Parasound back in I like the bloom that it has.

If it’s only one input that is not working, it's probably a bad relay or broken wire, and fairly inexpensive to fix. If the preamp will work for you without that input, then it’s a great preamp for the price. You might be able to get another couple hundred off the price, but I don’t think $1500 is a bad price. I sold my JC2-BP for $2500.

Just checking for a pulse. I do like Parasound a lot, would be a yes for me. I would like to hear about what you find if you pursue.