When you consider buying a new pair of speakers, the sound, outlook and review of the speakers are important, but resale value of speaker is also a important thing to consider before your purchase. Some of the speakers resell value drop so deeply, but some don't. Can you suggest some high resale value speaker company? As far as I know, B&W have a pretty strong resale value compare with their brand, such as Dynaudio, Proac or JMLabs.
@ prof, thanks for those words. Yeah, it’s been a unsettling experience. Was on the phone for the umpteenth time with the insurers this morning and decided to cancel my claim. They really have little idea of loudspeakers, let alone vintage DCs and the third party company they employ to do the assessment / repair, seem to verge between incompetent and corrupt according to the many 1 star reviews online of their work. I will just have to try to get them fixed myself somehow.
Funnily enough in the meantime I have been getting into films myself, recently watching Stagecoach (1939) and The General (1926) amongst a few others. Both brilliant films and both offering an almost eerie peek back into the mists of time. I usually play the sound through the speakers but had to make do with the headphones. Actually, in some ways, headphone listening works really well with films. The reduction of ambient sounds and interruptions can make for a more immersive experience.
I doubt whether I would get as obsessed over films in the same way as music though I do try to look out for sympathetic restorations when it comes to buying DVDs. It’s simply a question of numbers, there’s probably only 40 or 50 films I love, but there are 1000s of songs.
Right now it’s just a case of getting the speaker repaired and the question of potential upgrades / resale values can wait. Sometimes, it’s like the song says 'you don’t know what you’ve got 'til it’s gone’.
In fact, not just my audio outlook, I had to re-evaluate some of my
other priorities too. Shock, horror, I'm beginning to wonder just how
much Hi-Fi means to me in the ultimate scheme of things. Perhaps I have
been a tad obsessive and tunnel visioned in some regards...
Sorry to hear about your speaker accident!
Re-assessing is never a bad thing.
I find I often gain different perspectives simply because I may shift from one "obsession" to the other, for instance between high end audio and home theater.
I was incredibly obsessed with high end audio through the 90's into the early 2000s...going to be thinking about speaker/amp combinations, that kind of thing! But then I became infatuated with TVs and home theater.High end audio, though still a thing in my life, fell well behind my home theater concerns. I would obsess with exact screen materials for my projector, exact calibration, perfect light control....just really the same level of obsession but transferred to the visual side of things. I'd watch a movie, or at least part of one, almost every day in my projection based home theater.
But since I got back more heavily in to high end audio again around 2015 (buying my Thiel 3.7 speakers), further enhanced by the plunge in to turntables and vinyl, well...I only have so much time and energy to obsess about one thing. So the emphasis has been audio and music, which takes up much more time, whenever I find time to fit in to a movie I just don't worry about all the things I did before. Like "why did I feel that was so important?" I just turn the thing on and it looks fantastic, and I don't much wonder what else I should be doing for the system.I enjoy it like a "normal person" ;-)
Gives some perspective, I guess. BTW, my boys always joked that if they crashed over my speakers or something I'd be devastated. I always told them, really, no I wouldn't be. They are just things I own. I like them. But I could always get different ones, or just get fun elsewhere. I love my system, but I have the perspective to know what's most important in life and what kind of thing to be devastated over, or not (I hope...)
Speakers are the component that loses the most value in my opinion. Only a few select brands retain value ... Sonus and Quad come to mind but there are so many that lose 50% right out the door.
I think most gear takes a beating , I purchased a used pair of Quicksilver monos, for $1050, they were only 15 months old and were $1900 new.
Bought a pair of Revel M106. Six months old for $1200 they were $2k....enjoyed them for 4 years, sold them for $1000. So for me that was a great deal, I used them for 4 years at a cost of $200.
I'm always looking for a good deal and often pay 50% or less of what the street price was. If you choose the right used gear you will often recover most of your money but don't expect that as a new owner.
I have no problem buying new if it's something I think I'll keep for a long time but a lot of gear has come and gone as "rentals" where it's cost a small amount to enjoy it for a little while.
@prof, oops, I missed the date, sorry. My audio sensibilities took a hit 3 weeks ago when my son pushed over one of my speakers and it sustained serious cone and slight cabinet damage.
In fact, not just my audio outlook, I had to re-evaluate some of my other priorities too. Shock, horror, I'm beginning to wonder just how much Hi-Fi means to me in the ultimate scheme of things. Perhaps I have been a tad obsessive and tunnel visioned in some regards...
Anyway, depending upon the outcome of the claim I might once again after some 8 years, be faced the same decision of buying new or used myself.
The only clear thing is that unless there is clear returns policy, I would never consider buying new without having a good listen first.
Resale value is important, but with decades of experience behind me I wouldn't care too much about resale value if a loudspeaker, (most likely to be from a new or lesser known manufacturer), was able to provide sonic satisfaction.
(Old thread, but...) Agreed on Harbeth re-sale. It's one of the reasons I rolled the dice to try the Harbeth SuperHL5Plus speakers. I knew I could re-sell them easily.Tried them for a month or so. They were great, but the speakers I still owned were greater. I got lots of offers once I put my ad up, and almost made money re-selling them!
Harbeths are another obvious candidate. No such thing as a cheap used Harbeth.
Same goes for Sonus Faber, barring the entry level offerings. Exquisite cabinetry holds its value very well.
There seems to be an obvious relationship between residual price and not only quality, but also supply. This suggests that bigger bargains might be found with models from the larger manufacturers.
However concerns with resale value suggest indecision regarding choice. If that is so, then buying used as macrojack and others have suggested, seems the way to go to avoid heavy losses whilst experimenting with taste.
Well just to have the feelings of supreme elation at the sight of seeing SOLD in your ad is worth more than money. And then the experience of actual UPS pick up leaving your house, is yet another kicker :-)
My best guess is of course the speaker I;ve been mentioning here for the past 2 months. Tyler. Look at the amount of days it takes to sell a used Tylere. And then look at how many speakrers are on the gon for days and days, weeks even. Most have like 30+ days on the market, not so with Tylers.
Keithr, while you have a point, it is rare or never that resale value considers inflation. Auto leases (residual values), real estate tax computation, etc are not affected by inflation indexing. Maybe in theory they ought to be, but for whatever reason they are not. Businessperson does NOT equal economist. So, while Elizabeth's computations may be 'flawed', it was done the same way as everyone else does it.
Note: just because everyone else does it does not make it right in every case. For example, spelling a plural noun (eg, kids) with an apostrophe (kid's) is not correct, even though every bloody one in my office seems to be doing it! Aaaaargh.
I think it has always been true that street price and not list price is the correct number to reference for resale value. Those items which are heavily discounted will not hold value as well as items whose selling price is closely guarded. On the other hand, supply/demand ratio can cause an exception to this formula.
your analysis is a bit flawed as the 1850 you received is MUCH less than the 2200 you paid in real dollars (inflation adjustment) Its only around 900 bucks. (still not a bad deal, of course)
It is impossible to know the various discounts available on all speaker brands but it is well known that Magnepan does not discount much at all, whether due to low margin to begin with or factory control, I am not sure. But I think this factor has a lot to do with Maggies holding resale.
The argument can be extended by (in theory at least) getting enough data on selling vs list price of all speakers when new. Then, compare the resale value of these at a future point in time, assuming (again in theory) equal condition. I am guessing the result of comparing used resale to new discounted price will be much closer (ie clustered) than you might expect for 80% of all brands.
Similar models can apply to the car biz. For years, M-B held up value as there was no discount available. Since they started discounting a few years ago, resale value has dropped and it varies by model, which variance corresponds quite closely to the selling discount by model.
S7horton, I don't think that you'll get a dealer to come down more than 10% on the Maggie 1.6's. As I stated, Maggie selects their dealers rather carefully, and the dealer mark-up is nowhere near what their mark-up can be for most other speakers.
I bought a used pair of Maggie 2.7QRs almost 3 years ago here on Audiogon for $1,000 (going price then was $900 to $1200 depending on condition). This speaker is now going for the same price. I think Maggies are one of the leading resale champs. Quad and Soundlab are probably 2 more.
Unless you make a very foolish purchase, you can anticipate something close to 100% resale by buying used speakers. This applies to virtually all brands and models, current production thru classics.
chuck, look at it this way: 1.6 QR list for 1800, talk the dealer down a little, and you are at 1500 or maybe a hair under. Resale at 1200 dollars - years later. Try that with a car, or most anything listed on audiogon. With the exception of B&W. Not everyone is a fan of theirs. I like them, but you can't deny they hold value well.
B&W has very good value. I sold my 6 years and 3 months old Nautilus 802 for E 5200,- including granite plates in the shape of the speaker of 42 kilo. I had many changes to sell them and quick. Avalon is also a brand who still keeps a high price. But I think you have to buy the speaker you like most. Because listening to music for many years with great pleasure is much more important than money.
I agree with S7horton! I thought Maggie 1.6's held value very well. Also, Maggie has strict rules and a great respect for their retail dealers...and they don't play pricing games...neither Maggie nor their dealers...at least when I bought this model when first introduced.
I sold a 5 year old Magnepan 3.6 for $3,000, I paid $4,100, excellent resale value considering it seems like most used speakers go for about 60% of retail.
I have owned 2 pairs 1.6 RQ and 3 pairs of 3.6R, Magnepan speakers, over the last 8 years and have never lost any money on them. These speakers hold their value fairly well. I took them in as trade at the market price and always able to sell them when I am ready. For example, I sold all 3 pairs of 3.6 R for $3200.00 ( trade-in ~ 2.8K-3.2K) If you have the room for them and like the maggies sounds, they will sell.
I bought two pairs of JBL L200's for 500 a pair brand new in 1973-1974.
I tried to get a pair of well used ones off ebay for reasons of nostalgia and efficiency and curiosity of how they would mate with a cj tube amp) a few years back and gave up after eight hundred bucks gets trampled in no time.
Wish to god I had kept a pair, apparently, I am not the only one.
Buy what you like, forget about resale and have fun.
You need to reread the posting. He is referring to new speakers not classics. I know Quad ESL-57's demand a high price. But as mentioned the thread was discussing current production speakers.
S7horton,
Maggies are great speakers, but you must admit there are wild fluctuations on their prices. Right now on Agon there are 4 pair of 1.6QR's there is a pair for 900 and a couple for 1200 and I belive a pair for 1400.00. MSRP is 1800.00 I belive. So where does that put the Mean? Throw out the lowest and the highest and you are at 1200.00. At that price they are hardly being snapped up.
I second the B&W Nautilus and Diamond series Speakers. Even after 7-years, used B&W Nautilus Speakers are sell fast usually within a week at more than 50% of their original retail value. When you consider that Krell and JM Lab/Focal Speakers can be bought new at near 50% discounts this is a pretty amazing statistic.
You are correct that some speaker have high resale value. The speakers that do not have high resale value tend to be of the Electrostat or Planar design speakers. They tend to lose their value dramatically. I guess the membranes are more fragile than that of Dynamic speakers. If I were to suggest speakers that tend to hold their value this would be my top choices. I have kept the list to speakers that have more than a few used pair for sale so this eliminates some of the rarer brands.
1. Wilson Audio. Must be a current model, WA speakers are very well thought of within the industry. I know many on here bash Wilson Audio, but the current model speakers tend to hold their value very well. 2. B&W Nautilus Line. Again you must have the new D line with diamond tweeter. Many studios use B&W. 3. Avalon Acoustics Eidolon Diamond and Vision are highly desireable speakers. They are soundstage champions and have a timbre and purity that is addictive. 4. Kharma Their line can be a bit confusing with all the choices but another HOT seller. Very coherent speakers that lack driver coloration and are easy load to drive. 5. Dynaudio Another sought after speakers. Some models are not the IN models. They tend to like high powered Solid State amps and when properly set up are a formidable speaker. . Thiel Audio. Thiel prices can be a bit quirky. Some models hold their price very well while some take a beating. Not that last word in refinement but have an overall texture and presentation that favors no particular music genre. 7. Merlin Again must be a current model. I dunno which is the current model VSM anymore because it has gone through so many changes within the last few years. another easy to drive speaker that is at home with either SS or tube equipment. 8. Vandersteen The vandersteen's have a loyal following and those who like the house sound seem to really like it. Richard Hardesty is a staunch supporter. I have not hear any of the Vandy's so i cannot comment on their sound. 9. Proac Another speaker with a cult following. Very musical and easy to listen to. 10. Joseph Audio. A speaker company that gets tremendous reviews, but flies a bit under the radar. A
Again this list is not in any particular order and is not based on extensive research number crunching. It is an observation of speakers that tend to keep the highest percentage of original MSRP.
buy a used pair of a well thought-of brand from someone who's babied them; when it comes time for you to sell them, you'll take little if any loss. if you buy ANY brand new, it's value will go down the minute you take them home.
In my experience, it tends to run along brand recognition lines more than anything. This is why Bose has good resale value. (on eBay; not on AudiogoN).
My speakers have relatively poor resell value because most people have never heard of them. I still would not have bought anything else. I like how they sound, and that is all that matters.
In many cases the more expensive an item is, the worse the resell value is regardless of quality, because the market demand at the ultra high end is pretty small. Also, people with unlimited cash to burn will most likely want new stuff.
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