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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
waytoomuchstuff's avatar
waytoomuchstuff
1,114 posts
 

Here's my list of questions:

- Have you ever played the album The Big Sound of the Drags at over 110 SPL?

- Have you ever tried to troubleshoot a "no sound" condition by maxing out the volume control on the preamp, then switching sources until something made noise?

- Ever left your system unattended for hours with someone under 25 at home?

- Ever made a water/smoke/vandilism claim on anything in the room were the speakers reside?

- Ever use this room for the kitty potty area, or to housebreak a dog, skunk, or Tasmanian Devil?

There's more, but thought this would be a good start.

 

larsman's avatar
larsman
1,937 posts
 

I would ask if they were broken in yet or were still relatively new? That way I'd know what to expect from the sound over weeks or whatever.... 

testpilot
936 posts
 

Will you take 50% of your asking price……

yyzsantabarbara
4,825 posts
 

I had a nightmare used speaker experience with a Thiel CS3.7. It turned out to be fun in the end because I made the speaker perfect, but it took 2 months to fix it all.

1) Find out if the drivers were ever replaced. If so, by whom.

2) Are replacement drivers available to buy?

3) What amp was used to drive the speakers?

4) Is the warranty transferable?

5) Can the speakers be serviced at home or does it need to be shipped back. For, example my old Revel Salon 1 needed to be shipped back to Northridge, CA for a simple driver replacement. They said they need to re-measure the speaker after the new driver. That was done 2 times, and I will never buy a Revel again. My Thiel was messed up by the seller with a bad repair. However, there is 1 guy left providing drivers and advice on Thiel speaker repair, so I was able to do a home repair to make it perfect.

BTW - I could hear 1 issue with the speakers when I got it home. When I measured the speakers with REW software a whole can of worms opened up. The guy at this place helped me measure and pinpoint exactly the spots that had issue, phase, crossover, driver. It was a mess.

Digital Room Calibration Services, Convolvers, Headphone Filtersets (accuratesound.ca)

secretguy
1,707 posts
 

I literally haven't bought new speakers since the late 70s when I bought Polk Monitor 10s. I've never had an issue with anything used.

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