Congrats, great choice. What gear will you be using it with?
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.
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@yyzsantabarbara The chain is a custom Pi/Allo streamer -> Schiit Gumby -> Benchmark LA4 -> Coda #8. I am now looking at upgrades for the streamer and the DAC is probably due. |
@zlone That is similar to what I use. I had the LA4 and #8. I now use the LA4 and #16. My DAC is the Schitt Yggi+ Less Is More. We have a very similar setup. I have had 3 fibre based streamers in the house and all 3 are an easy recommendation:
I think the Yggi+ is the best sounding DAC I have had but the Lumin X1 is a great all-round choice for streamer, DAC, and maybe even preamp. The Leedh volume control is almost as good as the volume on the LA4.
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It may make sense to hit the used market for the following categories: a) "High End": Typically, a 60k speaker can be bought for 30k and so on...guys who buy such speakers tend to take care of them. When your done with it, you can sell it for about the same price and cut even. If you bought speakers "new" in this category, you are never cutting even when you sell it (that’s a big L each time and doesn’t make much monetary sense). b) Rare: There are speakers that are quite rare and coveted (could be high end or affordable). A few units of a model were made, got discontinued in a short period, etc. It may make sense to look for those in the used market. For either a) or b), go with an established manufacturer... If something goes wrong, you can get replacement drivers, parts, etc from a manufacturer who’s been around. If you bought something from a self proclaimed "exotic manufacturer" dude working out of his garage, you may be out of luck. Otherwise, what’s your budget? At any normal/affordable budgets for speakers that aren’t rare, you can find something ’new’ that will beat the daylights out of some guy’s used crap (as speaker tech and designs improve every few years).
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