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Buying demo or brand new power conditioner/amp

Hi all,

My dealer has put together a package. 1 store demo- Furman Reference 15i and store demo Rotel RMB 1565 Class D amp and provided his price to me. The Furman has 2 scratches on it. One on the faceplate and a 3/4 inch scratch on top of the unit. Both on the silver portion of the Furman. The Rotel demo is in great condition. For this he reduced it 125.00 off the regular price. The furman was reduced by 450.00 off the store price.

I would be saving 575.00 as opposed to buying them brand new(not including taxes). I have 3 pieces of gear he is willing to take on trade in for 1800.00 total either on the store demo package or brand new.

If you were in the situation, what would you do? Go for the demo or buy it brand new? Appreciate the forums thoughts and opinions on this one. Thanks in advance.

2007audioman
2007audioman
markpao
519 posts
 
See the "what is lowball" thread.

You can take the advise of a lowballer and offer somewhere around $350.00 for everything.
mt10425
1,138 posts
 
Don't lowball brick & motar stores.
Ag insider logo xs@2x
uru975
684 posts
 
I have no problem buying demo equipment. A lot of mine is formerly demo equipment. That being said, they seem to last as long and do as well. Why spend more for the same thing? If you really like the prettier look buy new. If you really like the sound buy the demo.
ebm
9,311 posts
 
Why buy new and take a loss when you sell it,unless you get a super deal.
jwong
56 posts
 
Demo usually implies one year old and not used too extensively. Solid state components like a power conditioner shouldn't be a problem and should be fine even if two years old. However, I'm more cautious for anything over two years and anything more than a year old with moving parts more like a turntable, CD, speakers, or TV. It's like buying a used car so amount of use is an important consideration. Finally, be cautious about 10+ year stuff. Classic amps, reel to reel, etc, are going to need refurbishing (belts, lubrications, capaciters, whatever). Most of my gear is used and demo carefully chosen for age/price. However, anything with a motor I buy new or no more than one year old. Equipment older than two years runs risking extra money to update/repair which might eat up your original "savings". Finally, used cables (IC, power, speaker) are often the best buys and get borken in for you too. Good luck.
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