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$20K to spend on speakers…. . wait! There’s a catch!

Greetings,

Perfect sense says buy stuff only after you have heard it. Only after an in home audition.

Sometimes we are forced to wing it.

Admit it, best guess trigger pulling happens a bunch because not everything is everywhere.

For some unknown reasons we seem to feel we know what we want or need in spite of never having auditioned it.

Here are a couple scenarios based on a “this thing should work’, “shot in the semi dark” buying practices.

Premise: You have $20K and it MUST be spent entirely on loudspeakers.

Here are the options:
1. The used speakers option.
You have NOT heard them ever. At all. Nada.
The deal here is you’r egetting them for about 50% off retail in quite good esthetic (8/10) condition, excellent working orde according to the seller, and about three - four years old and landed or shipped.

The seller has good feedback. No negatives.

All of the speakers numbers are amenable to your existing power plants. They should do well in your room.

2. brandy new speaker option.

The brand new units you’re paying $20K for include a 25% discount from MSRP and sold by a brick & mortar dealership.

You did hear the brand new ones, but only with modest SS gear and nothing on the level of your own equipment which is tubes, or vice versa for sake of this argument.

These come with warranty. ..and in your color preference.

Lastly, neither of these two sets of speakers are what could be called very popular, loudspeakers. Meaning they aren’t littering the pages of the speaker for sale pages with any regularity.


The carrier arrives. The boxes are fully in tact. No issues at all. Still, there’s a nagging thought. Did I do the right thing?

Shouldn’t I have bought used speakers and obtained still more value given just a bit older speakers sell for much less than MSRP.

Or, I bet I should have bought the new speakers and put up with another long run in.

Man! I hope I did not messs this up!!


What is your choice and why?

Thanks for the ideas and insights..

blindjim
jon_5912
604 posts
 
I don't see myself ever spending 20k on speakers but I do think there's a time to buy blind.  It's when you are confident that you're getting something more for your money than you'll get otherwise.  I bought a pair of ATC 110 ASLs a few years back for 5k.  They were custom made and don't look like the standard version but still aren't something many people would find attractive.  They were only two or three years old.  I had heard some small active ATCs in the past and knew I really liked the house sound and also knew they were a brand known for a very consistent sound from one model to the next. 

It was a no brainer for me and I immediately began the process of making the transaction.  Knowing what I do of audiophiles I wouldn't be surprised if I'm the only person on earth who wanted these.  Cosmetics are a deal breaker for almost all audiophiles.  Performance isn't even relevant if the look isn't what they want.  For those people it makes more sense to spend the 5k on something that sounds as good as possible and has the look they like.  Good luck finding a pair of 5k speakers with an impressive finish that will do anything close to what these can do.  I naturally tend to get off knowing I got something that is pretty close to the best at any price without even taking a big financial hit. 

25% off for new speakers isn't enough to buy them unheard at any significant price, let alone 20k.  You could almost certainly find a dealer to give you a discount, maybe not 25% but enough to make it more than worth it to have a knowledgeable person to talk to.  If you can swing 75% of retail you should swing 85% for the advantage of dealer support.  I guess if there is no dealer within hundreds of miles maybe it makes sense.

blindjim OP
3,092 posts
 
@jon_5912 > time to buy blind. It's when you are confident that you're getting something more for your money than you'll get otherwise

Blindjim > we are on the same wavelength there.

> “Performance isn't even relevant if the look isn't what they want. “

Blindjim > that was me. And still a bit. Though I’m determined this time not to let esthetics play as large a role as performance.

I’m not keen on boxes per se. just big rectangles don’t do much for me. However…

Normally I would not ever consider this level of expense. But its getting late. Chances are I likely can, so why not?

> advantage of dealer support.

Blindjim > there’s only one outlet I’m aware of nearby. I’ll have to see soon a bit more intently. Others range from 40 to 75 mi. the lines being carried by al of them is not fully clear but at one outlet, its fairly expressive. Radhu, Magico, KEF, ??? not sure what the rest are up to lately.

Many around here are or were, supposed dealers but did not stock inventories. Or had one bare bones setup like a receiver, CDP, and a pr of speakers. Always with the aclade “we can get you whatever!”.

Things might have changed of late. I will look into this more.

I’m a mite concerned of any real tangible support even at 40mi. though.

Overall, that is good sense.

Actives seem to me to be like a closet. Not much room to coax the sound much to something better. But then as with any number of other elclectic audio pieces. Dunno. Never had any. Had the shot to hear some but my then bias flatly resfused the offer. Listened to BW 800s & 801s instead. Albeit, driven by Meridiaian elecs.

Hopefully I’ll fall into something good. Like a middle range unit. And target its igher end sibling. We’ll see..


Good thoughts. Thanks.


pokey77
1,266 posts
 
@blindjim 

"I’m not gonna live waiting for the next shoe to drop.

I’ve no clue what tomorrow holds. I feel however I do know who holds it."  

Jim, thanks for the sage advice and reminder. I'm there with you on both.
blindjim OP
3,092 posts
 
Life is not a riddle to be puzzled out, but a mystery to be lived. R Kippling.

Fear is a big deal. It will keep one from driving on the wrong side of the road, stepping off tall buildings, or spending too much time with one’s mother in law.

Fear can also run a person’s life if not kept in check. We’ve all got it. Or them at some time or other.

This scenario’s impetus was to delve into how deep the drives are. Fear vs compulsion. Both are hopefully tainted with prudence and some restraint beyond what the wallet declares at the moment. Credit lines not with standing. Lol

Its all about how deep into the pond one wants to wade. Risk vs reward. Or merely settle on only known factors.

“the lure of easy money has a very strong appeal”

buying pre owned at a significant discount is that lure for nervous ‘philes. I’ve done it. Likely will do it again.

IMHO, the strongest petition here and possibly the best view point, seems to be if you are OK with buying used, then buy the most predictable or supposed amount of performance you can readily afford. If you believe in that product, seller, and cost, pull the trigger! Period & paragraph.

Then all one has to do is pray. Pray we can withstand the carrier and shipping incidentals. Albeit as a reminder, the carrier is the major unknown in any out of area transaction, be it on new from a dealer or used from a dealer or seller. Always.

Of all the factors, carriers scare me most. I once worked in that industry and saw how they manage containers. Yikes.

If fear of shipping is immense, and the cost of goods, great, spend more for faster transit. I see that aspect as more ‘insurance’.

Do your due diligence, buy some Tums. Watch the tracking, and setup notifications for descrepencies, and all will be well.

hopefully.

If it ultimately don’t fit. Flip. Easy peasey.

Thanks all, for the enlightening commentary. And or, any which may be forthcoming.

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