what kind of discount on demo speakers?

If you truly will have the original full warranty, I also doubt you'd be able to get away with only 2000. Generally speaking, I think 30-35% off is more realistic, and a 40% discount would be a great deal. On the other hand, the discounting potential can vary considerably depending on the manufacturer. I know of one speaker line (the TAD inspired Pioneer EX) that is very heavily discounted (35% off) brand new with full warranty. And they sure aren't junk. I've heard them, and they are excellent. So if I was buying a Pioneer EX demo, I would expect 45-50% off in such a case.

It all depends on how desirable the speakers are (the more in demand and more difficult to find used/demo, the more you will pay); how much the margin the dealer has on the speakers as new (the higher the margin, the more the dealer can discount); and finally, how much/little of a margin is the dealer willing to work with.

Too little is known for me or anyone to really say now that I thought it over. 40% could be dead on or dead wrong.

As everyone has said, there's a lot of variables here, which makes it very hard to say from afar. If we knew what speaker was at issue, it would be easier to advise.

That said, I shoot for 60% of MSRP for used gear in good condition (although one can do better on large hard to ship speakers). I recently did this well for a desirable "demo" amp that was as new.

On the wider market, including used, you can get likely find the same item, or a comparably good, or better, item, for $2500 (*lots* of good speaker options in this price category.)

Anything more than 2500, and you are paying extra for the security and support of dealing with a dealer (presuming they provide such support). That's worth something: how much is it worth to you? If it were me, if the price is much over 2500, I'd be inclined to shop carefully, unless it was *exactly* the speaker I wanted, or I really felt good about the dealer.

The real question is, what's the best speaker for you for the money you can spend, not what you've saved over MSRP.

John

John