Should we care if a piece of equipment comes from a pet-free, kid-free, smoke-free home?


I agree that I do not want a preamp or speaker coated with a film of smoke, but I am confused as to what a child or pet could do that would not be otherwise visible. You would see the cat scratches on the speaker grill, the dog chew marks on the rack, the iguana turds in the amplifier cooling vents. And what's a little dog hair among friends? As a 3 year old, I supposedly put my finger through my grandfather's new DIY speaker but I'm pretty sure he replaced the drivers so even that doesn't really matter. Most things will be visible and/or easily remedied.  Maybe the price will even be a little lower because of the cosmetics. If it doesn't mess with function, not a big deal to me.

What concerns me more is does it come from a drunk-free, drug-free home.  I think befuddled owners are far more worrisome than pets or children.

 

tcutter

It actually does matter in some cases.  A friend recently told me that his Audio Note M 8 linestage had developed a problem with turn-on—it would frequently blow a fuse when the switch was thrown.  The problem turned out to be caused by a massive collection of cat hair inside the linestage chassis—the warm linestage was a favorite sleeping spot of the cat.

When I wanted to sell my Acoustat 1+ 1 electrostatic speakers to a use equipment store, they would only buy it if I took off the outer sock so that I could confirm it was used in a smoke free environment.  Smoke is attracted to the charged diaphragm and leaves a thick sticky deposit that degrades performance.

 

 

 

I highly recommend to stay away from vinyl stored in a smoking environment, simply gross. 

So many variables.

Almost bald cat upstairs, never in basement < long-haired cats sleeping on amps.

One happy spliff < pack and a half of smokes a day for twenty years in the home.

Et cetera.

PS. I don’t smoke anything

@normb You got the cat dander right. They are disgusting.  I never eat cakes made by folks with cats.

Bought a leather couch once the owners of the store smoked on it.went to get my djnsurance they asked me how much I smoked. The couch was like a nicotine patch my blood test came back positive for nicotine. I always felt a calming effect on that couch.then in med school did a drug study to get enough money to fly home for Christmas it was double blind test latter found out it was the nicotine patch.never could get into the viagra double bind test it was too full.enjoy the music

I don’t smoke but I have two pet midgets living in my shed. During the cold months of winter, when they hear sweet sounds of music coming from the house, they gently knock on the door and ask to come in to get warm. They like to sit on my Pass mono amps that run at about 104 degrees F operating temperature and provide a cozy sitting surface. Few times I caught the midgets lighting up a stogy.
Now I am looking to sell the amps. Should I disclose this? Or just air the amps out on the patio to get the cigar odor out? Any thoughts?