Why is the market for used Levinson amps so slow?

I do believe that AudiogoN is not what is was. The change in the site is one factor as well as the economy. No doubt in my mind that this site is NOT what is once was. It has hurt used sellers as well as builders.

The sense of community and belonging is gone, gone, gone. This impacts our desire to trade, buy, sell and live out our hobby on this site. I feel this change to be as real as the computer I am now typing on.

Maybe I'm changing and all of this is just my perspective. The problem is many of my close audio friends have shared the same feelings. We feel a sense of loss, like losing a good old friend.

Well said Bill.

I think the inability to IM one another has done the most damage to that sense of community that we all felt. We used to be able to take these threads off-line for some real interesting discussions and to share our perspectives and recommendations in greater detail. We can't do that anymore. It's a shame.

It seems like a lot of users still contribute here though despite all the problems. I agree, the inability to do PMs doesn't make any sense. And there are a number of contributors, old and new, who continue to provide good insight, are knowledgeable and have a wide range of experience and in many cases pretty deep technical knowledge as well. I don't know that the software and administrative issues have had an impact on sales. I have gotten a fair number of responses to stuff I recently listed ( although mostly from overseas and a few with no feedback). As to new v old Levinson, the really early stuff was legendary; the stuff after he left and the company got sold seemed to be competitive sonically but expensive. The current stuff, I have no clue and perhaps that is part of the problem- a lot of stuff moves because it is a buzz worthy product- you can probably identify a brand or line within a brand at a given time that is " hot." Not sure ML has that buzz right now- there may be a killer product but if it is not widely regarded right now, it may be tougher to sell.

The ML series are still wonderful. I agree that this is simply a matter of financial situations being very low and slow right now. Everything is cyclic and the used market will rebound just like the home market will. Sort of. in the case of the home market, it had escalated way out of control to the point of insanity. people sitting on the sidelines knew (no way were houses worth that much). reality caught up with the market. For audio, well with people worried about their families and jobs, buying items that don't feed, house, educate, etc. your family take a back seat. If you are not in a rush or desperate for cash, be patient. Prices for decent high-end equipment will come back significantly. However, keep in mind that when companies change their equipment or redesign every other year, that kills the resale price of used equipment. These companies attitude is to always have something new (not necessarily better) being reviewed).

A great pre-amp or amp are just that. they will survive the test of down times. Speakers also.

enjoy

Listen, the redesign is awful, and no fixes are in the works that I can see, but the "collapse" of the used market likely has more to do with people being more careful with their purse-strings as the economy suffers a prolonged heart attack.