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Things to look out for when buying second hand


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I was just reading this post in the Vincent thread regarding gear that runs hot and has been kept in a confined space. 

 

It got me thinking that it might be worth starting a thread that could act as a guide for what to look out for when buying used gear. 

 

For example, I have no idea how to tell if a speaker cone is in good nick. Is there an easy way to test this?

 

other shared wisdom would be welcome. 

 

 

 

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I recall in my share-house days one of the young guys bought an amp via the Trading Post (a very entry-level amp).  The seller said there had never been any problems with it and the top had never been taken off.  As soon as we got it home the first thing that was done was the top cover removed, and we discovered that a fuse had blown in the past and the repairer had wrapped aluminium foil around the fuse so the amp would work! 

 

So I would suggest when inspecting used electronics gear to take the top off a unit to see if it's ok, and check the circuit board for bulging caps, leaks and burns. And look for foil wrapped around the fuse.

 

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hmm taking the top off, doubt thats going to happen. never taken the rocker cover off a car i bought. oh well each to their own.

 

-check the environment the items are in. messy and cluttered means not looked after.

-dedicated room is good

-original box and packaging shows care

-above usual body scratches/dents shows lots of moving around

-audition with your own music/movies for at least 1 hour

-get original receipts, if no receipts where bought from/when

-if cant test drop offer by 50%

you will get cheated/scammed at least once over time (i did on this forum) but if you can buy "pick up" you have the advantage of knowing where they live.. ?

Edited by hopefullguy
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I was just reading this post in the Vincent thread regarding gear that runs hot and has been kept in a confined space. 
 
It got me thinking that it might be worth starting a thread that could act as a guide for what to look out for when buying used gear. 
 
For example, I have no idea how to tell if a speaker cone is in good nick. Is there an easy way to test this?
 
other shared wisdom would be welcome. 
 
 
 
Yes with woofers you put four fingers like the configuration of a car wheel and gently but rapidly push in and out and listen for scratchiness or scrapping . If you hear I'd avoid it , it's been played at high levels a lot and the voice coil is stressed about to fail.
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1 hour ago, hopefullguy said:

hmm taking the top off, doubt thats going to happen. never taken the rocker cover off a car i bought. oh well each to their own.

 

-check the environment the items are in. messy and cluttered means not looked after.

-dedicated room is good

-original box and packaging shows care

-above usual body scratches/dents shows lots of moving around

-audition with your own music/movies for at least 1 hour

-get original receipts, if no receipts where bought from/when

-if cant test drop offer by 50%

you will get cheated/scammed at least once over time (i did on this forum) but if you can buy "pick up" you have the advantage of knowing where they live.. ?

100% agree with all your points especially the last one.

I was also very recently scammed by a forum member who is interstate from me and now , I would only buy interstate if the seller was known and trusted to me ( of whom there are many ) but never again from someone I don't know.

Edited by rantan
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Always take a roll from a paper towel or similar and a pillow if you want to listen to the tweeter cover the woofer with the pillow and place the roll over the tweeter or midrange unit. I always ask what kind of music the person likes if it's heavy metal acid rock or other bullshit I tend to either walk away or really thoroughly test it.

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2 hours ago, DEANO23 said:

Always take a roll from a paper towel or similar and a pillow if you want to listen to the tweeter cover the woofer with the pillow and place the roll over the tweeter or midrange unit. I always ask what kind of music the person likes if it's heavy metal acid rock or other bullshit I tend to either walk away or really thoroughly test it.

On a serious note, you could perhaps achieve a similar thing with bi-wired speakers by disconnecting the bass terminals?

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4 hours ago, rantan said:

100% agree with all your points especially the last one.

I was also very recently scammed by a forum member who is interstate from me and now , I would only buy interstate if the seller was known and trusted to me ( of whom there are many ) but never again from someone I don't know.

Or you could buy using paypal and pay the premium - it is cheap insurance if the item is faulty and gives you peace of mind. If they aren't prepared to accept paypal with the premium then walk away unless you know them.

 

 Sadly this forum does have the odd user and we should be giving them negative feedback when this happens (I did recently).

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Or you could buy using paypal and pay the premium - it is cheap insurance if the item is faulty and gives you peace of mind. If they aren't prepared to accept paypal with the premium then walk away unless you know them.
 
 Sadly this forum does have the odd user and we should be giving them negative feedback when this happens (I did recently).
Been one in particular who buys and flips always a hard lucky story when buying then sends the cousin around . Guy lives in Adelaide absolute scum I.M.O
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15 minutes ago, PKay said:

Or you could buy using paypal and pay the premium - it is cheap insurance if the item is faulty and gives you peace of mind. If they aren't prepared to accept paypal with the premium then walk away unless you know them.

 

 Sadly this forum does have the odd user and we should be giving them negative feedback when this happens (I did recently).

Definitely.

 

You don't know how many times I have kicked myself for not using PayPal in this most recent transaction.

 

I really should have noted the warning signs when the seller wanted to avoid the PP fees, so based on his really good feedback here, I went along with his request for the bank transfer and now I know why the request was made.

 

Never again will I do this unless the member is a long term, known and trusted person by myself and others.

It also shows that the feedback system, while being very good here ,is still not an assurance, only a guide if you don't know them.

 

Personally knowing a seller is the only safe way, but in my case a $1300 lesson is one well learned, albeit very painful.

Edited by rantan
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If dual posts exist which probably 80 % have and take your own integrated amp along with the biwires but honestly a lot of people get nervous when selling and get a bit taken aback when sensible demands are made. I keep a Y splitter headphone cable to two rca cables so i can play some music I'm familiar with . Doing the paper roll thing is less intrusive and gets a laugh and works . 

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Can I request that we try to talk about things to look out for with the gear itself?

There are plenty of other threads about how to deal with scammers. I’m more interested in tips for assessing the quality of used gear (even when there is no suggestion of any scam)

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I think that would be great idea , I sold my Maggie 1.7s but during the process and wasn't till they were gone that I used a Dspeaker 2.0 anti mode to 230hz and believe me it makes a huge difference to any speakers it's been optimized for . So guess I'm saying make sure something like that isn't playing whilst assessing anything. 

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Definitely.
 
You don't know how many times I have kicked myself for not using PayPal in this most recent transaction.
 
I really should have noted the warning signs when the seller wanted to avoid the PP fees, so based on his really good feedback here, I went along with his request for the bank transfer and now I know why the request was made.
 
Never again will I do this unless the member is a long term, known and trusted person by myself and others.
It also shows that the feedback system, while being very good here ,is still not an assurance, only a guide if you don't know them.
 
Personally knowing a seller is the only safe way, but in my case a $1300 lesson is one well learned, albeit very painful.

Oh man, sorry to hear you had such an ordeal.

Here I was thinking 99% of transactions on here were above board, especially with users with solid feedback. Sad that it isn’t the case, but I guess that’s the real world for you.

If it’s any consolation, I was always taught that in these situations, it’s the perpetrator that has to live with the shame of what they did, and should be pitied. You can move on with your dignity intact.
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4 minutes ago, barn door said:

If buying an amp, suggest you bring your own source component and cables - that way you get to hear the chain (sans speakers).

If the potential buyer is local I've always offered to bring any component that I'm selling around to their place so they can listen in their system.

I've had people offer me the same when I've been auditioning new gear.

Hard to do with bulky stuff of course

Edited by Sir Sanders Zingmore
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If the potential buyer is local I've always offered to bring any component that I'm selling around to their place so they can listen in their system.
I've had people offer me the same when I've been auditioning new gear.
Hard to do with bulky stuff of course

You’re a gentleman for offering that to potential buyers. But then again, you are a Sir.
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When buying speakers, I would recommend placing them side by side to ensure colour match. I once visited a seller who had left speaker in direct sunlight - 3 shades lighter than the right speaker.

 

I knew my OCD would not allow the purchase, I walked away.

 

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A Vulcan mind meld usually works, see below.

 

Otherwise with speakers, sit your head centred between them, listen for equal sound left and right, cover drivers with hand or sheet of paper to hear up close next driver is working, visual check of driver condition. Play music that has full spectrum of sound to test (bass, mids and treble). Also ask seller if you can gently depress the woofer to feel or hear the voice coil rubbing.

5D4D041F-C677-479C-9CA0-C5E20B751F8D.jpeg

Edited by Al.M
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22 minutes ago, Al.M said:

 

Also ask seller if you can gently depress the woofer to feel or hear the voice coil rubbing.

 

 

Not being someone who has cone speakers, can you explain a bit more what "gently depressing the woofer to feel or hear the voice coil rubbing" is all about?  Why would the voice coil rub?

 

Thanks,

Andy

 

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Guest Muon N'
17 hours ago, andyr said:

 

Not being someone who has cone speakers, can you explain a bit more what "gently depressing the woofer to feel or hear the voice coil rubbing" is all about?  Why would the voice coil rub?

 

Thanks,

Andy

 

A mate picked up some Wizards and turned out two of the Audax midwoofers rub, apparently these spent time in storage up in Cairns, so possibly corrosion in the case of those.

 

Edit: a misaligned magnet would also cause a coil to rub.

Edited by Muon N'
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