I'm going to second what Bruce said and say that buying secondhand speakers can definitely be iffy. I did that recently and I'm regretting it. I wish I'd just invested in new speakers to begin with. I'll have to look into the options Bruce suggested since they're supposed to be cost-efficient. An integrated receiver sounds like it might be next big purchase after the speakers.
Wayne Parham Messages: 18782 Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)
I generally agree that buying used speakers is risky. They're electro-mechanical and can be potentially subjected to the most abuse, which is sometimes not obvious to the eye.
There are two execeptions. First is if you know the history of the speaker very well and/or have the ability to measure it. Those kinds of things can raise confidence. The second exception is where drivers have factory-manufactured recone kits available. This is rare - most companies don't make available recone kits for their drivers. But some do, and where that's possible, you can buy a speaker with the understanding that you'll have it reconed to make it 100% refurbished, good as new.
I'd also swap the capacitors in the crossover if buying used, just to make sure those are undamaged high-quality parts. I recommend only using poly caps in loudspeaker crossovers. Always replace any non-polarized electrolytic caps with polypropylene capacitors. They're much better.
My first big audio purchase was surround sound Band and Olufsen speakers. I was a student and I used most of my student grant on the speakers. The trouble caused at home was worth it because my superior sound made my parties very popular. Years later I still have a soft spot for B&O and am looking at their Bluetooth options.
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