New hifi speakers (new or second hand?)

Phil99

Phil99

Phil99

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I recently bought a Cambridge Audio 640A v2 amp and I'm using it with my headphones only at the moment, so I'm looking at getting some bookshelf speakers to go with it.

My question comes down to two parts:

Firstly, should I buy new or second hand?

Secondly, either way, what should I be looking out for? I have a budget of, at the very most, £200.

Thanks for any input, I've read the sticky, but it's getting on a bit now so not sure if things have changed :)
 
Firstly, should I buy new or second hand?
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I personally would buy new, especially if my budget was up to £200...

Wharfedale Diamond 9.1s available for around £99, or if you want something better the Wharfedale Diamond 10.1s that have recently been released, around £199, you may also want to consider the Tannoy Mercury F1 Custom or Mordaunt-Short Aviano 1, I'm sure somebody else will be able to give some recommendations if you eventually buy 2nd hand of ebay or some other place, as buying 2nd hand you will get more for your money...do try and listen to them before you buy.
 
Second hand all the way, there are some bl**dy bargains out there if you take your time. I got some Mission 753s recently for £110!

If you take your time, you can sometimes get speakers in perfect condition, that retailed new for anywhere between £400-1000 for that £200! Admittedly, the massive bargains are fewer and farther between than they used to be, but if you take your time, its undebateable that you should be able to get a higher class of speaker for your money.

Just make sure when you spot a pair you like the look of, go and do some research on them before buying. Avforums can be a good place to ask on for these sorts of things.
Also checkout the AVForums classified adds while you're there.
 
Second hand bargains can be had if you're willing to travel or pick them up from somewhere in the sticks, keep an eye out on auction sites and forums. People can't be bothered to post things like speakers.
 
I would be a little hesitant on buying speakers 2nd hand unless you can have a listen and put them through their paces first.

Recently bought some some Tannoy Mercury F1 Customs for less than £80 brand new - stonking speakers for that money new.
 
Bought some Mission 700 speakers last week for £20, I've never really heard Mission stuff before but for £20 I couldn't turn it down... They sound quite nice, similar to Tannoy F1's.
 
alexhull24 said:
I would be a little hesitant on buying speakers 2nd hand unless you can have a listen and put them through their paces first.

Recently bought some some Tannoy Mercury F1 Customs for less than £80 brand new - stonking speakers for that money new.
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But have you listened to some 2nd hand speakers to compare ? :p

I say 2nd hand all the way. Payed £200 new for my first set of speakers (MA B2), then made the jump to some ATC SCM12 costing £500 (£1k+ 4yrs ago new) and boy was it worth it. I did have to get a beefy amp, but for £200 2nd hand yo can get some awesome kit. Take a look on ebay and the avforums classifieds and have a read up on possibilities.
 
-Ad- said:
But have you listened to some 2nd hand speakers to compare ?
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Yes, my mate has had several sets, he's more au fait with it than I am though. Some were excellent, others passable, but as I said, make sure they're working properly and bargains can be had. My point was the F1's represent good value for money when buying new.
 
Second hand all the way. I managed to get some B&W 603 S1 speakers in mint condition for £90. No marks at all and have covers and floor spikes still. Only thing missing was the box.

They are excellent speakers. Also got a second (possibly 3rd or 4th) hand Marantz PM68 100w amp for £55 to go with them. That was from a cash converts type store

edit - I also sold my Cambridge A1 for £20 on the bay (had a few scratches) and my Mission M73 bookshelf speakers for £35. For £55 you can get a pretty decent setup

Wish i hadnt sold them now, could be used in our front room with the TV :(
 
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I think the general opinion is that second hand is the way to go then :D

One of my housemates has recommended I take a look at some classic old speakers as there's plenty of good quality stuff still out there, looks like I'll be scouring the auction sites for bargains :D

There's some good suggestions on models to look out for in this thread already, I'm always open for more good suggestions to look at though :)

Thanks all
 
Phil99 said:
I think the general opinion is that second hand is the way to go then :D

One of my housemates has recommended I take a look at some classic old speakers as there's plenty of good quality stuff still out there, looks like I'll be scouring the auction sites for bargains :D

There's some good suggestions on models to look out for in this thread already, I'm always open for more good suggestions to look at though :)

Thanks all
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Unless you count mega expensive high end stuff, or PA type stuff you see in nightclubs, speaker tech hasn't really changed much over the past few years... So you're not really missing out by going for older speakers.
 
Second hands the way to go for me - but do demo first as with speaker you pick up flaws quite easily on listening (plus you get an idea if the tone of the speaker suits your preference)
 
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