Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Buying Used Speakers....

Used speakers are a smart buy, in my opinion. I picked up a pair of Dahlquist DQM905s for $60. I did a bit of refinishing of the veneered wood cabinets, slapped a pair of supertweeters on top, and love them.

Picked up a pair of M22Tis and VP150 for $400. Still smiling. If you keep your eyes open you will find some outstanding deals on used (and new) speakers. I've seen some terrific deals on Focal floor standers and even some Revels. These are hard times and there are many folks who are parting with their pride and joys out of dire necessity. There are some manufacturers who have slashed prices to clear inventory and realize some cash flow.

Forget the concept of break in.
Speakers sound different and having a pair for a long time sets the 'reference' in your mind.
Often speakers just sound different and not necessarily 'better', especially when comparing two quality models in tandem.
A good a/b instant switch listening test is really the best way to discern the subtle differences effectively.

That aside, i have not heard the new MA lineup with the exception of the Platinum bookshelf models as noted in this more recent review.
Price certainly sets a limit when looking at new models. I would rather wait about a year and see those 'new' models come onto the used market for half the price before buying. You can save a ton of cash going this way and if anyone buys 2k+ worth of speaker gear, odds are they take good care of it.

I do love the Monitor Audio sound though. If they only made the Silver series in a true 3 way design and i bet i would've bought them long ago. If you prefer slightly heavier bass, they have a great sound.

I agree... but theres "some" things I need to buy new. I guess its ease of mind.

But if all works out, Ill work that deal tomorrow for $300 - $400 if he doesnt go for it, ill grab is surrounds at least.

I know the "break in" topic is like religion or politics in some places... but I'd rather be safe than sorry when getting a new pair. As for listening differences, I do beleive it does some difference.

As a guitar player, i've been through SOOOOOOO many cab's you wouldn't beleive. I have 3 4x12's at the moment and I don't even jam anymore. And buying many of these cabs new, I have noticed a difference in sound after approx 20 to 30 hours (a month or so)put into them. I'm not saying its a night and difference, but the speakers do losen up and it does change the dynamics of it. My main player is a VHT 4x12 that I purchased new and plled it out of the box myself, no floor demo. Picked it about 3 years ago, I've been running it with the exact same gear... same tube amp and tube preamp, always kept the same cables and I always use them in the same direction (one end IN the other OUT) and the cab as tightend up over the 3 years. In fact, when I purchased that VHT cab I bought 2 of them at the same time. I have always had the 2nd as a spare because they sound so great. These cabs are made of the same wood, use the same speakers, I changed the speaker wire on both cabs to thicker 12gage (using the same reel of cable), sealed the inside with window/door caulking on the inside to tighten it up and they sound different. One has hardly been played and the other is used every 2nd day. So yeah, I think this is also possible with home speakers. I'm basing this on listening to the speakers I tried over the years and the experience I have as a 15 + year musician gigging his cabs. BTW, my regular user name elsewhere is 4x12 just can't have enough of them


Like religion, no one thinks the same thing

I have a pair of M40s that I use primarily as music speakers. I really like the sound - only caution is that they're big cabinets but small drivers, so there'll be a limit to how loudly they can play.

Hey Bridg,

Thanks for the input.. but I don't know if this deal will go through... Seems like i'm dealing with 15 y/o kid who doesnt give a crap. We arranged that I call him at 10am today to confirm a meeting time, called left him 4 msg's, emailed him and still havent gotten a response. I hate when people act this way. If your gonna sell/buy be serious about, don't jerk people around.

Keep you all posted on this one.

Ohla, if he's broken an arrangement to talk or meet up with you over these speakers, he might be playing you off someone else to get a better price. If it's me, I'd leave another message and tell him you've changed your mind and will look elsewhere.

Hey Adrian,

Yep thats what he was doing... I called him from another # and used a different name he picked up. and he was willing to sell.

I checked them out tonight and honestly, I really wonder what "good condition" means to some people!! First of all, I get there and i'm greated by some fine looking 17 y/o girl and she takes me downstairs (yeah, i wish), some 16 y/o kid is in the room. So he walks me over to see the goods... his amp is on the floor, the cd players on its back, I could hardly see the floors with all the junk kicking around. So I walk in and step on something so i was like shit... I turn around and realise its one of the M40's grils... Dudes, the QS8's where so banged up, they used 3 different types of brackets to mounts these up at some point so they had holes EVERYWHERE on the back, the front grills where falling appart (actually broken), I couldn't pull the bottom part out to see the speakers... So i was like thats odd... the kid said "i glued it on because it was falling off", the fronts where scratched to hell, the center & sub looked clean. The sub was a Sound Dynamics (or something like that).

Seriously in bad shape... I was pist. This dude made me lose 40minute drive up there, about 3 days to hunt him down for something that wasn't worth more than $250 in that condition. So I offered him $200 and he refused... hes like "I can get $500 easy for these" i wished him Good luck!!

Geee.... what a waste of time!

"$500 eh!! so you think you can sell them for more than a NEW pair of comparable Axioms?"



::breaks speaker cabinets over punks head so that grills will now match::