How to properly assess second-hand speakers?

[jendra]

I have been looking at several listings of speakers lately. It started from a lucky find of vintage Dynaudio Contours that remain the best speakers I've heard until now. However invariably I would be severely underwhelmed when auditioning at the owners place. This lineup of underwhelming speakers include legends such as the JBL XPL 140, JBL 4311, and Allison Acoustics CD-9.

My process has been to bring my own Topping D50s hooked up to a Behringer A800 power amp and play songs Im familiar with over Bluetooth then I assess such attributes as stereo imaging, clarity, bass extension, and absence of distortion. Every time I have been disappointed.

I would note however that one time I didn't bring my amp with me when hearing a Jamo 5.1 set. They sounded similarly lacking but I bought them anyway because it was a good deal and I thought the owner's amp was underpowered. In this instance I turned out to be correct and the set sounded great in my room.

So is this process correct or have I been missing out on some great speakers to my ignorance? Im thinking that speakers do sound different in different rooms but I'm not sure how to correct for that.

 

[Hipper]

The only real way is to audition them in your own room with your own gear. The practical difficulties of trust are the issue you will have to overcome somehow.

 

[FrantzM]

Indeed

The only real way is to audition them in your own room with your own gear. The practical difficulties of trust are the issue you will have to overcome somehow.

Agreed and even audition in your room is not sufficient, you cannot be certain. Measurements needs to come somewhere in this but, we all know , measuring speakers is not for the faint of heart.
Trust it must. then, be...
... I am in that predicament and may have to think differently, for many decades: I have been in this hobby for 5 decades!!, I have bought used speakers and have been satisfied but ...

 

[Trouble Maker]

It would be kind of a pain, but maybe a fun journey of you have the time and patience. If they are decent deals (market value of lower), you can always buy, then if you don't like sell them for similar prices later.

Noone as an individual (not a business) in their right mind is going to let you audition used sparkers at your home. That's not a trust issue, they are just being pragmatic. Someone will come that will buy the thing they are selling that's quicker/easier to deal with. Well, and they don't trust you since they don't know you. If you want to audition speakers in your own home, buy new, that's baked into the new prices and business models for buying new speakers.

 

[jendra]

Hmm that's the thing though sometimes it is hard to get a good grip on used prices. Some of these speakers are so rare you don't actually see them in the market that often - and because of the rarity reselling might be a challenge due to low name recognition.

 

[jendra]

Very funny thing, just minutes after writing the above I pulled the trigger on a set of Technics M300. They look very lovely from the pictures, almost like a precursor to the Buchardt S400s? Stated frequency response is 40-70,000Hz which is not bad for small bookshelves. Link just for illustration: https://www.hifido.co.jp/sold/07-33706-04244-00.html

 

[Koeitje]

I used to just buy them and sell them if I didn't like it. Now I would just look at measurements first and then buy them. Could still sell them again, but better odds at getting something you like when you checked some measurements first.

 

[raindance]

Very funny thing, just minutes after writing the above I pulled the trigger on a set of Technics M300. They look very lovely from the pictures, almost like a precursor to the Buchardt S400s? Stated frequency response is 40-70,000Hz which is not bad for small bookshelves. Link just for illustration: https://www.hifido.co.jp/sold/07-33706-04244-00.html

Were they designed for bats?

 

[jendra]

Were they designed for bats?

lol I saw that range in the hifido site, I have since found a more realistic frequency range here https://servlib.com/panasonic/audio/sm-m300.html

 

[TSB]

Second hand speakers should not lose much value in a month of home testing. So buy, test, sell. Your significant other might not approve.

 

[sonci99]

Indeed

Agreed and even audition in your room is not sufficient, you cannot be certain. Measurements needs to come somewhere in this but,

Ha Ha, but if you like them in your room, why measuring? What for?

 

[detlev24]

Ha Ha, but if you like them in your room, why measuring? What for?

To identify possible defects, like in the case of Paradigm Signature S8 v.3 Tweeter Replacement. [...]

 

[RayDunzl]

Ha Ha, but if you like them in your room, why measuring?

If you have the tools, you probably don't mind using them. It's part of the hobby for some..

What for?

Just because...

 

[andreasmaaan]

In terms of checking the condition of the speaker, there are a few things you can do without measurement equipment.

Firstly, inspect the surrounds to make sure they are not on the verge of wearing out. Holes are an obvious giveaway of course, but also check to make sure they have a consistent feel all the way around and are not brittle or thin in certain places.

Next, place your fingers on the cone so that the force is evenly distributed as much as possible across its whole surface, and push gently in and out. Don't force the cone, but push it until you feel the suspension become appreciably stiffer. If you hear creaking or rubbing as the cone moves, the voice coil is on its way to coming loose.

Next, play a sweep through each speaker (separately) at a moderate-loud level (how loud that is will depend on the size of the speaker and how far you're willing to test the seller's patience) and listen for any issues, i.e. distortion, rub/buzz, rattles, etc. If you hear nothing amiss, great. If you hear the same issue in both speakers, it may be inherent to the design (bad, but maybe acceptable). If you hear a difference between the two speakers, something is definitely wrong.

Then stand between the speakers as you would in a normal stereo configuration and play correlated pink noise. It should sound as though it's coming from right between the speakers, and its image location should be stable. If the room is asymmetrical and the image is stable but doesn't appear to be coming from the centre, try (if your host permits) taking the speakers outside and doing the same thing there, or moving the speakers closer together and yourself closer to them.

Those are the main basic tests you can perform without any measurement equipment. If the speaker passes all those tests, it's probably in reasonable condition.

As to whether you like the speakers, this of course won't tell you everything

Very funny thing, just minutes after writing the above I pulled the trigger on a set of Technics M300. They look very lovely from the pictures, almost like a precursor to the Buchardt S400s? Stated frequency response is 40-70,000Hz which is not bad for small bookshelves. Link just for illustration: https://www.hifido.co.jp/sold/07-33706-04244-00.html

That's a very interesting speaker!

 

[vavan]

Measurements needs to come somewhere in this

According to my experience measurements are required even when buying new speakers

 

[restorer-john]

That's a very interesting speaker!

They are very interesting. I think they had a small range of them at one point. The issues are the foam surrounds on the internal woofers. That will need to be checked if buying them 2nd hand all these years later.

 

[sfdoddsy]

Stereophile and Soundstage have good measurements going back many years.

But there is also a considerable amount of knowledge available from European sites.

Like these:

https://audio.com.pl/

https://www.stereo.de/hifi-test

Google is your friend. If you search for XXX test rather XXX review you will find good info.

Between them you should be able to find measurements for pretty much any used speaker.

 

[Lavawood]

Get the contours and purchase new drivers $800