Used Market Savings vs. The Dealer Experience


Hi all,
I’ve asked a couple questions on these forums and have always gotten great advice, so I’m coming back to the well. My fundamental question is: how do you reconcile (or balance) the auditioning value a dealer provides vs the absolute dollar value you get from buying on the used market?

I bought a McIntosh MA252 recently, and it’s so great it’s convinced me to commit and invest in a serious hi-fi system. I’d drop $30k for something that put my jaw on the floor. Right now I’m running Goldenear Triton 2s, a Marantz TT-15 TT for analog, Mytek Brooklyn + Bluesound Node 2i for digital, and just replaced a Marantz PM-8005 with the Mc. Silnote cables all around. The Mc gave me my first taste of actual holographic imaging and sound you could reach out and touch. Now I want more of that, as well as greater/faster/more pronounced dynamic shifts.

I have a dealer nearby that’s been a joy to work with (bought the Tritons and Mc there). They let me listen to their 200k Wilson setup with D’Agostino amps and sweet little baby Jesus -- it was like trying to box a feral animal in the complete darkness. Lashes of sound just came out of nowhere, smacked you upside the head, and were gone. I was dumbstruck. The Sonus Faber Olympica IIIs, by comparison, were a smoother, more musical sound signature but far less of that arresting clarity.

I make this point because, had I not been allowed to audition this gear, I would have had no idea about any of that. In doing my due diligence to shop for a setup, I know I want to hear Focal Sopras, Olympica IIIs again, Goldenear T-Refs AND maybe a Wilson Sasha for good measure. I want to hear Mc separates, ARC separates, Rega TTs, Linn TTs, etc. To me, my dealer provides real value in auditioning, optimizing, and being confident that what I’m buying is what I like best.

Unfortunately, with new vs. gently used prices, the $ cost of that experience is massive -- $10k+ quite literally. On the used market now I can get Olympica IIIs for $7k instead of $13.5k, a Rega RP10 w/ Aphelion for $6.5k instead of $9ish, Mc C1100 + MC275 for $13k instead of $20k, and a pair of Sasha’s at $15k is within striking distance. New? They’re $30k. I also live in a high sales tax (10.1%) area, which doesn’t help anything.

For those with more purchasing experience, or even dealing experience, how do you square the value of auditioning gear with the exorbitant relative cost of then foregoing the used market? I feel definite guilt sucking my dealer’s resources to then just go buy it all online. That’s bad business, and if everyone did it, there would be no dealers, and heck, no new gear being made.

Is there a better way to do this?

Thanks,
Ben
bfjones01
Been here 21 years. ALWAYS bought used gear. Nothing better than getting high end gear for less than 50 percent, or less, than buying new. Over 300 transactions between here, and elsewhere. Sampled, and flipped, a lot of gear on AG. Before there was AG some longtime members recall the days of buying used gear at rec.audio.mktplace. Lots of great used gear sold at great prices. I never understood the need to buy new for a warranty that expires. Great gear lasts forever. Never had a problem with a single transaction. Buying new at list price is great if you’ve money to burn. Modest homes in my area begin at $500k. One has to have their priorities in order.
I’ve done both ~ buy used via Canuck Audio Mart and new through 2 trusted dealers.  I tend to buy used when upgrading - eg. moving up through the Cardas cable line.  I tend to buy new when trying something new ~ eg. when making a significant speaker upgrade or when buying a new model that isn’t on the used market. I really value the advice of my dealers ~ they know my taste and system and make great recommendations.  I particularly love it when they tell me NOT to waste my money on things that are not all they are hyped up to be.
@jafant...…………………….

I really don’t know. Jack Tozzi was still selling off the rest of their equipment after they officially closed. He was a great guy. The best deal I ever got in all of audio was an exhibition stock (printed on the box) of an Esoteric UX-3 Universal player that I purchased from Spearit.. It went for $8500.00 and I got it for $3895.00 with a full 3 year warranty from Esoteric. It had been used as a static display at a few audio shows, sent back to Esoteric for a refresh and firmware update and then sold to me. I couldn’t get the cash out of my wallet fast enough.  It looked absolutely brand new, not a mark on it.

Jack told me when I picked it up that it was one of the 3 best SACD players he ever heard and he was right. I have had it for7 years now and I am still in love with it.
All my recent purchases were from the same dealer. I purchased 6 McIntosh pieces of equipment this year, all from Audio Classics. They treat you so well, just like family. I deal exclusively with Mike Sastra who is the VP of Audio Classics. He always answers your calls and email in an extremely timely manner and even helped me out on a Sunday of a holiday weekend. If they sell a product I am interested in, they will definitely get my business. Price is secondary. It’s a good feeling that the dealer always has your back in the unlikely event that something goes wrong. Mike talked me out of a more expensive Mac amplifier, he said what I was buying was more than enough and he was right. He also saved me another 3 grand by doing that. How many salespeople will do that? The other dealer I will deal exclusively with is Adirondack Audio. They sold me my Technics SL1200G, gave me an extremely fair price for the VPI Prime I traded in and spent an hour going over the set up of the cartridge and table. When my wife and I were leaving the store, all the people working in the store, came outside and shook my and my wife’s hand and thanked us for our business. Between those 2 stores in NY, I am all set and have no need to go elsewhere.  I also found out that the owner of Adirondack Audio grew up in Fall River, Mass which is 30 miles from where I grew up in Rhode Island.  Small world.