Speaker suggestions at around $30k

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Matti, the amount of turnover is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is if the thing you want to buy is readily available on the used market. BTW, I agree with you. I buy lots of used stuff.

Mapman, I usually don't worry about a warranty. If you buy most things used at half or less of retail then you can afford a few repairs. Buy a one or two year old car and you probably have a few years of warranty left anyway.

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I often wonder, in general, when one buys an expensive esoteric audio product, does one typically get comprehensive and extended service included with the purchase? Or do the service bills reflect the cost of the product bought bringing up the TCO?

One might stretch to buy an expensive piece perhaps but find TCO down the road to be a bank buster?

"I often wonder, in general, when one buys an expensive esoteric audio product, does one typically get comprehensive and extended service included with the purchase? Or do the service bills reflect the cost of the product bought bringing up the TCO?"

I have found dealers to be helpful on out of warranty problems in the past on very expensive equipment (Levinson), but you can't count on it. Many high-end dealers also offer very favorable trade-up policies (sometimes full original value, if you trade up by a lot), and trade-up policies are often more valuable than service policies.

For speakers the service problem is espcially acute, because very expensive speakers are usually huge and heavy, and a PITA to ship.

I've found high-end OEMs are not afraid to charge a small fortune for service. Electronics are the worst. Most problems can only be solved by board-swapping, and often a new board will cost thousands.

High-end audio is like high-end cars. You can get them used cheaply, but if they break they are still high-end products and they cost a lot to fix.

Herman - the reason I consider the turnover rate relevant is two-fold. First, high turnover suggests a considerable used marketplace to choose from. And second, the length of time you plan to own (and use) something directly affects the chances you will require a repair (or warranty). Right or wrong, this hobby tends to be as much about trying new things as it is about the music - I'm certainly guilty of it.

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If true there would be more choices. Much more important is the number produced in the first place. Most people keep their cars for a number of years yet there are millions of used ones for sale. I searched Carmax for 4-6 year old Ford Taurus'. They have 46 of them and that's just one seller. There are probably thousands for sale around the country. I found a site with over 200 Ferrari's for sale. There is a lot of stuff for sale here but if you start looking for a particular model your choices are extremely limited if not nonexistent.

I too was once guilty of flipping equipment hoping for that next big leap forward. Thankfully I'm done with that. I no longer sit and listen and wonder how much better it could be.
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