Which one are you (Hifi purchases!)
Always a collection of both. 552DR a few years ago was my last new though. I have bought a few pre owned that have been back to base for renewal just to help keep Naim in funds ![]()
Both but lately mostly s/h with a couple of exceptions. My biggest losses were (obviously) on new stuff but I now predominantly try and source used. It has served me very well and I’ve minimised, no eradicated, any losses or potential losses. On some purchases I would likely make a profit but I am not in this hobby for that. I also get pleasure from getting hands-on with something used, make it nice again if required and give it a home. I also believe in ‘once a good product, still a good product’ and have now an aversity to influencer blurb as that was what made buy (new) stuff I lost heavily on (and completely disagreed with reviewers).
mix of new, graded, ex dem and used.
Last purchase was a new SNAXO. Looking for another Supercap DR but hard to find one at a realistic price.
Over the years of building Naim systems I try to purchase used, preferably with a recent service history, has to be complete though with all usual bits as when supplied as new.
My 552DR, 500DR, and most of the Fraim is either used or ex demo. However, the Nait Nait 50 was purchased new at launch, paid the full £2699
The Chord DAVE, MScaler and ATC SCM 20s, purchased new.
Naim amps especially with a service just keep on trucking and have provided me with massive enjoyment over the past 30 years or so, who knows a Statement pre may be the next purchase in a few years, pre loved of course ![]()
Both. (Alsy ex-dem, a variety of secondhand). I bought new at in the first few years of my hifi journey, initially assisted with DIY. Then I realised that secondhand mostly is the way to far better for less, vastly increasing buying power, and most hifi kit, especially speakers and amps, can often liast a lifetime, so in the latter half pf my hifi journey only CD players (which wear out) and DACs which had been too new to be available secondhand) were new. As a consequence my present system cost me, adjusted for today’s money, only about 1/3rd of what it would cost to buy the same or nearest equivalent today.
Mix of both. So new and pre-loved.
As for example - system two…
New items : ND5 XS2 ; PMC Twenty5.23i + Active upgrade modules.
Ex-demo : CD5 XS ; 555PS
Nearly new : NAC282 ; nDAC
Pre-loved : SuperCap DR
No particular reasoning or pattern. Other than OC reaching “end of life”, so to essentially complete an OC system.
With the exception of the SCDR, all supplied via @BasicallySound one way or another.
BW
R
I once bought new, paying the retail price for an Accuphase amp. Then the next month new model came out, the same amp’s retail price reduced for 1/4, and lot of like new model flooded the 2nd hand market – you know what I had learnt.
And as I specially wanted the passion of older Naim, now I bought all pre-loved of course.
All of my Naim kit purchases are used classic black box items mostly bought from Naim dealers. I get a lot of enjoyment from my system playing the music I love.
Nearly all of my hifi purchases over the last 8 years or so have been preloved or ex demo. However I do buy from reputable dealers with knowledge that the items have been serviced. I did however purchase my NDX2 new. I would be extremely cautious about buying from a private source unless I knew the person well.
Both. New, the main system would be in the region of £65k. Asgaard’s coffers are not so large!
Every piece is second hand.
Apart from 2 x 5M lengths of NACA4 that we bought in 1984 for the Briks that we bought with my “married man’s tax rebate”.
Most of the Meridian 5.1 DSP surround is s/h, as is most of my camera gear (apart from my new R5 Mk 2 body).
Both!
I have bought new, second-hand, and ex-dem/refurbished over the years and my current system has a mix of all of these routes to owning kit.
A mix. CD players are always bought new. I have worn out the lasers on two over the years. My Musical Fidelity does not get much use these days.
My Cocktail Audio streamer was SH, just as well as Ca went bust and so it will not be updated. It works fine with a USB HD with ripped CD’s. It will die when my iPad dies with the App which cannot now be downloaded.
Naim XS3 bought new. I traded in some stuff I was bored with.
My SPL Phonitor headphone amp is interesting. It was bought at a very good price from a shop SH, but manuals and accessories had never been opened. No marks on the input posts either. I think it was new but the shop could not shift it.
PMC speakers new.
My headphones HD800S new. Heddphone 2Gt was open box. I saved €400. Beyerdynamic T1V2 was Ebay. Arrived in a poor state smelling of smoke. Restored with new pads and headband. A bargain that turned out to be expensive. I would have bought new but the T1-2 is out of production so I had to chance Fleabay.
I tend to like SH gear as it can be very good value for money if you buy from a good vendor.
A mix here but new purchases tend to be either on promotion days, open box or discounted from launch price like the Naim Nait 50. Fwiw in the past ive purchased some reasonably spendy open box items from Mikes brother for around 40% discount to new which have all been new in box on arrival have had very good customer service from them in the past.
All my speakers are DIY using a mix of new and harder to find preloved drivers.
Similarly both. However, my prerequisite for used or demo equipment is they must look close to mint condition without any marks or scratches on the surface of the equipment and cabinet of speakers. It is inevitable for used equipment or speakers to look worn as they have been used for a considerable period of time, but some can look quite new.
My latest new purchases were a pair of Acrolink 7N-DA6300IV Mexcel interconnects made-to-order and shipped from Japan last year, Finite Elemente Cerabase Compacts earlier this year and Furutech e-tp609 NCF-N1 about two months ago.
Some pre-loved. But looking like new. Because they were out of production.
Some ex-demo. But looking like new. Big savings.
Some new, when the discount made the price comparison reasonable (compared to ex-demo or pre-loved).
Linn parts are all new, everything else is second hand.
For a while much of my system was preloved or ex-demo. Now almost all of it I acquired new.
Just my 252 and SCDR were bought on the used market. My Dynavector XV-1s was a dealer trade-in I bought with just a few hundred hours on it. That has since had a factory rebuild. One of my HRS isolation bases and four of my six subs are ex-demo.
Later this year or maybe next year I will replace the 252/300 with Boulder 1110/11xx pre/amp. Those will be bought new.