My husband is a “speaker snob” - while I can hardly tell the difference between an IKEA speaker and his Studio Lab speakers.

I frequent thrift stores - and this is might sound bad - but the ones run by “older” volunteers typically don’t mark up higher end goods (I’ve literally scored brand name clothing that should be $200+ per item for a few bucks.

Anyway. I see speakers all the time. I came across Polk Audio speakers for $20, did some research, it appeared they were a stop brand - but when I brought them home to surprise him, it was basically a “thanks but no thanks”.

I asked him if there’s a certain brand I should be on the lookout for, and he said speakers are a complex world 😑

I’d still love to surprise him with an exciting find - we can’t afford new, high quality speakers, so I’m hoping to score a win! What things should I keep in mind while out and about? Are there certain brands that are a score either way?

Thanks!

  • honest_guvnor@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    There are lots of old speakers around and nearly all are worth little (e.g. $20) to nothing (e.g. plenty of working speakers in skips). There are a few models and brands that have become collectable for reasons that aren’t always clear but the chances of you coming across one where the previous owner hasn’t looked up the price on ebay, the thrift shop owner hasn’t looked up the price on ebay and no audiophiles have been in the shop before you is pretty slim. But not impossible.

    If your husband is happy with really big speakers then there are a few top of the range examples from decades ago about for relatively little money. So long as they don’t need a lot of attention (e.g. surrounds rotted, crossover components drifted out of spec, ferrofluid lost/hard,…) they can be fairly good buys.