The price of used audio components

[tonyE]

Are you paying attention at the resale market of audio components?

I'm astonished at how much used audio components are going for nowadays. Or at least how much they "want" for them.

Here's one, a mid 70s Superscope QR-450 quad receiver that in its day nobody wanted it... after all, Superscope was an entry level... my first cassette deck, in '74, was a Superscope..

Anyhow, here's on eBay and they seller wants $318, down from an initial price of $375.00!

Vintage Superscope QR-450 by Marantz AM/FM/AuxStereo Receiver Quadrascope Tested | eBay

and to think there's a few people asking $400 or more for Marantz 2215s and 2220Bs. I think I paid $180, on sale as the Hickam AFB Exchange, in '74.

NUTS!

I'm looking at the shelves in my closet and I figure I got some serious money in there. The 2220B is long gone, but I do have a nice 4215 with the QS1 module and the wired remote control... and the Akai AS980s, and the Marantz 2325, Sansui G7500 and a gaggle of Parasounds and Teac Reference (one is a 5.1 receiver ).... let's not forget the Akai quad reel to reel.. one of my favorites.

 

[Sonik Wiz]

Are you paying attention at the resale market of audio components?

I'm astonished at how much used audio components are going for nowadays. Or at least how much they "want" for them.

Here's one, a mid 70s Superscope QR-450 quad receiver that in its day nobody wanted it... after all, Superscope was an entry level... my first cassette deck, in '74, was a Superscope..

Anyhow, here's on eBay and they seller wants $318, down from an initial price of $375.00!

Vintage Superscope QR-450 by Marantz AM/FM/AuxStereo Receiver Quadrascope Tested | eBay

and to think there's a few people asking $400 or more for Marantz 2215s and 2220Bs. I think I paid $180, on sale as the Hickam AFB Exchange, in '74.

NUTS!

I'm looking at the shelves in my closet and I figure I got some serious money in there. The 2220B is long gone, but I do have a nice 4215 with the QS1 module and the wired remote control... and the Akai AS980s, and the Marantz 2325, Sansui G7500 and a gaggle of Parasounds and Teac Reference (one is a 5.1 receiver ).... let's not forget the Akai quad reel to reel.. one of my favorites.

The convoluted past with the Tushinski brothers, Sony, and Marantz is pretty interesting. If you wern't there in the 70's Superscope (of movie history) was quite respected & in demand for home audio. The Marantz with SQ1 (not QS1) not much.

At any rate like you I am surprised at what people are asking for used gear. I really thought new gear like the Surround Master would knock the bottom out of some of this stuff.

 

[tonyE]

The convoluted past with the Tushinski brothers, Sony, and Marantz is pretty interesting. If you wern't there in the 70's Superscope (of movie history) was quite respected & in demand for home audio. The Marantz with SQ1 (not QS1) not much.

At any rate like you I am surprised at what people are asking for used gear. I really thought new gear like the Surround Master would knock the bottom out of some of this stuff.

The Superscope audio gear was made by Marantz and it was their entry level, it was not related to the Superscope movie stuff. Different markets, different applications.

The Marantz receivers were actually quite good sounding and considered a premium brand. You are right, it's an SQ1 decoder. ( In that respect, my Akai AS980 was (is) awesome in that it includes QS, SQ and CD4 decoders! ).

Truth is that High End equipment will blow just about anything made before 1980. Only a very few things from the 80s, and only High End and only properly updated with modern caps, will hold their own today... case in point, my Conrad Johnson PV9 with $2K of modern upgrades... my Linn LP12 with lots of upgrades and maintenance too!

But, you gotta admit that audio equipment from the 70s looked really good and were relatively inexpensive when compared with today's High End. My Marantz 2325 is elegant and, even though it only looks like a 777 when compared to the 747 like Akai AS980, still has enough knobs and quality material/finishes to really look like a piece of nice furniture.

Oh, forget modern mass market electronics since 1985... too many doodahs, not enough power supply. Bah! Pfft..

Quad is interesting.. I still have the Sony EP9ES decoder I bought 20 years ago... or more? It does look good, it still works. I wonder if there's a market for it.

 

[jimfisheye]

There are used audio components and then there are used audio components that are collectors items! Not too different from how some music releases become collectors albums. You might just want to hear the thing (or listen with the thing) but some other joker wants to hang it on their wall and they have stupid money to throw around.

I pride myself on being a scavenger with expensive tastes. You can snipe up some very classy audio gear for pennies on the dollar used. Same with computer equipment (which can be related).

 

[tonyE]

Here's a good one... some one on eBay wants $27K for a pair of Pass Aleph 2s.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2035785914...,osub=osub,crd=crd,segname=segname,chnl=mkcid
These amps routinely go for $3500 and then it takes about $1200 to have the factory recap and refurbish them.

But this fool wants $27K.

Is he serious about selling? We'll see... I made him a reasonable offer, which is extremely low ball for him, but if he takes it, I'll get the amps I've been looking for ten years. But I'm not holding my breath.

 

[surround.sound.enthusiast]

At any rate like you I am surprised at what people are asking for used gear. I really thought new gear like the Surround Master would knock the bottom out of some of this stuff.

I think that was true with the outboard decoders, at least for a while. Tate's and Sansui QSD's seemed to be selling for much more reasonable prices after the SMv2 was out there for a while. Now the receivers, that's another thing. The Marantz and Sansui's just seem to keep going up. And then there's the tag-along bottom of the barrel stuff that should not be increasing in price but sellers continue to try.

 

[Quad Linda]

In another thread here, I expressed a similar position on vintage stuff. Much of what folks covet has "curb appeal," and/or nostalgia.

Buy old refurbished separates or, better yet, new(er) separates. Performance and dynamic range will be significantly better than a top line old Quad piece. Curb appeal, next to nil on most modern separates. Mine are no exception. On accommodation (1/2 retail), I still dropped 3K on preamp and two amps. Put it against a Sansui QRX-9000/999 or a Marantz 4400 and it will blow the doors off either. I added decoder, demodulator and Technics 'scope: a "modern" super Quad/surround "receiver" comprised of separates. And, it's Quad (w/black boxes)!

Bet my Denon AVR-3801 110x7 in our bedroom will blow the doors off any vintage Quad receiver. It too, has decoder and demodulator (no scope) connected. Again, not much curb appeal.

I own Marantz SQ-1 and SQA-2b decoders, both bought new. SQ-1 isn't horrible, but the 2b is a significant improvement. I plan to replace the Sony SQD-2020 on my main system with a Surround Master one of these days.

 

[kfbkfb]

I guess seller feedback comments could be useful, although if the buyers know the old electronics need maintenance (contact cleaning, some components replaced etc.) then maybe they aren't likely to comment, since they know what they are buying.


Kirk Bayne

 

[par4ken]

You used to find a lot of vintage audio bargains on eBay but more recent searches reveal people asking ridiculous prices for their vintage pieces. I first noticed that with Marantz which at least does have major curb appeal. Other brands like Sansui are now priced way up there as well. I don't know how much is actually selling for those prices, I suspect that sellers are just getting greedy, they see the same or similar unit as the one that they want to sell listed at a ridiculous price and see dollar signs in their eyes!

At the same time it's all relative, if people can pay thousands for a simple sports card then overpriced vintage gear is still a bargain!

Collecting vintage audio is much like collecting vintage automobiles, new ones might have more features and perform better in some ways but will never ever have the same curb appeal as the vintage units!

 

[senorverde]

Here are my thoughts:

1. People who were children or young adults back in the heyday of quad now have disposable income to buy the stuff they lusted over (uptick in demand)
2. eBay is now a legitimate job for some and they price things extraordinarily high in the hopes that it'll pay their bills if some gullible buyer comes along
3. eBay sellers watch too much picker/flipper type reality tv shows and think their old junk is worth a small fortune. Go onto any A/V forum and you'll have at least five new members a week setting up an account only to make a singular "I got X and how much is it worth?" post.
4. And of course there's the classic 'sheep following sheep' trend where a very nice and functional example of a particular unit sells for a high price which in turn sets the prices of junkier, broken, and crappier examples. All I guess what goes on in a seller's mind is, "Hey! That sold for mega bucks and I have one too! AND mine turns on after bringing it home from that dead guy's estate sale! We're eating steak tonight!"