A friend of mine’s brother has just died in sad circumstances.
On looking at his house, it appears that is is, to quote my mate (who isn’t overly technically musical) “Full of old hi-fi type things. And I mean, full. There’s dozens of things in there, I don’t even know what some of them do.” From the brief description I have, it looks like there are a fair few fairly serious hi-fi separates.
Clearly, this is a house clearance job for a specialist, to ensure that my mate gets fair value for the said bits of kit, but neither he nor I know where to start, who to trust etc.
Do any of you splendid chaps and chap-esses know of such a reputable person or firm that we could have a word with regarding all this?
(Location is Notts, BTW)
http://www.hifitradingstation.info are based in Peterborough, so only an hour away.
https://2ndhandhifi.co.uk are based in Stockton-on-Tees.
It’s also worth finding the receipts as the original dealer might be able to quickly sell on the s/h kit for a better price than either of the above.
P.S. If you send me a list, I can spot any major bits for you.
also, be aware the market for older “vintage” kit has exploded over the last few years.
some seemingly basket case pieces of kit are currently commanding crazy prices on and off tinterweb.
quad II valve amps and various iterations (don’t ask) of LS3/5a speakers are particularly sought after currently.
the ahem…..vinyl revival has driven the prices of seemingly mundane record decks to high levels too….
be cautious.
I spent buckets ( inflation adjusted) on an AIWA cassette deck even with a knob for azimuth adjustment ( never used – bargain)
Wonder if retro will extend to cassette decks
Predictably enough, yes, cassettes are making a comeback.
Be cautious indeed. Selling to a dealer will generate a lot less cash than a private listing – they have overheads and VAT to pay. Do a quick eBay search on the sale price of the tasty-looking bits, but don’t be surprised to be offered a third of what you see.
Thanks all, Steve especially.
Time to get technical, I think…
There are a couple of hifi sites where people who know a lot about this kind of stuff hang out. If the kit looks like it has valves try http://www.hifiwigwam.com. If it looks more like it has transistors try http://www.pinkfishmedia.net.