[kck]

Due to purchase of a "new" (meaning Not New) home recently, I have been away from audio forums and sites. But a touch of the flu today left me seeking comfort in familiarity, so I clicked a random bookmark in my Audio folder... and saw this, um, interesting thread.

I have had a couple of nice speakers in years past. Then I acquired Druids and said: "I'm done".  I was happy. Finally.

Then I found a fair (read: not a steal) deal on a pair of Def 1.5s, and bit, although I had NEVER thought I'd spend that much for a pair of speakers, or anything except for a car or house. Seriously. I am not poor but I am seriously tight-fisted, which may be a result of at one time having been poor.

The Defs ARE better than the Druids. Of course they would be. But they are much pricier, can be a challenge to resell (case in point right here on this thread), and actually do present a different sound. Actually, it's not so much the sound that's different as the experience of the sound. And I may or may not elaborate on that. Depends on how I'm feeling and if I even revisit this thread. Some of my observations are out there on Audiogon discussions (assuming those goons there didn't delete that thread also; I don't care enough to check).

As for my speakers... NOW I'm done. Unless... I come into some spare cash (how's that for a mental picture for the Nevada brothel crowd?) and get the Def 2. Or unless... I need cash bad and go back to Druids.

Re this thread. Beyond interesting, it is a primo example of Trying Too Hard. Macro, dude, I think we've chatted before and no hard feelings, but it's hard to take you seriously when you get all strident and verbal arm-waving like that. Chill, man. Remember you're trying to sell world-class speakers, not the Brooklyn Bridge.

My unsolicited advice to you, one Def owner to another? Accept around $6300-6500, add actual shipping, and move on. Sounds like you really want those Def 2s. Resale for the current Defs ain't gonna get any better, and that bothers me too but it's the writing on the wall.

At that price you will come close to your figure and also achieve your long term goals. At that price a discerning buyer (never mind you-know-who) will get a good deal on a great speaker. I'm assuming it's great, never having heard it, but if it's better than my 1.5...

[Plink]

doug s - I sold a Red Wine Audio Sig 30 for $1250 when the list price was $1400. There was a waiting list for new ones and the unit was not quite broken in. The other reason why the price was held so high is that it was a factory-direct item. They just don't drop in value like the whored out dealer stuff.

you sold this?  after all the glowing comments? 

I tell you...it's getting hard to take all the glowing comments seriously about new products that come out when those people sell these items with less than a year's ownership.  Crazy.

Maybe it didn't meet his needs from a functionality standpoint...

Maybe he bought it as a short term solution...

Maybe other gear changed and the Sig 30 was no longer a good match...

Many reasons to sell a piece of gear that aren't necessarily negative reflections on the product.

George

George, I know.  I know.  I knew this when I said it.  A moment of weakness on my part...thoughts best left inside my head. 

[Plink]

Plink, et al -- I had two Sig 30s. I bought one new from Vinnie and the other lightly used from dmason. At the time I was thinking of opening a coffee shop where I would have used it. Common sense overcame the coffee shop impulse and the second Siggie went on the block. I think I sold it through AC.

well there you go.  my apologies.  still haven't tried the thing out yet.  would have been some darn nice sound in that coffee shop!

[macrojack]

Tvad - You know very well that I've been sold on these for a year now. I'm just sharing info, answering questions and challenges, and attempting to generate some curiosity for a product that I know excels.

When I started out with this sale(?) I imagined that Zu was well known enough to attract a buyer despite the dollar amount. Relative to what you have to pay for a serious competitor, my price is not at all ridiculous, ill-informed Kibbitzing notwithstanding.

Armed with this apparently inaccurate assumption, I thought the next step would be a reach but worthwhile because they would be commensurately more valuable. Hah!! That looks unlikely now and I am feeling a decline in my resolve to move them.

These are by far the most expensive speaker I have ever owned and my experience with these leads me to wonder what the hell I might have to go through to sell the next more expensive speakers should I ever wish to do so.

I've moved up the audio ladder over many years applying very little of my own cash to the purchases. Most of my addition came as the result of canny trading. This time I broke the bank. Next time might break me.

Trading has become full time and devious on Audiogon and I no longer have a taste for doing it beyond the necessary. And even that has become wearying.

  ,,,,,,,his plans have lost some grandeur coming true,,,,,

[macrojack]

I just received an email from Zu informing me that my Denon Dl-103 mod will ship on Wednesday. That's good news because I need to sit back and consider how I feel about all your heartfelt advice. I think it will be nice to listen to Tom Waits "Step Right Up" on vinyl again. Maybe I can get some new material from that little masterpiece. I bet ETR would like that song.

[lonewolfny42]

Is this the longest "For Sale" thread ever?

It is now.....3462+ views.....good luck Tom...

[eric the red]

Trading has become full time and devious on Audiogon and I no longer have a taste for doing it beyond the necessary. And even that has become wearying.

I hear ya. I've lost interest in the "journey" as well.

I'm with you both on this one. What really helped me get out of the Agone shark pool was getting a decent TT set up for listening to scratchy records again. 

[doug s.]

I just received an email from Zu informing me that my Denon Dl-103 mod will ship on Wednesday. That's good news because I need to sit back and consider how I feel about all your heartfelt advice. I think it will be nice to listen to Tom Waits "Step Right Up" on vinyl again. Maybe I can get some new material from that little masterpiece. I bet ETR would like that song.

the dl-103 is supposed to be an excellent sounding cartridge.  but, you may wanna think twice about using it.  regardless of how good it sounds, there's no way i would ever run a spherical shaped stylus on my winyl, (or even an eliptical stylus, for that matter), what w/all the excellent reasonably priced cartridges that now sport fine-line type styli.  fine-line styli track much better, & because a far greater surface area of a fine-line type stylus makes contact w/the winyl, the wear is much less, both for the stylus and, more importantly, the winyl.  2.5g required tracking force, w/the dl103's spherical stylus!  ouch!!!  ymmv...

now, tom waits' "step right up" is a killer cut - in fact that whole album is killer.

doug s.

[macrojack]

Thanks again, Chris. I just realized that at $2 per visit I'd have enough to move on. This should have been a raffle from the start. How many of you guys would have bought more than one $2 ticket to win these speakers?
Reminds me of the local Catholic church in little Italy selling tickets to win some gumba Cadillac donated by the local pinky ring car dealer.

Our Lady of Chicken Ranch is holding a parish picnic. There will be pony rides for the kids, pizza and finoca cola sold on the side. Father Eric will be on hand to speak to our young men about personal conduct and lewd behavior. And the raffle this year will not be the usual Cadillac because Guido, who always wins the raffle has enough of them. This year we will be selling tickets for you to win a pair of Zu speakers just like the ones in the Godfather Part 8. Guido has had his eye on them ever since the Castrati came to town and asked him to provide a baritone voice. Who can forget old Guido yelling, " Marone, whadya need me for? Don't yuz have the balls to sing it yourself?"

Well, anyway, it turned out that they didn't but they did have an incredible pair of compact full range speakers that blew the doors off our church with a puny 50 watt amp. Guido said they got the power of a howitzer and he had to get him some. So he arranged the raffle this year a little different than usual. I can't wait.

Do you think it's true that the majority of Americans are incapable of discerning a qualitative hierarchy in the products available to them? I do. And I think that's why they rely so heavily on brand names. It's also why manufacturers and vendors rely so heavily on advertising.

  ++++++++++++++  where the rubber meets the road  ++++++++++++++++++

[lonewolfny42]

Thanks again, Chris. I just realized that at $2 per visit I'd have enough to move on. This should have been a raffle from the start. How many of you guys would have bought more than one $2 ticket to win these speakers?

You know Tom thats what I was thinking...
1000 members....$7.00 a ticket....to get a nice pair of Zu speakers = $7,000.00 (speakers and shipping covered).....but I don't think you could do it here....but who knows....

[mcullinan]

this FS has turned hostile with dissenting voices all around!
My mom awaits the loins of the zu purchaser...
I recently purchased merlin VSM mx demos 10.5K list for 4600.
they r killer speakers IMO.
mike  

[macrojack]

ETR - I've got 4000 scratchy vinyls and 4 turntables with one on the way. I can't say for sure just how much analog related stuff I have here but it's way more than anybody could justify. Anybody need any analog gear?

doug - If there is truth to what you say, the damage is long since done. For what it's worth, I've heard that switching stylus shapes after a lot of plays can give your records a new lease on life because of the different wear pattern in the grooves.
Ain't it amazing how there's an answer for everything?
Are you interested in a completely original (AFAIK) KT 917 ? I've had it for a few years. It works wonderfully and seems to be calibrated correctly but I'm beginning to question the sense of owning it where I live.

Tvad - I"ve been watching you downsize and I've been giving the idea a lot of thought myself. In fact, I've been thinking about it for years and I've done it a few times but it hasn't stuck. I always seem to creep back up. How's your resolve holding up?

[zybar]

Thanks again, Chris. I just realized that at $2 per visit I'd have enough to move on. This should have been a raffle from the start. How many of you guys would have bought more than one $2 ticket to win these speakers?

You know Tom thats what I was thinking...
1000 members....$7.00 a ticket....to get a nice pair of Zu speakers = $7,000.00 (speakers and shipping covered).....but I don't think you could do it here....but who knows....

I have thought about the idea of doing a raffle for future sales.

After watching how much money MLS over at AV123 has been able to raise via various raffles, I am confident it can work.

The big issue is trust.

People have to totally believe that the raffle is on the up and up and that everybody has a fair chance to win.

If you could accomplish that task, I am pretty confident you could easily sell 130 or so tickets at $50 a pop.

Let us know if you figure out how to do it.

George

[lonewolfny42]

People have to totally believe that the raffle is on the up and up and that everybody has a fair chance to win.

Right....you need a third party....unattached....to pick the winning ticket. (Trust)

Let us know if you figure out how to do it.

Maybe one of those lotto machines ....with the balls....130 balls ....numbered 1 to 130...

[macrojack]

Yeah - maybe Guido could run it for us. He was just talking about balls.

[doug s.]

hi macro,

if you've been using a speherical or elliptical stylus, get a fine-line stylus, it will reduce the surface noise.  not sure if going the other way will be of any use...  hmmm...

the kt917 is supposed to be one of the better tunas around.  but, i have >15, & really should be downsizing my tuna collection myself.  how much do you want for it?   

doug s.

ETR - I've got 4000 scratchy vinyls and 4 turntables with one on the way. I can't say for sure just how much analog related stuff I have here but it's way more than anybody could justify. Anybody need any analog gear?

doug - If there is truth to what you say, the damage is long since done. For what it's worth, I've heard that switching stylus shapes after a lot of plays can give your records a new lease on life because of the different wear pattern in the grooves.
Ain't it amazing how there's an answer for everything?
Are you interested in a completely original (AFAIK) KT 917 ? I've had it for a few years. It works wonderfully and seems to be calibrated correctly but I'm beginning to question the sense of owning it where I live.

Tvad - I"ve been watching you downsize and I've been giving the idea a lot of thought myself. In fact, I've been thinking about it for years and I've done it a few times but it hasn't stuck. I always seem to creep back up. How's your resolve holding up?

[F-100]

Let us know if you figure out how to do it.

How about doing only 100 raffle tickets at $70 each and then pick a date (let's say Sept 1,2007). The winning ticket will be determined by the last two number of the closing of Dow Jones Industrial on that day. For example, if the DJ closes on Sep 1 at 14,943.42, then #42 is the winning ticket. I can swing $70 for sure.

[mcullinan]

Thats a great idea... a lottery... OK I will throw my mom in too. Jeez I love that woman!
Mike aa

[macrojack]

O.K. How about this.

Lonewolf runs the thing. Everybody trusts him. Tickets are $73 each - no quantity discounts. DW avg. seems workable with tickets numbered from 00 to 99. For his trouble, Chris gets $500. Raffle rules post selection will be like auction rules with a time limit to arrange and pay for shipping. If somebody gets these speakers for $73 or even 5 times that, I'm sure they will be eager to collect.
Are there any other considerations? Like - Is this legal?

Should we pick runners-up just in case..........?

 I guess Chris could even be a contestant as long as the numbers are assigned and published before Sept.1, 2007.

We also need to clear this with the AC braintrust. We may be overlooking some kind of jeopardy.

I think I'm willing but let's hear from the members. How much interest is there in such an idea?

And most importantly, will Wolfy consent to be the emcee/moderator?

[arthurs]

I'd buy a couple tickets...