Speaker choices - anyone has any opinion on either of these? BW 800 Diamonds or SF Strads.

Joey_V

Hey Walt,

Thanks a lot man... lots of info. I made a mistake - the guy has 1201 not 1.2KW... the 1201 were replaced by the 1.2KW. The 1.2KW sell for about 15K on audiogon while the 1201 sell for about $11900 minus haggling.

Deal is less appealing now that I've learned that it's not the 1.2KW, but still interested. I will see what kind of numbers we come to agreement today.

I agree, maybe buy the 3rd amp and sell it, maybe buy the H1TMD speaker and sell that too.

I saw the others you posted on your recent post, there's the 802D and there's the 802 Diamond. The Diamonds are basically series 2... 802D is series 1. So you will see some price fluctuations between those 2. The 800 Diamond he is selling is series 2, or so he tells me. It's 8 months old so pretty new, it's gotta be series 2.

The amps, I'm a little disappointed with since i thought they were 1.2KW and I was furiously reading reviews on the 1.2KW only to find that they were 1201.

Oh well, can't have it all I guess.

And yes, they draw lots of power.. I wonder if my room is ready. I have a dedicated 20 amp outlet in the front of the room that was supposed to be for my front end, I have multiple other outlets but that runs off another dedicated 20 amp. So technically I have 40 amps going into my room. Am I ready? Not sure... lol.

I honestly thought that one day I would end up with the Mcintosh 2KW but then I saw the price last night... 80$. HAHAHAHA... almost fell over laughing.

Joey_V

Few things sound fishy with this guy in Houston... just want to point some out to see if I'm the only one seeing this:

1. He says everything is 10 months old. But the big macs (mm tasty) he has are the previous generation that stopped production in 2009-ish.
2. Not sure if he takes good care of his gear - I'm seeing crappy photographs and dust on all his equipment. Guy should be posting great pics if he's trying to sell something at this price point, even on craigslist.
3. Also, I don't see a single amp or gear stand in the pics. Not that it's a big deal, but if you're dealing with gear at this level, at least have a decent stand so you keep the heat and electronics off the carpet.

I don't know... something fishy.

Also - he says that he doesn't have one of the boxes of the 800 diamonds... how can you lose a box??

And then I asked him how he got to the price points he was asking and he said I just thought of a number.

I don't know a few things are kind of ringing my alarm. I'm not headed down 4 hours to Houston to pick up a pair of speakers and amps that might not be as advertised. For all I know, these could be series 1 800D speakers and not series 2. Or maybe when I get there I see a gauge on one of the corners of the speaker and I'll be forced to head back 4 hours to Dallas without a pair of speakers.

Not going to waste my time if that's the case. I'll talk to him in more detail and ask for better pics today.

ZLTFUL

Definitely some red flags there.
On the topic of the MCs being 10 months old, it is feasible. My buddy's shop has 6 of them in stock...2 demos and 4 still brand new in the box in his warehouse. So very possible it was a similar situation and the dealer gave him a great deal on the new/old stock.

WLDock

Definitely proceed with caution...and make sure you ask him to authenticate the pictures. A simple shot of the serial numbers, a picture with the date and a code word with the speakers in the background.

Also, if all is good and you decide to more forward...try to set up a bank transaction vs. cash. after you see, test the goods. Never carry large cash!

polkfarmboy

If there is something wrong with the info on this kind of gear then walk away. You may not even get any speakers or amps and end up with a gun to the side of your head in a foreclosed house.

Joey_V

polkfarmboy wrote: »

If there is something wrong with the info on this kind of gear then walk away. You may not even get any speakers or amps and end up with a gun to the side of your head in a foreclosed house.

Yup.. and then it'll cost me more than I expect.

Joey_V

Yep, no contact from the seller today. If I were the seller and I was selling something that someone else showed interest in, I'd be on them like white on rice. Something's up for sure.

WLDock

Well, that might be a sign. Sorry, I though I was pointing you to an opp to find what you were seeking not too far from your own backyard. Yet, there are always "Busters" out there....

Joey_V

WLDock wrote: »

Well, that might be a sign. Sorry, I though I was pointing you to an opp to find what you were seeking not too far from your own backyard. Yet, there are always "Busters" out there....

Nah i appreciate it man. Maybe he was busy yesterday, making money or something cuz he seems to be a deep pocketed guy when I spoke to him on the phone.

Regardless, I have expanded my search and am seriously considering a pair of magico mini 2 for the family room since my wife keeps bugging me about getting her a speaker so she can listen to nice music downstairs. And I am in talks with the guy with the so is faber elipsa se grey... Seems like he's willing to deal now.

Then if I buy those 2, I will rest for a few months before getting the head honcho 800 diamond unless this Houston thing works out.

polkfarmboy

Why no revel ultima salon 2's on the list JV?

Joey_V

My list is non encompassing, can't listen to everything. Unfortunately...

Joey_V

Put a bid on a pair of magico mini 2... Let's see if this goes through. Crossing my fingers.

ZLTFUL

Been watching those (not for me but for curiosity). Good luck on them.

I am still trying to figure out a way to make those V2s happen. Hehe.

Joey_V

Waiting on the response from the guy, I think there might be someone infront of me because I was lollygagging. I also have my eye on the Elipsa SE, but I need it at 10K before I'd pull the trigger on it, and the guy is playing hardball... though we have been in contact and he told me he is going to return to the country this weekend and will be willing to deal then.

Guy from Houston, he sounds pretty legit with the 800 diamonds and my only hang up is that he does not ahve the 2nd box. He ordered it from BW and will be getting it shortly. I want the box there before I pick it up, I might scratch it if I dont have the box.

ZLTFUL

Don't blame you. Decided a long time ago that if I ever bought Magicos used, they better come with the crates. Hehe.

Joey_V

Yeah... not sure where I'm going to store them all too. I wish I made a 2nd walk through attic through the media room. I only made 1 door that leads into the attic and it is filled iwth christmas and luggage stuff.

If I had a 2nd door that leads to a floored attic, then I could store all my gear's boxes there.

Always, hindsight is 20/20.

Joey_V

And yeah, the mini 2 look gorgeous. Would love to have it in the main floor.

mrbiron

Joey_V wrote: »

If I had a 2nd door that leads to a floored attic, then I could store all my gear's boxes there.

Always, hindsight is 20/20.

I'm sure with all that printed money you have, you can afford to add a 2nd door or even build a 2nd house to store your boxes.

That's when you know you've made it.
"Wow you have an inlaw house?"
"Inlaws???...that's where i keep empty cardboard"

ZLTFUL

I have a storage unit for my gear's packaging.

Granted, I also have the summer wheels for the Bimmer and my dirtbike stored there but the rest of the 10x10 unit is chock full of empty boxes for audio gear. LOL.

Joey_V

mrbiron wrote: »

Joey_V wrote: »

If I had a 2nd door that leads to a floored attic, then I could store all my gear's boxes there.

Always, hindsight is 20/20.

I'm sure with all that printed money you have, you can afford to add a 2nd door or even build a 2nd house to store your boxes.

That's when you know you've made it.
"Wow you have an inlaw house?"
"Inlaws???...that's where i keep empty cardboard"

Funny! You have no idea how close I was to building a 2nd house.

And I wish I had all this printed money you say I have. I tried to win that power ball a few weeks ago, but alas it was not meant to be.

Joey_V

DSkip wrote: »

Joey got to see my stash of boxes and excess gear. It takes up the full closet of my theater room. My one complaint about the layout of our house is the lack of a usable attic. We have one access point and the A/C unit is right there, wrapping its huge ducts completely around the access.

Yeah, rub it in Skip... rub in the closet.

WLDock

Joey_V wrote: »

Funny! You have no idea how close I was to building a 2nd house.

What? One for the system? I love Mikel's converted Audio Barn...
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue16/lavigneroom.htm
http://cgi.audioasylum.com/systems/663.html

Can't stop looking at that one. The wife and I agreed that if we would have won the BIG lotto that I would build one of those and she would have the Tree House Masters from Animal Planet build her a retreat.

Joey_V

WLDock wrote: »

Joey_V wrote: »

Funny! You have no idea how close I was to building a 2nd house.

What? One for the system? I love Mikel's converted Audio Barn...
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue16/lavigneroom.htm
http://cgi.audioasylum.com/systems/663.html

Can't stop looking at that one. The wife and I agreed that if we would have won the BIG lotto that I would build one of those and she would have the Tree House Masters from Animal Planet build her a retreat.

Nooo.. I was thinking of building a house for my parents. We were spending a lot on babysitting and I thought it was probably better if we spent that money on a mortgage... plus I felt bad because my parents were still handling a mortgage and it was not paid off - figured I could get them closer and I could relieve them of that payment then it was a win win. Was ready to pull the trigger, but there are many implications to moving your parents literally across the street from you. And it's not just a few years commitment but a 10 year mortgage commitment too so that was something that I had to think about over and over again. Plus, the main crux was that if we built a house next to us, we would be stuck in that area and we would not be able to move to a different place if we needed more room. That was the main issue and so I decided against it.

Btw, thanks for finding me that 800 Diamond and 1201 in the Houston craigslist. I have been talking to the guy and this transaction seems legit and we are about to complete the transaction. If it was not for you, I would not have found it. I'm crossing my fingers that the transaction will be smooth and that this is truly 100% legit. We will be meeting in Modia Houston and the speakers and the amps will be there waiting for me to inspect and then Modia will deliver them to me in Dallas.

Joey_V

WLDock wrote: »

Joey_V wrote: »

Funny! You have no idea how close I was to building a 2nd house.

What? One for the system? I love Mikel's converted Audio Barn...
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue16/lavigneroom.htm
http://cgi.audioasylum.com/systems/663.html

Can't stop looking at that one. The wife and I agreed that if we would have won the BIG lotto that I would build one of those and she would have the Tree House Masters from Animal Planet build her a retreat.

And yes, Mike Lavigne's room has been an inspiration for me. I wanted to commission Rives to do my room but it's a long story.

Basically, we were about to build a custom home and I worked closely with the architect to design every nook and crevice... and the entire first floor was built around the media room. I had maxed out the size of the media room based on the maximum width of the lot, I had maxed out the lot and the house width just to fit the room to the dimensions I wanted. We were going to do a diffusor in the front of the room and we were going to build a ceiling similar to Lavigne's room.

But something happened right before we closed prior to construction - and I pulled out (and lost a hefty deposit) because I did not like how the neighborhood was being developed. Not sure if I did the right thing looking back, because the homes there are valued more than I thought and I would've been on the ground floor of the development, right now well over $250/sq ft and the homes are average 5500 sq ft. When I was about to buy, we were at $190/sq ft.

After that I swore against building a custom home after a disappointing experience, we decided to live in an apartment and just save money. Then, we got pregnant. And I decided to build a modest house just so the baby and us had more elbow room. I stuck to a firm budget and did not modify the media room too much, thus I'm stuck with things that I do not like... as in I don't have more than 2 dedicated outlets and I don't have the perfect room dimensions plus it's on the 2nd floor and I did not like that. But I knew this house was our first house and I knew I wanted to move after I learned what I liked and did not like about the overall flow of the house.

But yeah, back to Lavigne's room. Lavigne has way more cash flow and he is far above what I can afford. He owns a few car dealerships. There's a reason why I'm looking on audiogon for deals while he looks to buy everything brand new and dumps them without a second thought. No comparison, he is next level.

So is this guy on audio aficionado, Ivan, aka masterlu. Guy is insane. Honestly I do not know how these guys get to that level, it's not possible without taking calculated business risks. You just cannot generate that kind of cash by working for someone else.

WLDock

Joey_V wrote: »

Honestly I do not know how these guys get to that level, it's not possible without taking calculated business risks. You just cannot generate that kind of cash by working for someone else.

Man, that top 1% just keeps running away from the rest of us! http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/income-rank/
Its just not easy these days...the costs of everything just keeps going up and up. In my 20's the B&W 801/802 mated with Krell is the setup that tickled my fancy. I had the ear to appreciate it but no money. I told myself that maybe in my 40's I would be able to purchase a "High End" system like given the high cost of admission. Here some twenty something years later, the "High End" just keeps running away from reach. So, it will have to be a budget audiophile rescue mission by way of craigslist if I'm to have any hope at audiophilia. The $200K career (Top 5%) has yet to happen, LOL!

I have something planned...its just will take time. I actually plan to build my next set of speakers. A fella from another form and I had a similar ideal about redesigning the enclosure of a DIY plan that is out on the net, The Statements II.
http://speakerdesignworks.com/Statement_II_1.html
He has already put the wheels in motion and is building. We both want the woofer at the bottom and the enclosure sides and top curved with a shorter overall cabinet. If they come out as sexy as these: http://www.avsforum.com/forum/155-diy-speakers-subs/1354647-trompie-s-curved-statement-family-building-thread.html
I will be happy.I hope to beg, borrow, steal his design plans when he's done. Will see...

Anyway, I hope you get the gear!

Joey_V

WLDock wrote: »

Joey_V wrote: »

Honestly I do not know how these guys get to that level, it's not possible without taking calculated business risks. You just cannot generate that kind of cash by working for someone else.

Man, that top 1% just keeps running away from the rest of us! http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/income-rank/
Its just not easy these days...the costs of everything just keeps going up and up.
Anyway, I hope you get the gear!/quote]

Bro,

I can tell you those guys are not 1% from your graph. They are 0.1 or higher.

Joey_V

Anyone hear experienced Sonus Faber Guarneri Mementos? Their bookshelf speaker 1 generation removed as of 2 years ago?

This is the one prior to the current Guarneri Evolutions...

Have a local ear on one maybe 200 miles away. Stupid magico mini 2 flew bye bye

Joey_V

Grapevine has Olympicas I and III. There's a SF dealer in North park?

They have the Summit X from ML there.

[Deleted User]

The Magnolia across from North Park carries SF and B&W.

This is from their music room.

[Deleted User]

Since I am posting pics, here is my favorite from B&W (also at Magnolia).