Buying My First Amp

Nightfall

I'm going to be buying my first amp here soon and I wanted to get some advice on how to go about this. The seller says he can't audition the amp. I would like to meet in a public place and not the sellers house anyway, for both of our benefit/safety. How can I test the amp in a public place? What would be a good place to meet that would allow me to use an electric socket or two? Am I going to have to lug my AVR and one of my Monitor 4's along with me to test it? How would you guys go about this?

polkfarmboy

This is a shady deal if he is not willing to have you over. If you cannot test it then draw up a bill of sale and have him sign it infront of a witness at a bank etc and get a photo copy of his id.

Nightfall

polkfarmboy wrote: »

This is a shady deal if he is not willing to have you over.

Not necessarily, he/she is probably just being cautious. There are plenty of stories of people being robbed, or worse, during a Craigslist transaction. I'd rather not go into a complete strangers house by myself either.

nbrowser wrote: »

Take ONE Monitor 4 and an iPod or similar portable music device with volume control and a bit of speaker wire. Use the iPod or similar device as source and volume and check out both channels of the amp right there, remember to have the volume on the media player at minimum before starting music playback. Also most coffee shops etc. should have an outlet you can "borrow" for a few moments.

Perfect. Most people plug their laptops in at Starbucks and what not anyway, right? I'm sure they wouldn't mind a few seconds of music. I need to see if I have a 1/8" to unbalanced RCA cable somewhere around here.

I'm getting that excited feeling already, can't wait!

motorhead43026

Details on the amp?

Polkie2009

What some CL buyers are doing down here in Houston is agreeing to meet at a police station. If seller can't handle that, might want to pass on his item. About once a week or so there's a news story about a CL deal gone bad here in Htown because someone wanted to meet in a parking lot at the mall,shopping center,apt. etc... Police station sounds much safer for all.

Nightfall

B&K 4420
225 watts @ 8 ohm
350 watts @ 4 ohm
75 amps peak to peak

EndersShadow

That's a good amp

motorhead43026

Prepare to be amazed, I like you am new to (amp) separates. Be careful, I found myself wanting more as something was missing. That turned out to be a matching preamp. The preouts on my avr just were just not cutting it. The pre/pro made a world of difference in SQ.

tonyb

Nightfall wrote: »

B&K 4420
225 watts @ 8 ohm
350 watts @ 4 ohm
75 amps peak to peak

Nice amp.....though I might be leary not being able to hear it first. Definitely take up the suggestions on testing it out on the fly.

Nightfall

We're meeting Friday morning. I can't wait to listen to some familiar music again to hear the differences. I'll be a little more than doubling watts and who knows how many more amps, probably 2-3x. Of course next I need to get a decent pair of IC's to go from AVR to the amp.

If I can plug a 1500 watt space heater into this same circuit and not trip the circuit breaker, I should be fine right?

tonyb

Yes, you'll be fine. Hope it all works out well for ya.

Nightfall

If you don't hear from me by Saturday I have probably been a Craigslist murder or kidnap victim.

That or my internet coincidentally went down.

Nightfall

Evergreen, CO but we're meeting in Denver.

tonyb

Nightfall wrote: »

Evergreen, CO but we're meeting in Denver.

Hopefully not at a dispensary.

Nightfall

Starbucks 9AM on a busy street near University of Denver. You'd have to have a death/prison wish to commit a crime of that caliber there.

tonyb

lol....the real crime is the price of coffee at Starbucks.

Seriously though, listen for any static. Don't know how loud you can turn it up at 9 A.M., do the best ya can though.

......and be prepared to walk away if anything doesn't sound kosher to you.

Nightfall

tonyb wrote: »

lol....the real crime is the price of coffee at Starbucks.

I can agree with that. I'm not about to pay $3-5 for a cup of caffeine. That's the same ballpark as a GALLON of gasoline!

[Deleted User]

This is a really nice amp. Nice detail and mid-bass. Digs pretty deep. On the negative, it is 17 years old and I've "heard" that it kind of falls apart when pushed w/ a 4ohm
load. $40.00 take it. $400,

WLDock

Even at 17-14 yrs $40 for a B&K is a bit low and a giveaway price. On the flip, $700 for a later 10 yr old REF 200.2 one might be a bit high...regardless how nice it might look:
http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/ele/5113233935.html

As far as the transaction...Maybe find a police lobby....can plug in and test.
https://www.facebook.com/CUOffCampus/posts/10153243974624588
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_27418458/adams-county-sheriff-designates-zones-safe-craigslist-type
http://denver.cbslocal.com/2015/01/29/adams-county-sheriff-sets-up-safe-zones-for-craigslist-transactions/


Hey, PM sent!

Nightfall

rednedtugent wrote: »

This is a really nice amp. Nice detail and mid-bass. Digs pretty deep. On the negative, it is 17 years old and I've "heard" that it kind of falls apart when pushed w/ a 4ohm
load. $40.00 take it. $400,

I hope not because that's what I'm going to hook up to it. $40? I would probably assume it was broken at that price.