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Spare gear.....who buys spare gear?

z-adamson

z-adamson

Addicted Member
I do.

If I have a system that uses multiples of one piece of gear, then I tend to search for spares.

If I really like a certain speaker, I like to buy up spare parts as they become available.

Example....one system of mine utilizes 4 hafler dh220 amps. I have a spare.

2 systems use jbl l110. I have spare woofers, mids, tweeters.
 
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I did it for a long time and have lots of tuners, cassette decks, amps and receivers in duplicate or triplicate for this reason. I just picked up a pair of Cerwin Vega VS-120's for $80 with blown mids but I had the spare parts to make them whole.
 
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When I bought my JBL 4412 studio monitors, I did so knowing full-well that I didn't generally enjoy speakers that neutral. They do, however, use the exact same tweeter and midrange as my JBL L100T speakers, and the same woofer (aside from color) as my JBL L150 speakers. My thoughts being that I could use them for spare parts if needed. Over time though, I have come to like the 4412 monitors a lot and I don't see myself realistically ever using them for spare parts at this point.

I also bought a pair of JBL L36 speakers once, just for the LE5-6 midrange drivers, which are interchangeable with the LE5-10 drivers in my JBL L150 speakers. Got an offer I couldn't refuse for the L36 speakers and ended up selling them though.
 
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I don't have "spare" gear. I just collect. The problem is that I buy but rarely sell.

It's fun to swap stuff out sometimes. I'm right now swapping out my 70's Mitsubishi separates for my 70's Soundcraftsmen separates.
 
I have two pairs of Quads, which is one more pair than I can use. For the black ones to serve as spares will require some restoration work, however.
 
I have purchased orphan speakers to scavenge spare drivers out of. This includes an orphan Yamaha NS1000M that had a broken woofer. I now have spares of the very rare beryllium mids and tweets. Now I don't have to baby the NS1000s I bought new in 1981. Spares to me make sense only for rare items.
 
z-adamson said:
If it is there to replace another that may fail, then it is a spare, right?
Click to expand...

No. I read the first post as having matching spares. The gear I have that is not in use, is not here to replace gear that fails. I repair gear that fails.

That said, a lucky unit from the collection can pull back up duty while I repair the main one.

I have a spare belt for my dryer and vacuum.

Rob
 
I do that too. I now have nine LE14s. Still need a green Heathkit one though. Grabbed another pair of 234s and 2426s now that I found my own little slice of audio heaven.
 
z-adamson said:
I do.

If I have a system that uses multiples of one piece of gear, then I tend to search for spares.

If I really like a certain speaker, I like to buy up spare parts as they become available.

Example....one system of mine utilizes 4 hafler dh220 amps. I have a spare.

2 systems use jbl l110. I have spare woofers, mids, tweeters.
Click to expand...

OCD........
 
I buy stuff I want if I see it at a price I like, but I do not buy specifically with the intent of having "backup" pieces.

I did at one time buy a number of matched quads of a certain tube when the prices started going up. Otherwise, no, I do not have a second or third (for example) Forte F44 just in case the one I have goes tits up.
 
My first turntable was given to me by my Uncle, a Pioneer PL-61. I still have it in one of my main systems. I have found four PL-61s over the years for under a hundred bucks... I can't help but buy them. Don't know what I'm gonna do with them, but I have them. These 5 pieces of Pioneer are the only pioneer pieces I have left.

I think I will dial a couple of them in and put them in my kids rooms when they are old enough to not put a stack of books on the dust covers...
 
I've actually given this a fair amount of thought lately when I'm abusing the Allisons with the L-09ms. Seems like a good plan to me.
 
WaynerN said:
OCD........
Click to expand...
Some items are very difficult to replace.

Buying up extras when opportunity knocks at a price that would be easy to resell and get back what was invested sounds logical to me. Does that make me OCD? Maybe, I don't know. If it does, I am ok with that. I also enjoy collecting. Thats part of the vintage audio hobby.
 
z-adamson said:
I do.

If I have a system that uses multiples of one piece of gear, then I tend to search for spares.

If I really like a certain speaker, I like to buy up spare parts as they become available.

Example....one system of mine utilizes 4 hafler dh220 amps. I have a spare.

2 systems use jbl l110. I have spare woofers, mids, tweeters.
Click to expand...

I have a number of speakers that have No Longer Available drivers -
JBL L212 - all three drivers in the towers are unobtainium
- I bought a spare speaker to have parts (and found more 066 drivers elsewhere).
UREI 809A - those coaxial drivers are long out of production ...
- since I have 2 pairs in use, I have an extra pair of drivers
 
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