Used or New purchase?

[Towbotr]

Greetings MLO.
I am a newbie from the NW and I'm doing research on building my home theater system featuring ML speakers. I've used Motion 40's years ago and loved them!
I have a budget for this so I would like to get the best for the price. I would like feedback as to whether I should buy used '06 Summits ($4k US) or go new Theos Hybrid. Thoughts??
Thx.

 

[Rich]

The Theos is not new; it’s a discontinued speaker. And it’s half the speaker the Summit is. Between the two at a similar price point, I would pick the Summit hands down.

To be more precise, Theos has 20% less panel radiating area than the Summit, one 8” passive woofer vs. two 10” woofers with internal amps, 43 hz. vs. 24 hz. at the low end, 425 hz. crossover vs. 270 hz., and weighs 43 lbs. vs. 75 lbs. Just no comparison.

 

[Towbotr]

The Theos is not new; it’s a discontinued speaker. And it’s half the speaker the Summit is. Between the two at a similar price point, I would pick the Summit hands down.

To be more precise, Theos has 20% less panel radiating area than the Summit, one 8” passive woofer vs. two 10” woofers with internal amps, 43 hz. vs. 24 hz. at the low end, 425 hz. crossover vs. 270 hz., and weighs 43 lbs. vs. 75 lbs. Just no comparison.

Thank you Rich! You bring up some very good points I didn't think of. Would you have any concerns about investing in 10 year old summits? I realize it depends on how they were cared for but my concern is having to replace panels, if they are still available. What kind of lifespan could I expect from these summits if they were cared for properly?

 

[Rich]

Thank you Rich! You bring up some very good points I didn't think of. Would you have any concerns about investing in 10 year old summits? I realize it depends on how they were cared for but my concern is having to replace panels, if they are still available. What kind of lifespan could I expect from these summits if they were cared for properly?

Well, considering I own a pair of ten-year old Summits and a pair of seventeen-year old Ascents, no concerns. You could easily expect another ten to fifteen years or more out of those speakers, assuming they’re well-cared for.

Edit: And ML has been good in the past about offering replacement panels for most of their speakers. I assume that’s still true, but don’t know for sure.

 

[twich54]

tell us a little bit more your room and the rest of your equipment.

 

[Towbotr]

tell us a little bit more your room and the rest of your equipment.

It's a new home with an open great room with 20 ft cathedral ceiling with lots of glass windows and carpet floors. It opens to large kitchen with hard surfaces and floors. I've started with a 70 in. LED tv and that's about it. I intend to build a 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound system to handle Sat. TV, DVD/CD and stream music. I've yet to decided on the AV amp to drive the speakers. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.