Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems What's my 861 worth?

Gary

The value will depend on what a potential buyer wishes to do with your unit. Your unit does not have many cards so a buyer will be weighing up the cost of converting the unit to his/her ideal specification.

The next issue is if the buyer wants to take the unit up the Meridian upgrade path to V4 and as we all know this does not come cheap. If your serial number is below 100250 the upgrade is �2715 or above 100250 then the upgrade is �2165.

My opinion is that second hand prices tend to be in the 35% to 50% range of the original retail price based on the current spec. Your unit new ie V4 lists at �10025 so the intrinsic used value of a V4 is in the �4000 to �5000 range.

So given the upgrade costs above I would suggest the 861 as it stands is realistically worth around �2000 to �2300.

I doubt a dealer would swap it for a G68J unless they knew where they can place the 861 quickly. Technosound were trying to sell their 861 for over 18 months (to my knowledge, probably longer) before David bought it. However, a G68J owner might consider a swap to get on the 861 platform with a view to travelling the upgrade path later. I suspect you could have some success with this approach.

On the other side of the coin, speaking as someone who recently acquired his 861 (and I am delighted with it's performance) I would be very reluctant to trade down (no disrepect to the G68J, it is also an excellent machine). Why don't you consider buying a new hifi rack and installing it properly? This could be a better investment for your long term system.

Apologies for the length of this post. I hope it helps.

Regards

Colin