Does anyone have a blue book or other pricing for an Audio Research SP9 MKII. This is a pre-amplifier manufactured between 1991 and 1996 and given the age I'm wondering if $1200 Canadian is a good deal from a reputable dealer.
You can check sites such as Audiogon and Audio Classics without cost to (very likely) find a reference for appropriate pricing. You can also use the Kelly Blue Book (put it in a search engine), pay a few dollars and have a more "official" version of used selling prices.
However, keep in mind as with any product and most especially pre owned merchandise it's value is whatever someone is willing to pay. If you've auditioned the specific component in your system or with considerable attention paid to your needs and desires, it is worth whatever you feel is a fair negotiated price. If you have not auditioned this component or do not intend to keep the pre amp, then you are pitching in another ballgame.
In the case of an Audio Rersearch component you would probably want to have the serial number and give the manufacturer a call. AR made revisions to their components without actually changing model numbers. Find out just when this pre amp was built and what would be involved in bringing it up to its latest spec. I don't know if they would hand out such information but you might ask if any warranty repairs had been performed on this specific unit. If this is a tube based pre amp, you would want to know what tubes were installed in the pre amp (and what, if any, extra tubes came with the unit) and possibly their age and condition. Find out whether the pre amp has been in constant use since its purchase. Any component that has been in storage for more than a few years would give me pause to consider what might happen if I purchased this without any warranty coverage.
Even with moderately priced tubes available I wouldn't buy any tube based component without an audition - but that's just me and it doesn't seem to bother most of the forum members.
Know the output impedance of the pre amp since this will affect which power amps might suit the system and what cables and their length would be appropriate for use with this pre amp.
Thanks Jan. You've given me a few good suggestions. I haven't asked to audition in my home and am not sure the dealer would allow. The dealer, which is a long-time reputable dealer, has inspected and performed basic testing but I'll need to ask more questions if I'm ready to put money down. I'll try to get the serial number to check on manufacture date / warranty service performed to date etc. The person that traded in the pre was using it regularly, they just moved up to a new Audio Research pre and traded in this one.