Buying Used Pro Audio and Lighting: What Is Safe and What Is Not

In this guide:Good buys · Risky buys · The checks · Price · Picks · FAQ

Used equipment is a legitimate way to build a stock, and this trade produces a lot of it, because hire companies refresh and productions get cancelled. Some categories hold their usefulness for decades and some are worthless the moment a regulation changes.

The difference is worth knowing before you bid.

What holds up well

• **Dynamic microphones.** An SM58 that has been dropped for fifteen years is usually fine. The capsule is replaceable and there is nothing to go stale.
• **Passive loudspeakers.** No electronics to fail. Check the drivers and the cabinet, and recone if needed.
• **Cases, racks and stands.** Physical items with no obsolescence.
• **Cable, if you test it.** Bulk cable and multicores are worth buying used at the right price.
• **Analogue outboard and passive DI boxes.** Simple, repairable and unaffected by software.
• **Truss and staging hardware**, though anything load-bearing needs assessment by a competent person and is outside what we advise on.

What is risky

• **Wireless systems.** The single biggest trap. UK spectrum has changed more than once, and equipment tuned to a retired band cannot legally be used regardless of condition. Check the frequency range on the label against current allocations before buying anything wireless. See Ofcom licensing.
• **Anything with a battery.** Batteries age whether used or not, and replacements for a discontinued model may not exist.
• **Discontinued LED fixtures.** When the driver fails, and it will, there are no parts. A fixture with no spares is a fixture with a countdown on it.
• **Powered speakers with unknown history.** The amplifier module is the expensive part and the part that dies.
• **Anything needing a software licence or a dongle**, where the licence may not transfer.
• **Consoles reliant on discontinued firmware or a specific tablet app**, which can stop working when the operating system moves on.

Checks worth making

• Power it on, in front of you, for longer than a minute. Thermal faults appear after ten minutes, not ten seconds.
• For loudspeakers, listen at low level for buzzes, then at moderate level for distortion. Push a driver gently by hand and listen for scraping.
• For fixtures, run every colour, every position and the fans. Check for dead pixels and for colour shift across a batch.
• For wireless, check the band on the label and scan for the frequencies it can reach.
• For anything mains powered, look at the inlet, the cable, the earth and the fuse before plugging it in. Bring it into your inspection regime, see PAT testing.
• Ask why it is being sold. Ex-hire is usually honest and well maintained. A single item from a failed business may have been stored badly.

What used is actually worth

The rule of thumb that holds is that used pro equipment settles at roughly half of current new price for something in good condition and in current production, and falls sharply the moment it is discontinued.

That is the key point. Discontinuation, not age, is what destroys value, because it removes the spares and the support. A five-year-old current model is a better buy than a two-year-old discontinued one.

Frequently asked questions

Is it safe to buy used wireless microphones?

Only after checking the frequency band. Equipment tuned to a band that has been reallocated cannot legally be used here, and no licence fixes that. It is the most common expensive mistake in used equipment.

What used equipment is the best value?

Dynamic microphones, passive speakers, cases, racks, stands and cable. They have little to go wrong and no software to become obsolete.

Should I buy ex-hire stock?

Often yes. Hire stock is usually maintained, tested and used within its ratings, and it is sold in batches, which means matched sets. Cosmetic wear is normal and does not matter.

How much should I pay?

Roughly half of current new price is a common landing point for current, good condition items, less for anything discontinued. If it is not in production, discount heavily for the absence of spares.