hey audio nyerds any pro tips for scoping out speakers at thrift stores

over many many years i got turntable, cassette, dc player, etc, the big box you plug all the speakers and wires and components into
all from thrift stores
i hang out in thrift stores way too much
scope out the obsolete & broken technology
but idk one shit about dick when it comes to speakers!!
can you guys please give me some pro tips for what to look for when looking @ speakers
any signifiers at all r good w me

also is there some correlation between giant and good or no????

^no correlation there, sometimes it means you get more bass and sometimes you just get muddy sound and thwomping indistinct low end. I would guess the main thing to look for is make sure the horns aren't all rotted out, unless you want to learn how to refoam speakers. Also check the wiring, I've had speakers that were hard wired with RCA-type connectors that were only compatible with a brief generation of shitty amps. Other than that, just make sure you have some idea how much power they require so you don't fry your $15 amp with your $10 speakers.

I think you'll have more luck on something like craigslist, but as a rule of thumb a heavy design can indicate good build quality, apart from that I'd go for known brands and Google the model numbers you find, easy to google info on most speakers

older Boston Acoustics are something you'll run into pretty frequently and a good brand as far as stuff that's common to see

80s Infinity with the cherry wood tops and bottoms too

Boston Acoustics seconded. I need to re-foam my old ones. Bose bookshelf speakers would be fairly common too, I imagine.

Google the model numbers you find

this is key

today I'm refoaming some cheap 25-year-old speakers; it would be less trouble to replace them, but I'd like to keep them out of the landfill and the repair is pretty easy to do

there must be an awful lot of serviceable speakers that have been trashed just because their foam broke down

audio nyerds, please share inspirational stories of thrift store finds, dumpster rescues, and related DIY scores

my main speakers are a pair of Bowers and Wilkins DM1400s that I picked up off the street - one of the rubber driver surrounds was partly loose and I re-glued it and they sound excellent - I tried a pair of (highly-regarded) Spendor BC1s in the same room and didn't like these nearly as much

I also have a pair of Kef 104ABs that I bought from a garage sale, they are beautiful speakers and great with organic tones - I listened to a lot of jazz after buying them

second-hand hi-fi gear is a huge delight to me - most of the well-made stuff still works to a high level or is a relatively simple repair - feels good to be keeping this stuff out of landfill, also enjoy tinkering with components that I would have coveted 30 years ago but never been able to afford

I need to replace the foam on my sennheisers but they haven’t made this model in years

there's probably aftermarket stuff out there ... try searching on "foam pads" and the model number