Biweekly gear purchase help post (2015-04-02)

A local garage sale in Maryland (US) has these two for sale. No one seems to be buying because even they are both priced at $30, they are very old and dusty but I believe they could possibly be a good fit for a small studio apartment?

I dislike "boom boom" woofers and my hours of research behind these old models tell me these could be worth to give them a try as they are not overly exaggerating.

I have not bought either yet because I want to hear your opinions:

  1. I don't think I will be able to sell these. The Velodyne is well over 20 years old (manufactured in '93!) and the Energy ES-8 is size of a bookshelf
  2. Seller does not have an AVR to drive it. Will have to drag mine to even test these.
  3. Even as a student, blowing $30 on what could be disappointment would be a tough pill to swallow. I would have this $30 contribute to saving up for my DIY sub a few years down the line.

Right now I have an 8" sub that does not go below 50Hz driven by a Class-T. I can sell it for as much I paid for it. I can keep only one sub. The 5 speakers are all mirage omnisats so cuts off around 100Hz I think.
The AVR is a Denon AVR1910

I'm leaning towards the Energy ES-8 Subwoofer just because it's a bit newer (although 10 years old at this point)

I mainly listen to 70s - 90s music, Jazz, some Rock and pre 2010 pop and very few recent pop. Not a big dubstep fan. I enjoy classical when I am feeling happy but not otherwise.

I would love a sub that is great for movies though. I have a different soundsystem to play video games, this one is just for music.

What could go wrong with buying the Energy ES-8 Subwoofer?

Anyone has it still and would recommend they still have some drive left in them?

What parts in it might need to be changed/refurbished soon? Re-foaming required at this point (main reason why I don't want to buy the Velodyne because it most likely needs a re-foam given it's older than I am)

Thanks in advance for any input.

/r/audiophile Thread