I"ve read this forum for years but never commented but could not resist this thread. I went through a very similar situation when I bought my Belles. The guy thought he was sitting on a gold mine. I ended up telling him my bottom line and would keep looking. I heard back in about 12 hours and we had a deal. I wasn't looking for a friend, just a nice pair of Belles. I paid $2000 and am very happy with the purchase. Mine are 1988 models and had the dreadded AB cross over. These have AB-2 so are probably newer unless the x-over was updated. I upgraded to the Crites A4500 along with the CT125 tweeters which worked out beautifully. Dont haggle over a couple hundred dollars, get your Belles and start listening, you will be glad you did. I had been listening to RB 61s (similar to what you are now) and there is no comparison. I also have Heresys and numerous other speakers but always crank up the Belles when I want to hear my best.