Hi, I'm brand-new to the forums here, and I have a problem that nobody seems to know anything about.

I bought a pair of NEAR 50me speakers about 7-8 years ago, and a few years ago one midrange developed a buzz. I'd like to either replace the mid, get another set of bookshelf NEARs from the same era (pre-sellout), or just unload what I have to someone who could use them. But it seems that I can't do any of the above because nobody's heard of the company.

I know NEAR got bought out around 2000, and I've heard that the quality and design dropped since then. I also know that the new company doesn't sell floorstanding speakers. A "high end" audio shop in Cambridge, MA said they can't do anything, and that I should look online. Duh. eBay occasionally offers speakers that are advertised as "NEAR" and even say that they're from the pre-buyout company, but the model numbers aren't what I'd expect (I want to see 10M, 15M, but I see DT-56 and DT-1)---it sounds like a scam.

So what's a poor boy like me to do? Does anybody want to sell me another pair of 50me? Or a broken set? I'm desperate here. No other speakers I've owned sounded as good as those---very few in audio stores, either.

Thanks for any help you can offer.