Hi. I'm thinking of picking up a used pair of Beolab 3s. I picked up the audiophile bug about 10 years ago - listening to a Spendor 1/2e rig. It was kind of life-changing. But the Spendors were, first of all, too expensive, and second incompatible with my lifestyle (I seem to wind up in a new country about every six months to two years as work moves me around.)

Recently auditioned the Beolab 3s and I was blown away. It's very, very hard to do a direct comparison with the Spendors, but the truth is that I'm never, ever going to be able to travel with two refrigerator-sized speakers, so the BL3s are actually the practical choice.

Here are the questions I'm hoping to answer:

1> Used they seem to be pretty stable around £1500. Is there anything I need to know before paying about that for a set? Guarantees? Repairs? Maintenance? Are there any problems with used units in general?

2> Models. There seem to be a couple of different revisions. Again, anything I need to know?

D/A - I'd be listening from FLAC/WAV files (lossless audio.) I'd plan on using some kind of external D/A and there's a bewildering array of possible options across a huge price range. I tend to like a fairly clinical sound (I actually enjoy pro-audio gear quite a lot - the Focusrite VRM box suits my ears well as a headphone box). Any recommendations?

Finally, I see persistent threads about "well, instead of the Beolab 3s, you should try..." and there's a list of options. Orb or some particular pair of studio monitors or this or that.

Anything really knockout in the same general size / price range?

Oh, and finally finally - bass. It's fine, right? I don't need a sub. Right?

Thank you so much for your input, and I'll let you know what I do, promise!