Help in the Boston area

Thanks for the advice, this is very helpful.  I'm waiting to hear today from my friend who is local about scheduling some time with the seller and seeing the equipment in person and testing it.  I'll mention the Q Audio option as a neutral ground place to bring the components in and plug them in (and I'm definitely willing to pay a fee for the shop's time to facilitate this).

Will see how the seller responds and if more red flags come up or objections that seem to hint at something being not quite right.  

Just make sure your friend know the difference between a preamp and an 80's boom box. I'm on the Cape about an hour and twenty minutes from there. 

<sound of record scratching>  It's a scam.  Sigh.

I usually do a better job at searching for old images but I got excited about this one when he sent the picture with the Sept 2025 date like I asked for.  I guess photoshop or AI image generators are now enabling scammers.

Here is the old listing where he stole the images from that were emailed to me.  I don't think I can attach an image to this post, but he used one of the images of the rear of the unit with the connections on the pre-amp to insert the date card.

https://www.ukaudiomart.com/details/649599938-denon-pra-s1/images/2618043/

Now, do I have some fun with him, or just stop responding and move on.  If you're reading this thread and have a lead on a Denon PRA-S1 and you're not a scammer, I'm a buyer (with real money, I'm not a scammer either!)

Also turns out that the screen name he used from another audio forum where there was buyer and seller feedback (that abruptly ended a few years ago) was from a man who died a few years ago.  My friend found this out with some good detective work.  

https://www.head-fi.org/members/hibuckhobby.282514/#classifieds-feedback

Watch out for scammers!!