I made a best offer of $5500 on the new one and never heard back. A slightly used one popped up for $4800 so I grabbed it. Didn't have a scratch and is supposedly working fine. Time will tell whether that was a good move or not.
I spent last night till 4 am listening to my kind of music (Dead related, Keller, Martin Sexton, Franti, bluegrass, etc. with the 170's and the u89's. Definately going with the 89's. I am going to make some calls tomorrow and try to get a decent price on a pair.
I still need to replace some stuff I sold off (stand, batteries) and some stuff I just want to replace after over a decade laying around (cables etc. ).
I am relishing the chance to put together my dream setup. It took me a couple of years to go from my original rig AKG Blue Lines>Zefiro Inbox>D8 to a setup I really liked 184>v2>ad2k+>DA-P1. I am really psyched to be able to put together something sweet right from the start. Now I just need to find a show. Luckily (kind of) I live in NJ half way between Philly and NYC so something is always coming soon.