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Posted

Thinking about upgrading my floorstanders, but I have now moved down the coast and getting to stores to demo is much harder.

 

So I was thinking, how many of you have bought speakers without  auditioning? Were you happy/unhappy with your purchase?

 

Your experience?

Posted

I do it, but only when I'm not spending more than $1000. If you dont like them you can always sell them. The selection criteria I used was to try to get higher efficiency i.e. nominal 8ohm and sensitivity 90db or greater. That way you don't have to spend a lot on an amp to drive them. My last purchase was from Adelaide Speakers. Admittedly I purchased a kit but I absolutely love them. 

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Posted (edited)
3 hours ago, Jeddie said:

Thinking about upgrading my floorstanders, but I have now moved down the coast and getting to stores to demo is much harder.

 

So I was thinking, how many of you have bought speakers without  auditioning? Were you happy/unhappy with your purchase?

 

Your experience?

 

My view, if you do it, then do it for products you have a full set of measurements for and mostly understand.
Be quite reluctant to do it for items that you have virtually no measurements for, or if you don't much understand full measurements.

Relying on market blurbs and purely sighted reviews then there is significant risk for which you might get lucky or you might not.

Edited by Satanica
Posted

All the speakers I have owned I have auditioned first regardless of price with one exception being a pair of recently purchased Osborn speakers which I was quite happy to buy as I had previously owned Osborn speakers and heard many of them at HiFi shows. 

Unless you are prepared for disappointment, I would suggest auditioning is the way to go. Only you can decide the budget level where you take risk.

Rob

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Posted

I have done it several times, including having custom speakers built which are obviously impossible to audition.  I think ultimately it depends on what kind of speaker you are looking to buy from which manufacturers, but if buying from brands where I like the house sound and providing the speaker measures well I do it with a fair degree of confidence.  I think if considering something bespoke, or from a small manufacturer where there is little info available about the product from reputible sources then it would be higher risk proposition.

 

One thing to consider is that if home audition is not possible (and these days it usually isn't) auditioning speakers in other spaces with other equipment is only ever going to be of limited value.  Listening room acoustics, and the speaker room interface are the most important factor in ultimate fidelity by far.  Everything else pales in comparison, so whilst listening to speakers/systems in stores or other peoples houses is of interest, and will give you an indication of the sound of the speakers it's important to remember that you are listening to the whole system, including the room.

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Posted
39 minutes ago, POV said:

One thing to consider is that if home audition is not possible (and these days it usually isn't) auditioning speakers in other spaces with other equipment is only ever going to be of limited value.  Listening room acoustics, and the speaker room interface are the most important factor in ultimate fidelity by far.  Everything else pales in comparison, so whilst listening to speakers/systems in stores or other peoples houses is of interest, and will give you an indication of the sound of the speakers it's important to remember that you are listening to the whole system, including the room.

 

So true imo.....👍

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Posted

Living in the boonies, audiophile gear auditions, amps,DAC's,speakers, subs, streamers, cables, IC's yada yada yada isn't an option apart from Bose and maybe Sonos or the ubiquitous Bluesond Nodes in there many iterations 🙃.

So all my gear has been bought blind, imported two vastly different styles of speaker from the US and some Euro gear and Japanese vintage gear.  I've been pretty happy with the eventual synergy I've achieved on a very small budget.

Read enough info, chat to members here and study the gear you're interested in and then...pull the trigger and hope you've guessed right.

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Posted (edited)

I bought my current speakers without an audition. As although my Dealer is only a 45min drive away, at the time he had no examples on demo, being only a newly released speaker 0at the time. Though I based that decision on having owned (and been happy with) my previous Magico S5 Mk1's, and ear time with other S series speakers incl: my friend's S7's. With the small market in Australia, it is sometimes not possible to audition high end speakers...either because the Distributor isn't getting a pair in for demo, or the nearest Dealer/Distributor is interstate.

 

There are other instances where It can be worth rolling the dice and buying sight unseen, such as a well reviewed and revered pair of speakers coming up FS in the Classifieds at a nice price (eg: the recent estate sale of a pair of mint original SF Strads). And speakers which are sold factory direct at a significant discount, like the Qualio IQ's from Poland.

 

Generally speaking, if you can't swing an audition, my advice is to do as much research as you can about the speakers you're interested in, incl: reading the reviews, forum threads, Hifi Engine to read the specs and access downloadable items such as the original brochure, owner's manual etc. Also attending hifi shows is a good way to audititon gear you might otherwise not have the opportunity to hear (albeit in sub-optimal show conditions). Anyway, good luck with your journey to find the right speakers!

 

Edited by David A
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Posted

Usually anything new I try to audition and second hand not so much if any. I think if you are spending thousands on floorstanders it's a big risk not auditioning. You can watch as many Youtube video's and read as many reviews as you like but your ears still may not like them. 

 

Been there a few times seeing glowing reviews then go and have a listen........OMG so NOT what I'm after. Saying that my current main speakers I bought without auditioning. The reason, they were 60% off so I was willing to take the risk. Glad I did because I love them. 

 

Doesn't often work out that way though. You also have to think about the amplifier match as this can make or break the system. 

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Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, blakey72 said:

Usually anything new I try to audition and second hand not so much if any. I think if you are spending thousands on floorstanders it's a big risk not auditioning. You can watch as many Youtube video's and read as many reviews as you like but your ears still may not like them. 

 

Been there a few times seeing glowing reviews then go and have a listen........OMG so NOT what I'm after.


I generally agree with your comments. Though i'd personally be prepared to make an exception for speakers sold factory-direct based on my knowledge and experience. But yes it is always a good idea to audition speakers before buying to see if you like their sound, design, build quality etc.

 

Edited by David A
Posted
7 hours ago, POV said:

I have done it several times, including having custom speakers built which are obviously impossible to audition.  I think ultimately it depends on what kind of speaker you are looking to buy from which manufacturers, but if buying from brands where I like the house sound and providing the speaker measures well I do it with a fair degree of confidence.  I think if considering something bespoke, or from a small manufacturer where there is little info available about the product from reputible sources then it would be higher risk proposition.

 

One thing to consider is that if home audition is not possible (and these days it usually isn't) auditioning speakers in other spaces with other equipment is only ever going to be of limited value.  Listening room acoustics, and the speaker room interface are the most important factor in ultimate fidelity by far.  Everything else pales in comparison, so whilst listening to speakers/systems in stores or other peoples houses is of interest, and will give you an indication of the sound of the speakers it's important to remember that you are listening to the whole system, including the room.

 

Hey @Jeddie these two posts are pretty insightful. I had my speakers made by SGR Audio in Melbourne as prototypes for tens of thousands of dollars and many times thought I must be nuts. I'd heard other speakers in their range which were so good I believed I couldn't go wrong which turned out to be dead right but had a few sleepless nights.

 

Regards the auditioning. The vast majority of posters think it's imperative to audition but you'll never hear them as they'll sound in your finalised system in your room. The sound in the showroom or someone elses house with totally different gear to what you'll end up with gives no real clue as to whether you will be happy with the final sound.

 

2 hours ago, blakey72 said:

Usually anything new I try to audition and second hand not so much if any. I think if you are spending thousands on floorstanders it's a big risk not auditioning. You can watch as many Youtube video's and read as many reviews as you like but your ears still may not like them. 

 

Been there a few times seeing glowing reviews then go and have a listen........OMG so NOT what I'm after. Saying that my current main speakers I bought without auditioning. The reason, they were 60% off so I was willing to take the risk. Glad I did because I love them. 

 

Doesn't often work out that way though. You also have to think about the amplifier match as this can make or break the system. 

 

There's the rub! It may even come down to being prepared to sell them off later if truly not happy. Indeed, reading all the experiences of  all the posters on SNA the vast majority of them have owned many speakers over the years. Myself at four main pairs in five decades (plus a few fringe pairs) am quite stable and unexciting. Others would be in double figures. Doubtful that your buying your forever speakers, hell! - your but a first foot-fall on the trek up Everest.

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Posted (edited)

I have not made a speaker purchase for many years.  However all of my purchases were made without an audition.  I think I was pleased with each purchase only because the new speakers were significantly more expensive or better than the previous ones.  I usually buy used equipment .  If I were buying new speakers today I would try to audition them if possible.  Unfortunately speakers can sound quite different in your listening room than in a showroom or with different source/amplification.  Good luck with your search!

Edited by ganache
mis-spelled
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Posted
19 hours ago, Jeddie said:

Thinking about upgrading my floorstanders, but I have now moved down the coast and getting to stores to demo is much harder.

 

So I was thinking, how many of you have bought speakers without  auditioning? Were you happy/unhappy with your purchase?

 

Your experience?

I guess it all depends on who you are buying from and how much you're spending. If you're buying new, then you'd want to make sure that you can return them at little to no cost to yourself if they are not what you want. If second-hand, then I'd limit my spending and thus any disappointment.

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Posted
20 hours ago, David A said:

Though i'd personally be prepared to make an exception for speakers sold factory-direct based on my knowledge and experience.

I won't argue with that, I have zero experience with this so can't comment 😀

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Posted
2 hours ago, Addicted to music said:

Seriously don't go there.....Theres a hifi show in a couple of weeks, go there.....


And listen to suboptimal system setups in hotel rooms?

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Posted

When I'm researching I look at user reviews and opinions and evaluate all their gear so I can get a handle on what sort of sound they have a preference for, that way I can narrow things down to users that appear to go for a similar sound as I like myself.

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Posted
On 23/9/2024 at 12:27 PM, Jeddie said:

Thinking about upgrading my floorstanders, but I have now moved down the coast and getting to stores to demo is much harder.

 

So I was thinking, how many of you have bought speakers without  auditioning? Were you happy/unhappy with your purchase?

 

Your experience?

What sort of budget are we talking? Are you buying new or secondhand?

 

This would form the basis of my decision.

 

If spending thousands and buying new I’d want to hear them because I’d be losing thousands as soon as I have them home (unless they had an in home satisfaction period).

 

If spending hundreds and low thousands and buying secondhand I’d be happy enough to research them and not need to listen as long as I was confident enough to sell them for similar money if I didn’t like them.

 

Everyone’s budget comforts are different so determining the potential losses of getting it wrong is the first step imo.

 

As far as in store auditioning, I found this useful when I heard 4 sets of speakers in the same room using the same electronics,  you get to hear the characteristics of the speakers in that situation. Different speakers in different rooms with different electronics is hit and miss.

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Posted (edited)
10 hours ago, POV said:


And listen to suboptimal system setups in hotel rooms?

If the rooms are close to consistent with one another, then at least there is a somewhat fair comparison. Surely, the average listener's setup and room would be in an absolute class of "suboptimal". So a suboptimal audition for a suboptimal home room\setup sounds like the way to go I'm thinking.

Edited by Satanica
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Posted
26 minutes ago, Satanica said:

If the rooms are close to consistent with one another, then at least there is a somewhat fair comparison. Surely, the average listener's setup and room would be in an absolute class of "suboptimal". So a suboptimal audition for a suboptimal home room\setup sounds like the way to go I'm thinking.

Yeah exactly...My suboptimal system sits in my suboptimal room which sits in my suboptimal house which resides in my suboptimal suburb/town. Nothing's perfect 😜

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Posted
On 23/09/2024 at 3:18 PM, BRS said:

The selection criteria I used was to try to get higher efficiency i.e. nominal 8ohm and sensitivity 90db or greater.

 

Yes, this search was the exact reason I bought Tekton Design Perfect SET 15 loudspeakers (98dB; 8 ohms) from the USA.

 

NO possibility of auditioning. Reasonable prices--especially compared with some similar local items . Exhaustive/extensive research on the Forums and such beforehand.  A leap of faith, really.

 

The musical payoff has been phenomenal!

 

My 2c worth

 

 

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Posted
6 hours ago, Satanica said:

If the rooms are close to consistent with one another, then at least there is a somewhat fair comparison. Surely, the average listener's setup and room would be in an absolute class of "suboptimal". So a suboptimal audition for a suboptimal home room\setup sounds like the way to go I'm thinking.


Yeah sure, but my point was in response to the idea that listening to speakers at a hifi show is the antithesis  to buying without auditioning.

 

Absolutely go to hifi shows and listen away, just so long as we don’t make the mistake of thinking that the system or speakers will sound the same in our listening rooms.

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Posted
On 23/09/2024 at 1:18 PM, BRS said:

I do it, but only when I'm not spending more than $1000. If you dont like them you can always sell them. The selection criteria I used was to try to get higher efficiency i.e. nominal 8ohm and sensitivity 90db or greater. That way you don't have to spend a lot on an amp to drive them. My last purchase was from Adelaide Speakers. Admittedly I purchased a kit but I absolutely love them. 

I purchased a set of mains and then later on . . a centre channel from adelaide speakers.  i still use the centre and use the towers as my surrounds.  I was very lucky to find a second hand set of paradigm s8's V2 at a very good price and had wanted a pair for many years. . . . .so jumped at them and after 8 years,  i feel no need to change them for anything else.

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