Buying: Auditioning vs Research

[mr-audio]

It came to me recently that I’ve significantly changed how I think about buying audio equipment and wanted to share it.

For years I always auditioned equipment in person and felt that was required. I even created a list of 10 top tracks on CD that I would take with me. But a few years ago I found that this wasn’t very successful. Some of the high-end stores were too snooty. Some of the lower and audio stores were OK but I actually bought some stuff and then got it home and decided I didn’t like the sound there so returned it. Another one or two audition things that were just to get a sense of what that brand sounded like, but I purchased a different model in the brand online. Point is that even though I thought this was my best strategy in reality it was not as successful over the last 10 years or so.

In contrast, I began buying equipment online for its convenience, and usually a good return policy.) I made my selections based on reviews and comparative features/pricing/apparent. Sound quality. Make no mistake. Many times I just took a leap of faith. It turns out this was very successful for me. I bought two sets of expensive speakers, and two out of three amplifiers, and a turntable which were great purchases.

I think part of my lesson learned is that the stage in an audio sales room could be very different than your house so perhaps auditioning is not as accurate as one would think.

The point of this is that for any new buyer of audio gear, I would probably recommend you do a lot of research to see if you can ascertain what you might like, and maybe even get some opinions. And don’t try to spend too much time auditioning things in person. if it doesn’t work out you can return it with a small charge and try something else.

Just my two cents but I’m wondering if this sounds like heresy to some people or logical these days.

Things I bought without audition and loved: Forte IIIs, Dali Opticons (5s and 1s), Klipsch RPMs, Klipsh subwoofer, 3 NAD amps (modern and vintage), Marantz, AT turntable, other various gear like Schiit, WiiM, Amazon Link…

Things I bought without audition and returned: Denon, low end Klipschs, NAD C 700

Things I auditioned but either returned or declined for reasons other than their sound quality: Martin Logan’s, McIntosh, Parasound, PSB, many others.

 

[HarmonicTHD]

It came to me recently that I’ve significantly changed how I think about buying audio equipment and wanted to share it.

For years I always auditioned equipment in person and felt that was required. I even created a list of 10 top tracks on CD that I would take with me. But a few years ago I found that this wasn’t very successful. Some of the high-end stores were too snooty. Some of the lower and audio stores were OK but I actually bought some stuff and then got it home and decided I didn’t like the sound there so returned it. Another one or two audition things that were just to get a sense of what that brand sounded like, but I purchased a different model in the brand online. Point is that even though I thought this was my best strategy in reality it was not as successful over the last 10 years or so.

In contrast, I began buying equipment online for its convenience, and usually a good return policy.) I made my selections based on reviews and comparative features/pricing/apparent. Sound quality. Make no mistake. Many times I just took a leap of faith. It turns out this was very successful for me. I bought two sets of expensive speakers, and two out of three amplifiers, and a turntable which were great purchases.

I think part of my lesson learned is that the stage in an audio sales room could be very different than your house so perhaps auditioning is not as accurate as one would think.

The point of this is that for any new buyer of audio gear, I would probably recommend you do a lot of research to see if you can ascertain what you might like, and maybe even get some opinions. And don’t try to spend too much time auditioning things in person. if it doesn’t work out you can return it with a small charge and try something else.

Just my two cents but I’m wondering if this sounds like heresy to some people or logical these days.

Sincerely Mike: owner of Forte IIIs, Dali Opticons, Klipsch RPMs, 4 NAD amps (modern and vintage) and other various gear.

Yep also my experience. Visiting a showroom which does unexpected things to the sound as compared to home plus a sales rep blabbing BS at you is just more than I can bear.

 

[Purité Audio]

I always consider a component’s measurements first ( if they are available) then try and listen to the ‘possibles’ in your own home.
Comparing/evaluating at home is of course the ideal.
Keith

 

[DVDdoug]

Both?

With electronics, I'd mostly just go-by the specs. No need to audition. With digital audio it's "just data" and there's no reason for any difference (other than possibly noise from the analog-side of a DAC).

With analog electronics the only difference or weakness in "sound quality" is usually noise. That's tricky either way because there's more than one way to measure noise, and if you are listening & comparing the gains/levels have to be matched, and the more sensitive the speaker are, or the closer you are to the speakers you are. The only way to compare is with independent measurements from the same lab/reviewer (like here at ASR).

With amplifiers it's also helpful to get an independent measurement of output power because most manufactures are not completely honest and some are completely dishonest.

With speakers I generally don't trust the manufacturer's frequency response specs either. If they show a curve I'd be more likely to trust it and you can probably reliably compare the curves for different speakers from the same manufacturer. So again, it's best to have independent-comparable measurements such as you can find here.

IMO - Auditioning speakers is worthwhile but the room does make a difference. In a showroom it's probably more helpful to compare different speakers than to judge the sound of an individual speaker.

With headphones, (comparable) measurements can be useful but the measurements are tricky and "imperfect" and different people have different tastes & preferences. So auditioning is probably best and/or measurements are more helpful if you know what kind of sound (frequency response) you want.

I've never heard a difference or defect with a turntable unless it was super-cheap or broken. You'll get a difference with cartridges so it might be worthwhile auditioning if you can A/B. But the differences are usually frequency response (usually in the high end) and that can be tweaked with EQ or regular tone controls. (The capacitance in the turntable wiring, connecting cables, and the preamp will also affect frequency response.) I'm not sure if measurements are of any use (except for relative differences between cartridges) because I don't think there is a "perfect" test record.