Bought a system without auditioning, thoughts?

Are you able to return or exchange any of it if you don't like it? 

My thoughts are that you bought some good equipment. I have no idea if you're going to like how it sounds after you put it all together, though. Expensive way to find out.

It'll largely boil down to how well you like the Klipsch, and how they play with your room.  The components are all good stuff, and the MP500 with the SL1210 should be excellent together.  

Congratulations! Get to work and put it together. Allow some break-in time and enjoy. You will know in due time where to make necessary tweaks or changes.

One thing you didn’t mention, do you have a dedicated listening room and what is the potential for some room treatments? 

How about setting it up and listen. You are the judge of liking it or not. If somebody comments that this set up sucks, highly unlikely, would you sell it right away without trying it out?🙄

Closing day on house got pushed back, that’s why it is not put together.  I have kids can any room by dedicated? (I think I need 7 years until they have no interest in me). The only items I can probably return are the klipsch, I wanted something with a broader horizontal dispersion and could be placed closer to a wall but still have bass without a woofer.  In the future I want to add DAC and power conditioner and could prob upgrade turntable (technic is mostly for nostalgia and I had it before everything else)

All good components, and they will most likely sound very good together. After break-in time the only question is will your system suit your needs and likes. I believe at least half of the music-listening community, if not a larger percentage, cannot audition equipment they purchase in a store let alone in their home. I'm glad to read that you decided to "bust a move" instead of thinking about what to do and being stuck in neutral. Eventually, you will sell one or more of your components and purchase something else, I call it the evolution of audiophila.

I almost always buy equipment without auditioning.  It is difficult and expensive to audition.  And I make pretty good decisions on equipment.  I rely very little on published reviews is one of my secrets of my success.

I just calculate what I will lose if I need to promptly resell.  Often with used equipment that number is 0.

Jerry

I agree that liking what the Klipsch provides is probably a major factor in liking your system.  

Get the room right and get the setup right and you should be a happy camper. The room and the setup will affect the majority of how it sounds. Nice choices of equipment. Enjoy!

carlsbad2

I almost always buy equipment without auditioning.  It is difficult and expensive to audition.

My experience is the opposite. Auditioning is relatively easy. What's expensive is not listening before purchase.

I guess I am going to learn a hard lesson.  Any thoughts on potential different speakers that could be placed close to a wall?

funny thing about life is that one often gets exactly what they deserve... 🤣

seriously, it is all good stuff, hope it works for the op

@jshira 

Hope it works out and if not, that you have return options for all of it.  

The problem with auditioning speakers in the store is that you have to take the dealer's word for it, if it's even brought up, on how long the speakers have been broken in. Many will sound very, very different out of the box than they will 200 hours later. 

Why do you say you're going to learn a hard lesson? I would give the speakers as long a trial period as the company allows. I ran a few trials before settling on the speakers I have right now. It can take some time. The only problem is reboxing the speakers! I wouldn't worry so much right now about other options. Settle into listening to the Klipsch speakers for a couple of weeks. See if you can get to the point where you're just listening to music without constant analysis.

You have purchased a lot of great equipment. I would relax and be excited at the prospect of having a great system. I’d like to point out that Pass Labs amp is an incredibly good piece of equipment… that I would say is as middle of the road audiophile as you can get. It has a great tonal balance, not tipped towards really warm or fatiguingly detailed… has excellent musicality (makes you tap you foot and emotionally be involved with the music), and lots of power.

I could go on… all good stuff.

I think your reaction will largely depend on your history with high end audio. If you have none or a very small amount, you are likely to be simply overwhelmed. So, if you will be comparing this with a inexpensive audio / video processor… it’s going to sound great. I think this is where what you don’t know works to your benefit.

So, if I were you. I would set it up and enjoy. As has been pointed out… you have all great components. It will take at least 200 - 500 hours to break in. You want to learn the nuances of the sound. Remember don’t judge until at least +200 hours.

Read about speaker placement and room treatments in the first months. These make a huge difference in sound quality.

This becomes your reference system. After a long time you can venture out and hear other systems and see if you think some difference in character of the sound is worth pursuing… probably the speakers.

I’m sure it will all work out sooner or later. Hopefully sooner. 

I only find waste in cables

Cardas cables usually cost 100 and even 1000x more vs the cables used to record the music you're listening to so they don't make sense by default even without auditioning. These cables even sometimes more expensive than an ENTIRE Technics 1210G!

Believe or not, for the same reason I don't purchase Prada, because there are a lot of things to wear that are better and cheaper than Prada.

Being a cable guy, I am just curious about the reasons of choosing Cardas.

And as others say, you have to really like your speakers or nothing will make sense. Yeah, burn them in for 250 hours at low and moderate levels. Be nice to them, they should be worked into the sound, slowly, step by step, not hit by heavy metal at concert level volume.

Good table and cartridge.

The Cardas where a good middle ground on price I was willing to pay and some of the reviews I read is that they lean a bit warm.  To be honest you can read so much about cables and I walked away from that rabbit hole feeling like Cardas would be right for me.

Send it to me and I will run it through its paces for you and then return it to you. You will need to provide postage and insurance. 

I have a pair of Forte IV , I really like them.  I have used them with 40 watt PP tube amps, 7 watt 300b , and a 40 watt SS Integrated Amp.    

I bought an Integrated Amp for a second system and hooked it up to the Forte ... sounded so good I left it my main room for three weeks. 

My Dad has the Eversolo A6 and it is an excellent unit. 

The Technics / XP17. ?   can't imagine going wrong there...

The Pass is a great Amp, hopefully the system surpasses your expectations 

The Forte IV has many wonderful reviews and seems to deliver a good bit at this price point. I don’t dislike Klipsch in that I have a Klipsch 9:1 system. I was thinking of running a low wattage system, since I’ve had great success with a 300b amplifier at eight watts per channel, but I didn’t find the Forte IV to sound right to my ears. That really shocked me in that I chose a dealer specifically because they had the Forte IV. I bet they sound better with tube amplifiers. That said, after visiting a couple of vendors, I ended spending many multiples of the Klipsch price to get the sound that I was after and I ended up with a power amplifier similar to what you have. So, here we have a speaker that seem to elicit very different responses and perhaps that also has something to do with how they are driven. After hearing them, I don’t think that you will be left wondering if they are what you want. You will know if they are to your taste.

The ONLY criteria for buying a system is HOW IT SOUNDS TO YOU.  I have heard a lot of very positively reviewed equipment that has disappointed when auditioned.  I will never buy equipment that I have never heard.  Even phono cartridges, the least expensive piece of equipment in my system (currently a Lyra Skala).    

Should sound nice, but I will say you're buying 225wpc more power than you need with Klipsch speakers. If you can exchange the int250 for one of the lower powered ones.  Specifically one of the Class A amps, as class A amps IMO sound better with Klipsch speakers and you don't need the power with close to 100db and 8ohm load.  You may even find you can do separates at lower power than a big integrated. no point buying power if you don't need it unless your thinking other less efficient speakers down the road. 

OP,

Cardas cables 👍. Great choice. 

Good gear you picked, I am Ex-Klipsch Forte IV owner and you will be just fine with the Integrated amp.  They work with a lot of different gear for SET amps to solid state amps.  I found they liked the extra power as it will tighten up the bass vs a n lower powered SET amp.  When I switched from 2a3 to 30w push pull tube amp the sound tightened up and I liked the extra headroom from the additional power.  If for some reason you don’t like the Klipsch having a higher powered amp allows for more flexibility in speaker selection. I only sold mine as I am a Quad ESL57 junkie and decided to have mine upgraded with new heavier cabinets after the upgrades were done from Kent at Electrostatic Solutions.   I will miss the Forte IV’s as they did so much right…

Yup, fine with me. My current system I also haven’t auditioned a single component and love it ten times more than the previous which I auditioned for two days.

 You will love yours. Amazing components!

@jshira *G* H.o. on my part, but it doesn't seem like you selected by picking random names out of a hat... ;)  While waiting for the R.E. to clear, moving magic to occur (and the fairy dust that comes with that...), always a feat that's varied in treat...

...I'd stealth a minimum array in the 1st room that empties....yeah, not a fair test, but something to make 'moving muzic' and a place to gather the grit to carry on anon..(kiddy-proofed as poss, of course...)....

Always helped our efforts; last out, 1st in....just a temp(ting) suggestion...;)

...and happy listening in the new local... 👍😃

...spouse may/may not think you insane....

Lean heavy towards spouse prefs...

We expect a full post breakin report!

Good luck, not sure I would ever do that but it's just money.

It appears that you rely on the Eversolo DMP A6 for streaming and digital-to-analog conversion. Its internal DAC performs only above the average and will likely leave much to be desired with a truly hi-fi system. It is recommended that you consider investing in an external DAC to match your system.  Without auditioning of course.

You are over thinking it before you even try it. RELAX.

You bought good stuff, let it all break-in while you treat your listening room. A year from now, you can over think it and start the component swapping as needed. 

Int 250 is one of my faves. The fortes iv are great too - enjoy, this is a wonderful setup. Wonderful.

The only part I question is the pass with the fortes. My experience with the heritage line is that they sound best with tubes. Who knows though. You’ve got great stuff and it might be a match in heaven. Have fun finding out. 
 

cheers 

Based on the components at the quality and price point all systems tat this level  sound good 

learn to like it 

killer components great cables

room treatment and speaker placement are crucial

Good luck

Willy-T

I think you did pretty well.  Pass and Klipsch are a good match.  I use the XA25 with Crites(Cornwall sized).   But if for some reason, you don't like the speakers, you have plenty of power for most speakers.

A couple things to consider:

If you bought silver wires, it can make the horns sound bright.

I would point the center of the speaker @ or a little behind you.. I would not jam them up against the wall, unless that's the only way.

I would isolate the speakers.  You can try springs if you want to hold back the cost.  This really helps overall sound.  That's a big box vibrating on the floor.

I would add filters of some sort to the ethernet feeding streamer.  I was shocked at the difference.  Get rid of any switching power adaptors, wall warts. Linear power supplies 

Subs will also help much.  

Any speakers you buy will probably cost more, if you give up on Klipsch.   This version of the Forte is improved.  If you get listening fatigue that, hopefully, goes away.

Full disclosure:  I bought all my components without listening.  Luckily, I  ended up with very clean and neutral sound.  I also have a dedicated room with sound improvement.  

Best wishes in getting your own room, and not a square one.

Wow! that's SWEET! 

I bet that was a chunk! of change ... how did you tell your wife? Lol

Like what you have done. Amp choice can transition to different speakers if the Klipsch don't pan out.

Record cleaner?

Better Dac?

I am tightroping the digital with the analog and afraid selling short in both directions.  Though budget constraints are a factor. Joe

Once set up , just let it play ! I like to try to be non critical of any new component. I like to play FM or any source like TV through my system for a while , sort of like background music or noise. After a short period of letting MY ears acclimate to the new presentation of sound I will play some quality material as I tweak speaker placement. Then after a few nights of playing some great music , I get lost in the music and forget about the hardware. Hopefully you’ll love how it sounds after dialing in

like buying a bridge in Brooklyn

As long as you can figure out how to plug it in you will love it and it will blow you away. The only significant improvements you might make down the line are subwoofers and a digital preamp like the upcoming DEQX Pre 4. 
 

I like Auditioning gear but I usually buy site unheard in situations when I know what I am getting by design and construction quality. In many instances I know where I am heading years in advance. 

Haha the long story was a divorce.  No one to justify anything to.  I am not looking for a significant other at this point so figured I would marry my music.

I just did the same thing. Bought a whole system that I never heard before. I used to have a set of Martin Logan Aerius I speakers so I know what Martin Logan ESL’s sound like. I was quite confident I knew how everything was going to sound and I was right… but it actually turned out better than I had thought. Bought it all used and paid $10K. Original price was $25K. Some amazing used bargains out there but you can’t listen first.

Every piece in my system has been bought without audition.