Buying "Sound Unheard"

I agree 100%. I am currently looking for a power amp and have no way to decide between an Odyssey Stratos and a Belles 150A. I have no idea what to do...

There are some reasonable alternatives if you do not have an authorized dealer(s) within 200 to 400 miles. First of all, some manufacturers who sell factory-direct do offer a free home trial period, often ranging from 10 to as much 30 days. Your sole responsibility is the shipping costs. Therefore, you may want to contact a specific manufacturer and determine their policy. Some manufacturers are occasionally willing to arrange a trial through an authorized dealer. There are also some enlightened dealers who sell via mail or Internet order who may have similar trial policies. Over the past 20 years or so, I have had considerable success with AUDIOCLASSICS.COM. Yes, their prices can be somewhat on the high side, but it may be a more than acceptable trade-off to insure your satisfaction. I would also suggest contacting Galen Carroll at GCAUDIO.COM. A superb and totally ethical dealer by any objective standard. Other sources to investigate, though I do not know their home trial policies, are: AUDIOLOGIC.COM in Iowa; JSAUDIO.COM in Maryland; and AUDIOMAX-LTD.COM in California. I have personally purchased several items from all of these dealers and never had a problem; and I have also been treated courteously and fairly. HCMAUDIO.COM sometimes has electronics on sale, though they do have a restocking charge. FATWYRE.COM also has some non-cable/interconnect gear for sale on occasion.

I have bought several components and speakers without ever having heard them, some from dealers who will take things back if you dont like them without charging you a restocking fee. Cd players from Reference Audio Video, a Classe amp from another store, I took back.

But the most risky and rewarding purchases I have made without having heard the components were my two sets of Harbeth speakers. The first, a pair of HL-P3 mini-monitors, I bought from the then-distributor several states away. He was not going to take them back. I bought them on the basis of the Stereophile review. I liked them so much I started looking into the other Harbeth speakers and noticed a review of the Compact 7's by Professor Greene in The Absolute Sound.

I then enquired of people who had listed their C-7's for sale on the internet as to their reasons for selling. They told me what they didnt like about the speakers.

Then I found a dealer in the UK with a website (Signals) and started emailing him with questions about the speakers. Eventually, I bought a pair of these speakers from Signals, without ever hearing them, primarily on the strength of the Absolute Sound review. (The proprietor realized there was a market in the US, however small, and added some pages to his website advertising the Harbeths for export.)

For all the complaints about reviewers, I have found that if you read carefully and are familiar with the reviewer's views on other products, reviews can help. You can also find honest retailers who are willing to discuss the equipment they sell by email or over the phone, and most of them want you to be happy with what you buy, so most really high end dealers I have encountered will tell you if something is not suitable for the rest of your system.