2. speakers
  3. 124162-79898

Buying Without Audition

Surely I'm not the only one with the dilemma of living out in the boonies with no audio equipment dealer (other than Walmart) within 100+ miles.  How does one choose among the many speakers offered in any given price range without listening to them before buying?  The reviews are often skewed by self interest and, in any event, what you hear and what you like is completely subjective and the prosaic descriptions in the reviews mean different thing to different people.  After all, you really can't accurately describe in words what someone else might hear. The problem is compounded if you wish to buy "used" from a private party as there often is no right of return, and when there is, the cost of shipping both ways is a significant consideration, especially when looking for floor speakers.

Any educated suggestions?
larstusor

Showing 3 responses by dentdog

dentdog's avatar
dentdog
506 posts
 
I bought my whole system piece by piece without auditions. BUT I did study for about a year all things audio, primarily on this site. I began to gravitate towards time aligned, crossoverless, high efficiency speakers and balanced fully differential  electronics throughout. It paid off in spades. 
Just decided if I was going to spend that  much money I wanted to learn how things worked. 
dentdog's avatar
dentdog
506 posts
 
Volsfan, I too spent a lot of time looking at Salk/Murphy speakers. The SS12's were out and looked promising but ran into production problems. Jim was very open and honest as far as the different lines' attributes. 
Ultimately, what did you decide on and what do you drive them with?
dentdog's avatar
dentdog
506 posts
 
In Atlanta here. If you like I would be glad to have you over to listen to some Zu Def 4s if you happen to be in town for business. 
More to discover