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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 1 response by mross1949

mross1949
17 posts
 
That is a problem (especially for large and heavy speakers for which return shipping can be expensive). In your shoes, I guess I would begin by doing a lot of web-based research (which it sounds like you may have already done, or started doing); then pick a city with a lot of brick-and-mortar audio dealers to visit or vacation in as you can (NYC, LA and Chicago come to mind here) and make the rounds of the stores. (Alternatively, attend one of the big annual audio shows... Rocky Mountain, Chicago, NYC, etc.) to audition many speakers and systems in one place. If neither of those is an option for you, Ihen check out some of the bigger (and well regarded) online retailers such as MusicDirect, Acoustic Sounds, Elusive Disc, and Upscale Audio. Another fav of mine is Galen Carol Audio in San Antonio, Tx. This is by no means an inclusive list... just the online merchants I've had goof interactions with... Best of luck,

Michael
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