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.
It's a tough one, but I think the advice so far is quite sound. Best Buy Magnolia, which is relatively easy to find, carries B&W, Sonus Faber, and Martin Logan. They also carry McIntosh electronics, so if you find yourself near a Magnolia, you can get a taste for these easy to find and high quality brands. I suppose if I were you and I had my mind on a particular brand, gearing up for a purchase, I would read every review in print, study the company design philosophy and methodology, and if possible, take a trip to a dealer to listen to a couple of the models. At that point I would search for a great deal, on agon, or at a dealer, and take the plunge! Worst case scenario, you'll have to live with them for a while and sell them, hopefully for about what you paid. Good luck!
Same here, I'm in a 'no audio' zone. I generally buy used gear, some local and some not. All I've really gained from buying local is saving freight and making sure everything worked- the actual judgement happened at my house in my system.
This group is generally very helpful and searching the past threads should give you a rough idea of how a product performs and sounds. I've leaned toward products that had consistent themes throughout the threads and have been happy with most purchases. Local or not- I read up, and if I can't get a good gut feel I steer clear.
As some have told you already, if you buy preowned your downside risk is limited. Also, return shipping can be pricey, but it's good option to have if you buy from a dealer. I've read about shows and would love to attend, but have also read the show set ups are not always the best gauge of performance for various reasons.
My advice is do the research, read and ask. You will generally find more written on products that have been around for a little while.
I'm located in Louisiana and Hi-Fi shops are few and far between. I started researching speakers and a picky audio friend said that I should audition OHM speakers as he inherited a pair from his brother and he was sure that I would be more than happy with them. After reading everything I could find on OHM, I took the plunge and ordered a pair of the micro-talls.
The speakers took about 60 hours to break in, and the end result was so impressive that I ended up sending them back and upgrading to a pair of OHM 1000's. It cost me $95.00 to ship the micros back but I didn't care. I needed something that could handle a bit more power.
My advice to you is to research all the companies that will allow you a home trial. Ohm offers a 120 day trial period. Also, do your homework and read up on as many speakers as you can to see what the owners say, positive and negative about them. That helped me make my decision. Good Luck
Though I gave you advice to seek out a dealer earlier, I realized later that I didn't take my own advice recently. On a whim, and with some persuasion from another Agoner, I bought a pair of Zu speakers, based only on word of mouth. As others have said, buying used saves you lots of money that will not be recoup-able should you decide to sell later on. Since, I have my other equipment pretty well set up (as in: I'm not going to change anything soon), I felt taking a chance on these speakers was okay- If I hate them, I'll sell'em and hopefully not loose too much on the deal.
Though you haven't stated it, I am assuming you don't have any other equipment (amps, preamps, etc). In which case, I think you will be best served by making an effort seeking out a dealer and spending some time listening and getting acquainted with the brands out there. To be honest, it was the most fun part of getting a stereo system.
In my forty+ years at this, I've always lived in the "boonies". Early on, I was exposed to Tannoy speakers, and subsequently bought some 12" Monitor Golds, built cabinets, and then listened to them for 18 years.
I wound up going to B&W's, and then Dynaudio, but felt like I had to return to Tannoys, as though I had unfinished business with them. Sold the Dyn's; bought some 12" HPD drivers and crossovers, and built some 150 liter, 200 lb. bass-reflex cabinets, and now I will not be changing speakers before I leave this earth.
My HPD's sound great with 500 Wpc class D, or 9 Wpc SET 300B, which I switch to and from as my mood changes, and in a large room, 16 X 34 w/cathedral ceilings.
Just my way of dealing with being a long way from cities. Around 80% of my equipment has been purchased on Audiogon, as mentioned previously, it can be an enjoyable, and affordable, means of finding equipment you like, and will stay with over the long haul.
Sometimes you just have to jump in with both feet and take your chances. This isn’t as crazy as it sounds. I’ve come to learn that it takes weeks to figure out how I really feel about a speaker - you have to listen to it with all types of music material. And your own personal physiological state will help determine, in no small part, how music will sound to you. A pair of speakers may leave different impressions on you, depending if you're tired, or fresh, in a good mood, a bad mood, stressed, relaxed, etc. A three-hour audition at a dealer is better than no audition, but it’s no guarantee of happiness, and it goes both ways - a speaker that may not seem great in the dealer’s space may sound really enjoyable in your own space. Like many have said before me, you MUST listen to the speakers in your own space, and for more than just hours. You have to spend days or weeks with them and let your ears acclimate to them. Like jond above, I use Audiogon as an in-home audition service, keeping what I like and selling what I don’t like as much, and it’s worked out great.
Your ears are your own best guide and decision maker. I,too, do not have any Audio representation in my immediate areas. If you must road-trip it, then do so. The experience is wonderful and you will audition the gear of interest. Audio shows, now back in heavy rotation, are another excellent point.
If you buy smart and buy used you can use Audiogon as an in-home audition service basically, keeping stuff you like and selling stuff that doesn't suit you. I've done that countless times over the years to arrive at the system I have now, and have generally at least broken even on gear I've ended up selling. It's a somewhat labor intensive but very fun way to build a system over the long term.
That's why if I'm buying something used I will be patient and try to find a local sale where the seller is willing to demo......I did this with my speakers not too long ago. Fortunately they sounded better with my gear than what I originally heard them with.
I bought my preamp and DAC new, luckily I heard them with some serious associated equipment , so I knew they would not be the bottleneck in my system. I felt that if they sounded great in a mega buck system they would be a good foundation in my humble set up.
My system is at the point where I'm afraid to make any changes because everything gels and sounds great together...so now I focus on the music and not the gear.
I think shows are great and can be fun but it's hit or miss. Sometimes you walk in a room with $200k worth of equipment and it sucks, other times you are blown away by a modest setup.....it really depends on a lot of variables. Of course if you are shopping for speakers it's tough when you are not listening in your room or at least a room with similar dimensions.
While I agree with most that you need to audition I am was in the same boat (or is it boonies) as you. The one component that varies the greatest in sound are the speakers - 95% of the time if I had to guess. But I didn't have a dealer near me, so I did my research and read the reviews and made sure whomever I bought from had a return policy. That happen to be Crutchfield and they happen to be selling the Thiel CS2.4's - the speakers I was interested in. So I took the plunge.
All the the rest of my system other than the BAT preamp and Parasound JC3+ Phono pre was bought direct from authorized internet dealers with return policies. And I did use them. Though it was a pain, in the end I made it all work.
So it can be done. The upside (and downside) is since you probably don't have any reference systems to listen to, you have only "you" to judge when good sounds "good" - and that's all that really matters!
Matching speakers to your room should be #1. There are many members with a great deal of experience here. Perhaps you could give some specifics on your room size, current equipment, what you like and dislike about your current system and what direction you wish to go in. Then some reccomendations could be made. At that point, like many others have suggested, it would be advisable to do a road trip and listen to the prospective candidates. This way you could narrow the field to speakers that actually would have a good chance of performing well in your environment and to your taste. FWIW
I bought speakers without an audition since dealer closest to Chicago was in Pennsylvania. I based my decision on the glowing reviews (many years in the row) as well as the warm natural sound I was looking for. In addition it was 6 month old dealer demo for a little bit more than half of the price (small reselling loss). It all ended up good and bad. Good because speakers are absolutely wonderful and bad because lack of dealership base made manufacturer go bankrupt - hence no support.
Going to shows is good But usually the rooms are not too good. That said if you are looking to replace existing speakers the best thing to do is explain the sound you would like get and what you're looking to change with your existing speakers. Of course most folks will tell you what they own is the best. So take inputs with a grain of salt. Because everyones expectations of what they want to hear is different. But also make sure to mention your current electronics and your room size and speaker placement.
When I was a lot younger, and living in or near a city, I did the same thing and became very familiar with the brands and sounds of the time. A lot of sound waves have passed under the bridge since then, and there are so many more products now. I understand that there is a "systems" approach and the same limitations apply to auditioning preamps/amps and sources. So much to choose from spread out all around different dealers in different cities. As you know, it is hard to A-B compare components that you hear at different places at different times. This is one of the problems of living out in the country......but I ain't movin' back to town.
When I was a lot younger, I visited every shop I could get to to listen to speakers and equipment, so I had a notion of what I liked. I think if you are now getting serious with hi fidelity stereo, you should make it a point to go to some audio salons and spend some time getting to know the various makers of equipment. A good dealer will help guide you. And, not to be patronizing, speakers work as part of a system. The other parts: amps preamps and dacs should be evaluated together with the speakers so you get the sound you are looking for.
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