Comparing speakers at home questions

Different speakers have  physical set up differences which have to be considered. Quite often very different. Unless you are time constrained it pays big dividends to spend the time to ensure the speakers are optimally positioned for their best sound. You can't assume that where your old speakers were placed is going to work for other speakers.

Also, long term listening to each speaker with familiar (very!) music is, for me anyway, essential. There are often subtle differences you might not hear, or which are obscured, during short sessions. And, if you find things like brightness or bass boom (or no bass) you've got to figure out if its the speaker, the speakers placement or it's amplifier.

Take your time! :-)

You already know your current speakers well, where they sound best, and that has an influence on what your current reference is. It often takes a while to pick up on subtle differences and nuances, and to determine where a different pair of speakers sound best in your room. Placement is a significant factor, and even small changes can make a difference.  It's very likely that the new speakers won't be optimized if you place them where the old ones were.  I think it’s wise to get familiar with the new ones, find their best placement, then maybe do some A/B.

Thanks for all the responses. I’m currently letting the new speakers play to burn in a bit before doing back to back or any critical listening. 
 

The speakers are Monitor Audio Silver 100 (old) and Dynaudio Evoke 20 (new)

both similar sized bookshelf speakers so placement isn’t an issue, just swap one for the other on the stands. 

First impressions are that the dyns have less treble and at least as much or more bass. Will see how it goes when I can critically compare them. 

Both. When I was reviewing speakers I’d listen to the new ones for a while and end with a song I knew well that contained the sonic characteristics I needed to assess a speaker across many parameters. In my case that was Keb Mo’s “Muddy Water” from his Slow Down CD, and when putting my speakers back and putting on that song it told me a lot and often redirected what I thought I was hearing on extended listening with the new speaker. In short, my assessments of the new speaker I thought were accurate in long-term listening were often wrong or misguided, and ascertaining those differences gave me clues for particular things to listen for going forward.  Point is, there’s value in doing both. But realizing differences is one thing and is interesting/informative, and as others have mentioned the final arbiter should always be the ones you just enjoy listening to the most longer term. Hope this helps.

+1

I think that you are not doing a science experiment. Play one speaker for a couple of days, see how much you ENJOY listening to them, and of course how much fatigue you suffer. Then switch. Do the same.