Bought my tannoy eatons w/o a listen, luckily I like them. Hifi stores used to be prevalent...not any more. Also bought my wharfedale diamond 225’s without an audition. I bought them based on Stereophile’s Herb Reichert and the late Art Dudley’s review of them. They both seemed to enjoy them and gave them a very positive review. I’d have to say they were not lying...they are terrific speakers for cheap. My last acquisition was the JBL Synthesis 4309's bought on line. Still new in box, no idea how they sound. I bought them because they have horns, and because I think they look cool. They did receive many positive reviews as well.
Do You Buy Speakers Without Hearing Them?
In the 'good old days' there were a lot of hifi stores around so there was plenty of opportunity to go in and listen to various brands and models of speakers. With the continuing disappearance of audio shops, I'm wondering if more people are making the leap to buy speakers they've never heard in person, or just limiting their purchase options to the brands they can hear locally? If you are buying a speaker that you haven't heard, how do you get comfortable with that? Magazine reviews? YouTube demos?
I've mostly heard any speaker I ended up buying, but in two cases I bought speakers that weren't available in my area. I made my decision based on reviews. In one case the speaker was really nice, but in the second case, the speaker was well-reviewed but ended up being disappointing.
Appreciate your thoughts.