2. speakers
  3. 188342-21233

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.

 

Ag insider logo xs@2xazkeith
fuzztone's avatar
fuzztone
5,598 posts
 

Only once but it was a good buy. A great review in IAR that sounded (SQ) fine.

More telling is the homemade pair.

My two main pairs were acquired after schlepping the same records to dealerships.

gimmer
22 posts
 

Four of the last six were bought without hearing them.  One was returned (Walsh Ohm Tall).  For the other three I read or watched every review and looked at user comments in the forums about the speakers/manufacturer.  Two of the three (Volti and Coherent Audio) had something similar I could listen to (Klipsch/Tannoy) so those were not completely blind.  The third was Tekton which was completely unique.  Those three also had some type of custom finish which was important to me as well.

My next pair will probably be direct since it I am looking at open baffle - PAP or Caladan?

Good luck.

markrj
3 posts
 

I just purchased a pair of Heco Aurora 1000 towers from Audio Advice in the US. I was not able to listen to them prior to purchasing. They meet and even exceed my expectations for sound quality and esthetics. 

One tower suffered a small area of damage on the rear corner around the mid point during transit. Audio Advice apologized for the damage even though it wasn't their fault.  They shipped out a new tower less than 24 hours after learning about the damage from the contact support form on the website. They also emailed a pre-paid return shipping label for the damaged tower. What excellent customer service.

I still have the 30 day return available if I decide I don't like them.  I am 100% sure I will be keeping these gems. 

hifiman5's avatar
hifiman5
1,832 posts
 

I have owned Vandersteen speakers for the last 40 years.  Going in order from 2C to model 3 to 3A to 3A Signatures to Treo CT’s now with stereo subs. They just reproduce what goes in with a “you are there” sense of realism. I bought them before hearing them after reading consistent and corroborative reviews along with 40 years experience working my way up the Vandersteen line.  

terry9
2,333 posts
 

So far, only from brands and technologies that I have owned and liked. Scanspeak drivers for the sub, Magnepan DWM for mid bass boost.

But as you point out, the days of auditioning are fast disappearing.

More to discover