How to listen /audition at audio shows?


I’ve been to RMAF a few times and learned a lot. Great fun and I eventually bought quite a bit of gear that I heard there. Right now I am going to Capitol Audio show to try to audition several high-end streamers (Aurender, Lumin, Innous, 432 EVO, Grimm and Antipodes are on my list). My request is for advice on how to compare models that will, of course, be in different systems in different rooms, etc. We all know how limited listening is in hotel rooms and that it will always sound different in your house with your system, etc etc. Accepting that, what are some of the smart strategies you’ve found to compare components at an audio show? Wouldn’t it be great if I could get two of the streamer vendors to connect their units to the same system, say after hours ... Not likely I know but any other ideas, tips or strategies? thanks
mcmanus

Showing 1 response by jjss49

my 2 cents

in general, @tvad has nailed it, you can’t really assess or compare gear at shows... wayyy too many variables/unknowns - shows are fun to see the gear ’in the flesh’, meet people behind the gear, and at best, provide a very very rough screen to note what might sound good to you -- thinking is, if a room sounds particularly good at a show, they have achieved something pretty difficult, and it may be worth your pursuing what’s in it - noting the gear in the chain, the room situation AND the setup - the latter 2 are critical, esp. listening triangle...

specifically, to ’hear the sound of a streamer’ at a show? forget it... done right, you can barely hear the difference between competent streamers in the controlled environment of your home and even then, is it the cabling? power management? connection interface? signal feed? -- that said, you CAN see how well a streamer is built, if you like how it looks, and what software/controls are being used (important!), see if those may suit your fancy