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How to listen to the good stuff?

How is one able to hear some of the 100's of great systems described in review after review?

There's been six or seven high-end dealers in the local area and I've been to a few out of state, and among all the auditions I've listened to at these places with all sorts of different speakers and electronics, from systems costing hundreds of dollars to systems costing many tens of thousands of dollars, only one system ever sounded 'great', and only one or two I would consider barely 'good'. The vast majority have sounded quite poor to awful.

The funny thing is, even with the awful sounding systems, the dealers will gush about how great it sounds, how it sounds so live, and use all the usual audiophile superlatives and descriptions to describe what I'm supposed to be hearing. Yet it sounds nothing like that to me at all -- poor sound, little emotional connection with the music, no PRAT, nothing like live music, and almost always boring. It doesn't come anything close to what I hear at home, or anything like the descriptions in so many reviews. Yeah, I know it's their job to talk about everything in glowing terms, but that is the point I'm trying to make. If all of this stuff sounds like crap at the dealers, how do I find speakers I might like better than the ones I have? How do I hear a great SET amp or an exotic horn system?

I want to hear some more of these setups that are described as being able to image a full size orchestra right in your living room and you can pick out each individual player, etc., etc.

The descriptions I've read of all the different audio shows over the years make it sound even worse than auditioning at a dealer. Crowded rooms with little chance to sit in the sweet spot. Systems setup the day before in a crappy hotel room. Poor selection of music. etc. And I don't know anybody with a high-end system, let alone the high-high-end stuff, and the audio 'club' (society?) is pretty much dead.

Do you guys think most of the dealer setups you've heard sound good? How do you guys listen to some of the more exotic stuff? Pretty much going to shows, or do you live in L.A. or N.Y.?

(Some of the speakers heard at dealers: Magnapan 1.7, Sonus Faber, various B&Ws, Wilson X-1 and Sasha ?, Joseph Audio Pearl, Linn, Vienna Acoustics, Totem, various Martin Logans, Thiel, ...)
bdhgon

Showing 1 response by fz1jmp

fz1jmp
33 posts
 
What a good question and one I have been struggling with also. I've been on the upgrade path for the last few months and after going around to my local hi-fi shops have decided that for me the best way to learn is to treat places like audiogon as almost a lending library. I research what I think I'm looking for, read the massive amount on here and elsewhere and try and dial in the sound I'm looking for within my budget. Then try and find that sound. Audition that item in my house for awhile and see if I want to live with that sound or keep hunting.

The best I got from the hi-fi stores is to learn what sound I don't like. I like the suggestion of an audio club, I did not know that existed, but I will be looking into that.

I also think it's really tough to match your house acoustics, I live in a house built in 1799, and my equipment is in the old part of the house. The pros are extremely thick walls that seem to have a nice affect on the sound, but the room is the oddest shape and I have a wood stove somewhat blocking the whole sound. But, again, buy getting the equipment in my house, I can hear exactly how it reacts to my particular setup.
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