Listen to a CD or LP in showroom?

Department of Motor Vehicles?

It means District (Washington, D.C.), Maryland, Northern Virginia (i.e., D.C. and its suburbs).

Unfortunately that's how it is at a lot of dealers.   I demo'd my DAC through the Roon platform.  I didn't really like it's interface , but it allowed me to play way more tracks than I would have by bringing my material.   75 % of my listening is via Streamimg now anyway ...

A good dealer in my experience will let you listen to different sources if they know you aren't a tire kicker.  And that's one thing I never am.   If I visit your store, it's not to waste your time....and if I am a regular in your store it is the least you can do for me.   

I went to Natural Sound in Framingham a few months ago looking for a turntable.    They spun a few records for me.  It was a nice demo.   While I did not buy that Rega,  I did go back a few weeks later and buy the Ortofon cartridge I listened to because I appreciated their time with me.  

This discussion reminds me of the HBO show "The Rehearsal" where someone reproduces, with stunning detail, exact copies of various venues so that the client can practice a social interaction.

I don't see how ANY dealership now, or in the past, can come close to offering a similar set up to one's particular situation for an audition.  Yes, many dealers will have sources that are much better, or worse, than your own, and it is simply unrealistic to expect a lot of choices for companion gear in an audition.  Even if there were choices, how would you know which is the "correct" model for a meaningful comparison for your system?  It makes sense to use the best possible source, to reduce its adverse impact on the sound, when auditioning other gear in the system. 

You could try to arrange to either bring in your own gear, or arrange for a home trial.  I know that some of the dealers in the DMV will allow either if they know you or have some confidence in you.  But, don't expect an okay for a home audition of really large and difficult to move speakers or delicate turntables unless you and the dealer are REALLY friendly.  My favorite dealers are Command Performance (Falls Church) and Deja Vu Audio (Tyson's Corner)--both are very friendly and helpful and you can probably arrange for a meaningful audition. 

@larryi - that's interesting - I was born and raised in Silver Spring (1951 - 1969) and I've never heard the term 'DMV' for that area, though that is clever. 

@trackmoe

I auditioned speakers with dealers that carried my integrated amp. The dealer wanted to make their speakers sound as good as possible and I controlled amplification. I wanted to hear the best possible through the speakers, so I was quite pleased when they used a streamer that I couldn’t possibly afford. BTW, as I valued the reproduction, I altered what I thought I could afford and it is quite possible that my current streamer is superior to the streamers used in the speaker audition. It is most important to match amplification to the speakers when auditioning.

It would have been useful if you would have posted your system on your profile. If you have heavy/rare amplifiers that can’t be taken to the dealer, nor found at the dealer, I would not have wasted your, or my time posting this suggestion.

@soix I have no idea why you are attacking him, His questions make perfect sense.

@grislybutter 

His questions are valid, but the tone was harsh.

While I agree that DAC, CD, vs TT/PS is pretty irrelevant. All can be optimized for the speakers… often that is good. But…

If you are looking at even mid priced speakers. They should hook up anything that they have in the store that you want. I recently went through an evaluation of some equipment. In this case it was integrated amps. I chose the speakers (75 pounds each) which they had to swapped in. Then we chose the DAC and streamer, then they swapped in the 75 pound amps… three of them in turn. Then we went back to what we thought was the best sounding amp.

No sale resulted… for a couple months. Then he bought better separates from the store.

So, I guess unless it is Best Buy they should allow you to choose the components.

@grislybutter Re-reading my post, you’re right and my apologies to the OP for the tone, but I stand by questioning his issue for the reasons stated above. 

You could have asked the same questions minus your attitude.

OP, no matter what medium is hooked up, you're still not going to get an accurate representation of the sound as it pertains to your home listening environment.

The room, amp, pre, power cables, interconnects, etc. would have to be identical to yours.

The best you can do is listen, and if you like that particular speaker's sound, arrange an audition in your home to see how they sound there.

The very very best Speaker Performance is when the Design is produced and trialled in the carefully selected environment to carry out the Testing of the design.

From that point on the variables with environments these designs are to function in are all quite different/unique.

One hopes a dealership demonstrating speakers has done something with the listening environment to help with creating a sound that is improved.

I do not see a dealership having a environment that is a mimic of a Manufacturers Testing Environment.

The same situation passes down to the Purchaser, they certainly may not have any attention given to the Listening environment in their home.

The Purchaser that has taken the time to create a environment with a selection of acoustic controls, or hired the services from a professional body, again will not have a mimic for a Dealers Environment and definitely not the Manufacturers.

A CD, Vinyl LP or Music File are only going to supply a music that one is familiar with, it is not going to create the end product sound.

The end product sound is going to be produced by the speaker, and that sound is very environment dependent, for it to meet 'what it says in the tin' qualities.    

I would just call ahead to the various dealers that you plan on visiting and tell them you want to bring your own CD's and LP's.  This way, they can move some CD transports and turntables around as needed in anticipation of your arrival.  

@trackmoe

Like most threads, this one was all over the place, and I’m just curious as to what you got out of the thread? Hopefully it was something positive that would help you find some new speakers.