Tips for Auditioning equipment for low or zero expense


Other than making purchases for multiple units from multiple retailers and being responsible for return shipping and potential in transit loss/damages, how are auditions possible without a local brick and mortar?  Thanks.  I run an Ortofon OM40 through a Teccnics 1210GR into a Peachtree Nova 300 integrateds internal phono stage and I want to audition alternative phono pre amps.  Vincent, Rothwell, Ifi, Project, Sutherland and other under $1000 options on my radar.

truex14

Showing 1 response by deep_333

a) Network/Socialize/Make friends with local audiophile in your area.

b) Audit gear in their houses, let them audit your gear/room (catch flaws with your setup, etc).

c) Start a gear loan program with such dudes. You loan him something for audit, he loans you something for audit. If he really likes what you have and you really like what he has, it may convert from loan to trade, etc.

 

Note:

If dude lives in a 1 horse town, he may be out of luck (w.r.t a through c). If he is very antisocial and introverted (a percentage of audiophiliacs), a through c may not quite work for him either.