Do You Buy Speakers Without Hearing Them?

Bob @dorkwad  best answer here.

The safest way is to listen to them in your system at home.  Won't make a bad decision that way.  I've learned the hard and expensive way more than once.  I know that I'm a VMPS RM40 BCSE man.  I love the VMPS ribbons and have owned about 5 of them.  Listened to a couple before I bought but they were in an unfamiliar system.  Made poor choices both times.  One other I bought without hearing them based on good reviews--also turned out poorly.  My choice back in 2012 still beats out all challengers to my ears.

Bob

I have many reasons for my answer. I always listen to any speaker before I buy. The reviewers, people who give 5 stars do not have my ears. All ears hear differently, and it Boils down to what kind of sound you enjoy. I hear cars going a block away with so much bass I can hear reverb echoing and resonating around me. I call it noise, they think it’s great I am sure. Brick and mortar demos give you an idea. At home, they will sound different. Especially on your system. A break in period too will change as they break in.

Speaker preferences are so specific that I would always make sure I heard them before I sprung for them--even if it's just at a show.  I've owned Merlin, Neat, Klipcsh, Nola, Linn, Audio Note, Magnepan, Q Acoustics, Harbeth, Votli, and Fleetwood (still have the last four) and heard them all ahead of time before buying.

The only exception was a pair of KEF LS50s that were on sale for $799 and were going on my bar, so not an ideal placement and under $1K.

I did. No way to listen unlless you buy. Thats the journey of hifi.

When I was working, I traveled a lot for my job. In the late afternoons and evenings, I would visit brick-and-mortar stores to listen to a wide variety of CD players, amps, and speaker combinations. And I read reviews. In the early 90's, I bought a pair of Thiel CS2.2 speakers (used) from a brick-and-mortar store. I loved them, and enjoyed them for decades. I bought other models from the Thiel line (CS1.5, PowerPlane) without audition, and enjoyed them as well. So, when a used pair of Thiel CS7.2 become available, I bought them without an audition. It's probably the speaker that my heirs will have to figure how to freight out to the next owner. Later on, I also bought a pair of Thiel SCS3 speakers without audition. Once you are happy / accustomed with the sound of a particular designer, it seems to be pretty low risk to upgrade within their line.  Over the years, I also upgraded the quality of my amplification without auditions. (Forte, Krell, Classe, Clayton, PS Audio, Boulder, to currently, D'Agostino). I have found that quality components can be readily re-sold without much trouble. I now live near Denver, so TMR has been helpful in my journey, And financially, the cost of trading in a piece of kit for another amounted to pennies-per-day for the time that I "auditioned" the item.

And yes, I still upgrade digital sources on occasion, without auditions. But, when I can audition (like PS Audio, Boulder, locally in Boulder), I take advantage of that.

Enjoy your journey,