Do You Buy Speakers Without Hearing Them?


In the 'good old days' there were a lot of hifi stores around so there was plenty of opportunity to go in and listen to various brands and models of speakers.  With the continuing disappearance of audio shops, I'm wondering if more people are making the leap to buy speakers they've never heard in person, or just limiting their purchase options to the brands they can hear locally?  If you are buying a speaker that you haven't heard, how do you get comfortable with that?  Magazine reviews?  YouTube demos?  

I've mostly heard any speaker I ended up buying, but in two cases I bought speakers that weren't available in my area.  I made my decision based on reviews.  In one case the speaker was really nice, but in the second case, the speaker was well-reviewed but ended up being disappointing.

Appreciate your thoughts.

 

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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.

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,

I broke my own rule and ordered a pair of Omega Super Alnico Monitors sight unseen.   

They ended up being a great speaker that is well suited for the application.    I find myself listening to my second system a lot lately, they are good