Friends,
Every forum and magazine that I see about purchasing speakers always close with this mantra "Audition all the shortlisted speakers and buy the one you like best".
However, after many auditions I am really questioning this advice.
There are so MANY variables involved in an audition at a store that it is simply impossible to compare 2 different speakers.
For example:
a) The amplifier used at the store - every store has a different amp
b) The settings and volume on the amp
c) The positioning of the speakers
d) The acoustics of the room
e) The quality of the sound source (CD player, DVD player)
f) The time lag between auditions (how good are we really in remembering the quality of a sound as we shuffle between stores?)
g) The music/movie played
h) The amount of "break-in" already done on the speakers
With so many different variables, any opinion we form about the speakers could easily be wrong.
Even in the same store, they may try to promote one set of speakers over another purely on commercial reasons (clearing old stock, selling speakers that give them higher profit margins, etc).
My conclusion after all this is:
a) Rely on standard un-biased reviews offered by audio professionals who have compared and contrasted the speakers in their standard setup (not at the store)
b) Take your own CDs for auditions at stores
c) Try to audition multiple speaker sets at the same store using the same amp and players and settings (ask Salesman to simply switch the speakers and not change anything else)
d) Try to do all the auditions on the same day or same hour if possible
e) Carefully compare the technical specs
What do you guys think?
Every forum and magazine that I see about purchasing speakers always close with this mantra "Audition all the shortlisted speakers and buy the one you like best".
However, after many auditions I am really questioning this advice.
There are so MANY variables involved in an audition at a store that it is simply impossible to compare 2 different speakers.
For example:
a) The amplifier used at the store - every store has a different amp
b) The settings and volume on the amp
c) The positioning of the speakers
d) The acoustics of the room
e) The quality of the sound source (CD player, DVD player)
f) The time lag between auditions (how good are we really in remembering the quality of a sound as we shuffle between stores?)
g) The music/movie played
h) The amount of "break-in" already done on the speakers
With so many different variables, any opinion we form about the speakers could easily be wrong.
Even in the same store, they may try to promote one set of speakers over another purely on commercial reasons (clearing old stock, selling speakers that give them higher profit margins, etc).
My conclusion after all this is:
a) Rely on standard un-biased reviews offered by audio professionals who have compared and contrasted the speakers in their standard setup (not at the store)
b) Take your own CDs for auditions at stores
c) Try to audition multiple speaker sets at the same store using the same amp and players and settings (ask Salesman to simply switch the speakers and not change anything else)
d) Try to do all the auditions on the same day or same hour if possible
e) Carefully compare the technical specs
What do you guys think?