Honestly - how did you buy your speakers? Audition or blind?

[Rug Doc]

Carrying on from the 'Do you buy hifi for looks or sound' thread, I'm very curious to see if we as a majority stick to the advice we always read about regarding actually auditioning hifi before buying it?...

Or do we jump straight in and hope for the best?

I'd have preferred a poll for source, amp & speakers separately, so we can see if one item is purchased more frequently without demos.. but you can only have one poll question at a time, so speakers it is - did you demo your speakers prior to purchase or did you think 'Those look lovely, I'm sure they'll work.'

 

[Joco]

The best way is undeniably to listen in a dealers, draw up a shortlist and then try at home.
That said, for buying s/h it’s rarely possible, and, for some ( like myself ) without access to a dealer the only way.
I’ve bought plenty over the last 10yrs after getting a broad spectrum of opinions and have only been disappointed once.

 

[Dinovector]

I was lucky enough to be allowed to bring my Focal micro utopias home for a week before buying after hearing a few demo'd

 

[zippy]

Semi-blind, namely I prefer to hear a speaker (or similar model) to get an impression of the type of sound they produce but have never managed to get the home demo that others say is essential.
Having said that my current KEF speakers were bought on a whim as I saw them by chance greatly reduced in price at a dealers and just couldn't let the chance pass by.
I had KEFs before though so I pretty much new what they'd be like without listening.

 

[stevec67]

Brief audition at the dealer's. However I knew what I was getting - double stacked ESL57s - so the audition was more "are they faulty?" than "will these work for me"?

 

[Sean K]

last ones were blind, but they were my 3rd pair of from the same manufacturer, so I had a good idea of what I was getting. They were also used and like Zippy (nice cat btw), were at a good price so if they really didn't suit.....

 

[monya]

Listen somewhere then arrange a home trial - always and with everything I’ve bought new which is everything.

 

[windhoek]

Blind, but thankfully the speakers are perfect for my ears and living room, oh, and for maintaining peace with my neighbours

 

[Galty]

Bit of both.... I bought some SH Proac super tabs after listening to them and had them for years, but decided I needed some more bass. I heard a pair of Spendor A5 and bought them, but the bass is too boomy in my small room! so I've bought a pair of Proac Response D15's blind and they are perfect. I'm thinking I need a new amp tho now hahaha

 

[poco a poco]

Extensive audition at my dealers and then about a weeks loan of a demo pair at home before ordering a pair that I had slightly modified.
Of course the problems then may come if you move house. In my case the size and shape of the room they were moved to was very different, but fortunately with a bit of room treatment they sounded even better.
IMHO a home audition of speakers is fairly essential if at all possible as it is hard to predict how they will work in your room even if you like how they perform at a dealers showroom.

 

[Tony L]

Tannoy Lockwoods: long-term experience of Tannoys in various studios, homes etc, found my first pair of 15” Golds at a freakishly low price and have been on the journey ever since.

JR149s: revisiting the past, they were my first decent speaker back in 1978, though I have a feeling my first place were bought blind (whole second hand system).

La Scalas: blind in the sense I’d never heard a pair, but I was running a pair of Klipsch Heresys so not a complete leap in the dark. One of those speakers that are so rare in the UK the only way to hear them is to take a punt on a second hand pair.

I’ve been doing this audiophile thing long enough to know the genres I like and those I don’t, and these days I tend to stay in the classic/vintage area so seldom risk much money if I want to move something on. I’d certainly never buy a new full-retail pair of speakers blind!

 

[chris4944]

Bought mine blind second hand. Very happy with them, but having never auditioned any others you do wonder if you're missing out on something better.

 

[simmey]

Auditioned about 5 or 6 pairs at three dealers with the same pre/power combo (not mine). Two week home demo of preferred choice to confirm/compare with current setup.

 

[TimF]

Generally I have listened to most of the ones that I have owned in the past, either at dealers, friends house, or in-home trial. The last pair, my Larsen Model 4's,were bought unseen/unheard, took a punt and it has paid off for the last five years. I have to admit, I wasn't entirely in the dark, having heard Sonabs and also the predecessor to the current model, the Carlsson OA-58.

As others have said, once you are familiar with certain makes/models, you have an general idea of how things may turn out, although there have been those occasional flops....

 

[Yomanze]

I bought my Royd RR3s blind, but they are rare and discontinued, so just took the chance.

I have also used Royd Minstrels, Sapphires and Sorcerers, so had a good idea of what I was buying into, and could've easily sold them on if they weren't to my taste.

 

[Rick_F]

How about a third option... I listened to them at the dealers / sellers place, but hadn't heard them in my listening room.

 

[herb]

Auditioned twice at dealers against others Harbeths, knew I could get them to work in my room.

 

[linnfomaniac83]

The one and only time I bought speakers blind (Focal 1038be) I really didn't get on with them, I'd never bought blind before and I certainly wouldn't do it again. The Focals were brand new and sealed and very well discounted, hence the reason I bought them but weren't the bargain I'd expected because they sounded dreadful in my room and with my equipment.

 

[djftw]

All of the above!

Rega. I am currently sitting in front of Xels I bought on eBay from British Heart and collected from Scunthorpe. I had never heard a pair, but I had mk1 and mk2 Elas already at that point. That very pair of Mk2s I had been listening to occasionally since childhood as they were a friend's father's until he gave them to me. The mk1s were another eBay purchase almost out of desperation when I moved in here and found that my 603s just would not work in my room. I did have quick listen to them on his Nait/P3/Elys before taking them away, the seller was a very decent guy. The Kytes were bought blind on the strength of the other Regas as I needed something I could hang on a wall in the kitchen.

B&W 603 s3 I first heard at Holburn HiFi in Aberdeen when I was looking at amps, I bought a pre-loved pair from Sound Örg when I moved back near York on the understanding I could bring them back if they didn't get on with me or the room...

If I went further back, car-boots, Hull Daily Mail classifieds and 2nd hand shops...

 

[kitemap]

I've always bought second hand so other than the Snell Es that I had imported from the US, I've listened to only on somebody else's system for a short period of time (basically just to see if they have any problems). So yes, I jump straight in after reading and advice as long as I'm getting a good deal and know I can pass on at little or no loss.
With low powered valves your choice is relatively limited anyway.