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

Did you audition your speakers before buying them?

  • Yes I went out of my way to demo before purchasing

    Votes: 72 50.3%

  • No, I jumped straight into them without knowing.

    Votes: 71 49.7%
  • Total voters
    143
Despite all the advice I've ever given to everyone ever, I bought mine without ever hearing a pair. There are only about ten other pairs though, so an audition was pretty unlikely. I auditioned/loaned/heard several times all the others though.
 
There's not much chance to audition second hand, I just checked funtionality and struggled to put them in the car. The only problem is, now I want a mint pair.
 
Kind of halfway between the two options. I heard them at a hi-fi show then bought them from Q Acoustics (3050). Thankfully they were what I hoped for.

Andrew
 
As above I'm somewhere in between the two options.

Although magazine reviews aren't the 'be all and end all' they will give you a lot of clues on the suitability to your system and environment. And some idea of their performance level.

With that in mind you then takes your chance. My luck has been better than fifty fifty so far when buying with insufficient auditioning.
 
hi mission 707 then 770,was gobsmacked that was 87,bought ma gr60 after audition against bw 703 I think,then ma studio60 blind,was between revel f32,proac150,s,i wonder how they sound,heard Lockwood golds with paul coupe crossovers,blew my mind,maybe he wont live long,sorry paul but man mind thyself,ps kef 104-2 were really good as well had loads of kefs,regards charlie
 
Bought my Martin Logan SL3's blind from a dealer on pfm. Knew what SL3's were capable of and they were the right price.

I met the dealer, went to his storage space, looked at the condition of the speakers and took them home. The SL3's were even better than I expected and I haven't regretted a moment of it.

Having said that, I might put them up for sale soon on pfm.

Jack
 
My current speakers are a late pair of Linn Saras whIch I have had since they were new. I did not auction them but was advised by Derek Whitington that they would make a very suitable replacement for a pair of very rare Strathearn speakers which had been a gift but alas got damaged. My insurance company asked for a suitable quote for a replacement from a reputable dealer as the Strathearns by then were irreplaceable and Derek at Loughborough suggested the Saras which I thought would be good having heard a two sets of Linn Kans which impressed me greatly. If the Saras were anything like as good then I would be well pleased. When they arrived with their stands they were much heavier but smaller then I imagined - but when I heard them I was very pleased indeed - in fact I have never really wanted to change them as both sonically and physically they suit me well. A lot of sound from a smallish box despite not being the easiest things to drive yet they still impress many who hear them today.
 
I audition where I can, but it can be difficult if you buy used stuff, which I usually do. I've bought three pairs of used Harbeths solely on reputation and in the knowledge that I could shift them on without too much difficulty if they didn't work in my systems. Two pairs stayed and the third pair were sold on.
 
Auditioned at dealer with a "homelike" setup, so it was pretty useful.
My previous pair I bought sight unseen, but it was an upgrade to a larger version of a speaker I already owned, so I knew I'd like it.
 
I heard linn kans at Sound advice in Loughborough. There was a pair playing in the little workshop area and I waited until I could afford a pair

Before that, with my first system I auditioned AR7 and AR6 loudspeakers before buying the smaller and less expensive AR7. Leaving enough in the budget for a tuner.
Got to hear a pair of AR3 and eventually purchased a pair second hand and in perfect re-condition a few years ago
John
 
Listened to Harbeth SHL5+ at Dave's place (Radlett) for a couple of hours (the last 90 minutes being unnecessary), bought immediately.

Bought P3ESR blind, a no-brainer, and SHL5+ 40th Anniversary blind because what could go wrong? Answer: Nothing
 
Thank-you so much for all your answers, been fascinating to read your stories. I would put money on the fact that if the same question was asked about amplifiers, rather than speakers, that the poll would sway even more in towards the blind purchase..

Right I'm off to eBay to find some small sealed speakers I like the look of.. Cheers! ;)
 
I had a pair of Spendor s3/5r2, i always loved them but thought i could improve on them so sold them and auditioned several other speakers. Was so annoyed that i couldn't find anything that suited my room better so I went out and bought another pair in a different finish blind and was very happy and surprised that Spendor had changed them and they were so much better than the ones I had before. Better bass driver, better cabinets etc.
 
All four pairs (count 'em) of OEM loudspeakers I've ever owned were bought with nary a quick listen at the shop, at best. Over the course of ownership, I loved the AR94, wasn't too keen on the Linn Nexus, and thought the Sonus Faber Concerto had a fabulous mid, let down by flabby bass and coarse treble. None of these compare to the venerable Yamaha NS-1000Ms, which are truly sublime.

OTOH, I've had quite a few loudspeakers for extensive home dems. Never bought any of them. Such is this is a fickle game.
 
I was interested in listening to Royd speakers as they work well with Exposure amps. Bought a used pair on the chance and they stayed. If not would have just sold on and tried another pair. At least this way you get to listen for an extended time in your home environment
 
I bought a pair of AVI ADM9.1 speakers secondhand for a reasonable price to put around the computer screen and to see what all the fuss was about. They performed well in a not very good siting, being crammed between a corner on one side and a bookshelf the other.
Subsequently, DM10 speakers were bought for professional monitoring and mixdown duties, the 9s being relegated to TV duties with a sub where they perform very well and reveal all sorts of transmitted nasties as well as doing justice to better sound on the proms for example.
I would not usually buy speakers without auditioning first so the secondhand introduction was a useful workaround.
 
last pair of speakers i bought at a dealer was the verity audio rienzi at reference fidelity components . went down by train and he kindly picked me up and compared to his standmounts . the latter were extremely good [ raptor i think] and really had some bass but the rienzi had such emotion and they were quite compelling. because i knew that the dealer had checked them over and was not able to improve on the crossover as it was already very fine i went back and collected them . they really suited my room . its a shame they are so damm expensive and rare though becuase its hard to progress up the chain to upgrade
 
I bought my KEF reference 103/4s blind because the price was just amazing for all the fuss I heard about them. Sadly they don't work with my living room / my musical tastes, so I'm a little disappointed. Fortunately, I'll be easily able to sell them on without loss I reckon, but I'll definitely be auditioning the next pair I get in the new year.
 
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