Nowhere to hear speakers and amps anymore!

@soix: Sigh. To be clear, I’m not complaining (at least I wasn't intending to), just summarizing the current situation, which I’m sure I share with many others. If you have a solution, let’s hear it. As for me, I’ve, um, adapted.

I simply research the heck out of any major purchase online & in personal discussions with product designers & company reps. Only after a trusted consensus emerges do I actually pull the trigger. That’s a lot different than the way things worked back in the 70s & 80s, but I’ve always been an under-the-hood kinda guy, so I enjoy the process. And when you’re talking about five-figure purchases it becomes easier to access people who are directly involved with the design & production of candidate products -- and who often have interesting, educated comments on the industry and the tech.

To some extent, the current situation is only quantitatively worse than the way things were when hi-end shops were plentiful. Even hearing components in a showroom didn’t reveal how they would sound in your own system, in your own room. And when it comes to latter-day product classes like power conditioners & cables, that’s now truer than ever. So even if I was surrounded by showrooms, the same problem would still exist, even if in mitigation. And I’d probably wind up choosing to do almost as much research, and flying just as blindly, as I do today.

@rick_n 

@soix 

And then "metropolitanism" reared its ugly head. 😁

@bob70 ”metropolitanism” as you call it is what allows “ruralism” to even exist, because rural areas can’t support themselves, period. The great irony is that the great rural areas that pride themselves on “independence” completely rely on the federal government and the big cities to exist whereas the larger metropolitan areas pay more into the government than they take. Use your stupid little 😁 emoji all you want, but it doesn’t hide nor negate that absolute financial and mathematical fact.

retail stores where I could hear and compare equipment

You can attend audio shows. I've attended RMAF, T.H.E. Show, Pacific Audio Fest, and AXPONA where I auditioned then purchased demoed speakers.  

August/September this year, I took a drive through Colorado and Utah and visited around 7 stores and manufacturers. Lots of pretty scenery too.

I was looking at DACs, got questions answered, lots of good feedback and knowledge on my trip. 

Denver, Boulder, Erie, Ft. Collins, Salt Lake City and Colorado Springs.

Next trip to the south in March, 2024. More stores and an audio show.