I've done it once. Never, never, never again. Both professional and user reviews can be misleading, inaccurate, and incomplete. Professional reviews require reading very, very carefully, paying close attention to subtle clues and passing phrases that will illuminate weaknesses that they may be trying to gloss over. Some reviewers haven't thoroughly auditioned the speakers, and some user are most likely half deaf. After spending a year reading, researching, and listening, I've found that nothing substitutes for listening, and listening more than once with a set selection of your own CDs or LPs that you know intimately. Check the speakers with a test CD, sinewaves, acoustic music, and vocals. And nothing reveals a speaker's abilities better than solo piano and full orchestra. Solo piano for its ability to reveal distortion and realism; the sound of a piano is well known to our ears and most speakers alter a piano's sound in some clearly audible way. Orchestra, because the complexity and range, will show just how well a pair of speakers can resolve detail and their overall balance. Most rock and pop recordings are so over processed they will never tell you anything. Close your eyes and listen.
