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How do you audition speakers at a store?

I would love to know how you all audition speakers in a store. 

Here's my context, which may help explain my question. While I'm not as experienced, knowledgable, or wealthy (!) as many of you, I'm not new to this game, and for the last 35+ years I've made all my serious purchases through one store that I trusted (Take 5, in New Haven). I knew the rooms/acoustics in the store, I knew the owner, and I felt comfortable spending hours there listening to music, often just trying things out. I once spent six hours in one day comparing Maggies, which I ended up buying, with other speakers. I'm sure this sounds familiar to you all. Alas, the owner recently sold the store, it moved location, and, as I live 5-6 hours away now, I'm not inclined to try learn a new environment and a new staff. (I do wish them good luck, though!)

So I find myself without a safe harbor. There are at least four different speakers that I want to hear, in at least three different dealer locations. It's a big purchase for me, in the $4,000-$7,000 range. I feel like a rookie! I'll bring some of my own music and q-tip my ears in the morning, but:

What tricks do you have for leveling the playing field, moving past the psychoacoustic "tricks" that dealers might have to promote one speaker over another or simply the difficulty of mentally trying to hear a speaker as it's going to sound in your own house? I was reading in another recent thread that "Many speakers are voiced to impress during a quick audition, often with a "smiley" EQ." (The poster candidly admitted that he loved them in the store but after a few hours at home they were too bright.) Especially if I can't compare speakers side by side--that is, if I'm going to different locations--what recommendations do you have for minimizing the initial WOW that can happen (because a dealer is a good salesman, because the speakers play "big," because the oriental rug in the room is sooo beautiful, because the room acoustics in one store are better than another, because the amp/components/cables are WAY better than anything I'll ever own, etc)? I also have read that we may be initially drawn to certain acoustic qualities that can shine at first listen but may grate or disappoint later. 

In short, what are your methods for listening "past" a store's environment and the excitement of listening to a new sound ... and hear the real speaker as it will sound in your own space ... for years to come?

I don't know that it matters but I'm going to start my search looking at Kef (Ref1), Harbeth (C7ES-3, 30.1), and Spendour. If I can find a Joseph Audio dealer, I'd love to hear the Pulsars.

Finally: thank you to this community for accepting and welcoming newbies to this culture!
northman
northman OP
271 posts
 
gadios, since you asked about my asking, I'm going to ask back about used speakers. Apologies if this all sounds ask backwards.

I've bought used tube amps, ss amps/preamps, digital streamers, etc. I've tended to stay away from mechanical things like transports, although I bought a used Nakamichi take deck back in the day (which turned out almost certainly to have been stolen). I have bought used/demo speakers in the past but only through a dealer, and never at this price range.

So putting aside the obvious stuff like the seller's online history, and putting aside the desirability of hearing them first (often not possible with an online purchase), what general advice would you have about used speakers? Assuming that the seller assures that they're in excellent condition and provides pictures, what would you be wary of?  Is there a general number of years at which speakers start to show their age? Or is it more about the way they've been used (hours/day, house parties, etc), which of course is hard to determine. I hope I'm asking this right: obviously I'd message with any potential seller, prefer an original owner and even a warranty, prefer a little old lady who only listened (Brahms, Haydn) on church Sundays. But as a general principle, what are the issues with used speakers? How old is too old? Or is that the wrong question? 
bigkidz
3,413 posts
 
To start I only being a few CDs that I am completely familiar with.  I use Dean Peer CD so I can hear a solo instrument first.  It has to sound like a real bass.  Ten I move to a solo piano CD, a vocal CD and then something that is complex so I can hear how everything gets sorted out.  But the sorting out may be the equipment.
ieales's avatar
ieales
1,201 posts
 
In short, what are your methods for listening "past" a store's environment and the excitement of listening to a new sound ... and hear the real speaker as it will sound in your own space ... for years to come?
It's as hopeless as trying to determine where the onion in a Gibson was grown.

A single cable mismatch can make an otherwise excellent system sound awful. How would you know if it is the speakers, room, cables, amp, source? You? Were you stressed to the max finding parking?

First, why other than spending $$$ are you changing? Once you can answer that, then look for speakers that address those issues.

Any specific recommendation here is not worth the bits to transmit.
steve59's avatar
steve59
1,802 posts
 
It reads like this isn’t your first rodeo. Start developing a relationship with the closest dealer that carrys what you’re interested in. Tell them what you want and then, if they’re pros they’ll ask questions. Thats how it begins
northman OP
271 posts
 
Once again, thank you all.

ieales: "the onion in a Gibson"--that made me laugh! I know more or less exactly what I want and what my current speakers aren't doing for me, but that feels like a different thread to me. In fact, I'm not looking for speaker recommendations here, just trying to think about the process of auditioning multiple speakers in multiple stores. 

steve59: thank you. The closest store is about three hours away, and I want to hear at least a few different makes before committing. I don't mean to make this search a holy-grail search, but in the past I had one store that I trusted and worked with what they had (which was very good). But since I'm starting anew and traveling anyway, I'm going to take the opposite approach: try a few different places to try a few different speakers. 

Again, many thanks! I will take this up over the next couple months and see where I land. It'll be fun (I hope)...
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