Have you ever used a separate speaker selector unit to audition speakers? Would you?

@hilde45 That’s the point catdoorman and b_limo were making.

First, you will need to find the ’workable’ / ’close to best’ placement for each speaker and evaluate each in the specific positions each sound ’best’ to you.

Second, ideally, the speakers not being evaluated should be moved out of the space so the physical presence is not a factor (for the non-active speaker).

You will also likely have your ’original’ speakers set up to your preferences and optimized via component / cabling etc. synergies based on your choices. That may not transfer over to the second and third, and.. speaker being evaluated.

Listening positions may also need to be adjusted / changed.

There is more...

It gets tricky. : )

@david_ten Thanks. I get it more, now. I'll establish placement for each speaker, mark it, and make sure that nothing extraneous gets in the way.

There are all kinds of obstacles to a perfect comparison -- how long it takes to get used to things, burn in, placement, etc. Either those obstacles are great enough to indicate no point in comparing or they're minor enough so that there is something to be learned by comparing.

I'm going to assume there's something to be learned and do the best I can. (I also think this will be a pleasurable experience.)

If I hear no difference, I choose on other factors. But whatever happens, I'm the sort of person who wants to go through a process before making a final decision, even if that process will be less than ideal.

@b_limo 
Sometimes you don’t appreciate or understand a speaker until you’ve listened to it for a week or two.  

+1 
Agreed.

 

in most cases, for most people, sonic memory is good enough, long enough... so that no switching device is required.

If you find that you can’t tell the differences between the two, unless you had a switcher for instantaneous switching, then they are close sounding to one another.... close enough that it’s in the ’six of one, half dozen of the other’ kind of category.

I submit that your ears, and recall... are very very likely to be good enough so that there is never any switcher required to get this sort of decision off the ground, after a few back-and-forths....

In many hundreds of speaker comparisons, I’ve never felt a need to arise for a switch-box. As 99.99% (of course that is an exact percentage! right...) of all ’different models and brands’ of speakers are so different, so obviously different, that no switcher could ever be of any fundamental use.

If I was tuning crossovers as a comparison to the original lab calibration sample speaker... THEN a switcher would be... quite possibly... critical. But then, burn in of the production sample vs the lab sample rears it’s head and you’ve got a difference and a mess again.