Two speaker Qs


Thx to those who chimed in on my last thread - very informative.

I now have two more Qs

1) How much does the speaker's finish factor in to the way they sound?

I see these speakers here (not that I am looking to buy them)

https://www.zuaudio.com/loudspeakers/definition

And I wonder how much the different woods make a diff? Or are they only veneers, and because of that, is there little to no discernible diff?

2) With the room being all-important... when looking to buy new speakers, do high-end places (maybe for a fee?) demo some models in your house? Or do they take a small deposit, and let you bring a few pairs home with you? Or, are you left to listening in the store - granted most rooms probably sound pretty good to really good - and taking a chance that you will be happy once you plunk down your cash and get the speakers home?
riffwraith

So, how do the rest of you go about making a determination as to what is best for you? Do you just listen in-store, and hope that what you hear there will translate to your space? Do you bring your current speakers with you as a frame of reference?

^With great difficulty.^
Admitting that there is almost no way that you can easily make a rational decision is a start (but I assumed that there was).http://seanolive.blogspot.com/2009/04/dishonesty-of-sighted-audio-product.html
I basically bought a pair of Vandersteens and called it a day.
You can get:
  • whatever measures good
  • whatever the wife likes the looks of
  • or some other method.

Since I was not able to afford slick finishes when I got mine, I just went with what sounded best in the dollar range that I had available.

It is still fun listening at a variety of shops with you favourite stack of vinyls or CDs.
^With great difficulty.^

Ha ha.

Hope you got speakers you really enjoy; I would not be able to just buy a pair and call it a day. I would need to be 100% confident that I was making the right choice, esp if plunking down a large amount of cash.

Interesting link - thanks for posting.
“Called it a day”, really was after about 3-4 months of listening at a variety of shops.

There were a lot less speakers then, and a lot few good ones.

… and the advertising was not as good/biased.