Convincing your local dealer to let you try speakers at home

Hi there hilde: ) - I found my best way forward was putting myself in the shoes of any dealer I met. And I realised how terribly inconvenienced I would be, and what a time consuming affair it would be to bring even a DAC over for a customer to audition, especially if it was across town. And I felt that the only thing that would make up for it all would be the passion of a customer, so exigently expressed that he or she took the first step of making a sincere offer to pay for the audition, fully refundable if purchase was made, but a one-off fee otherwise. So that’s how Ive always done it. The thought of ‘spending’ such money unnecessarily has never occurred to me, since the knowledge and learning I would be receiving from the audition would be so well worth the cost, if I didn’t proceed with the purchase. The vital side benefit of this way of being, is that I would obviously be pressed to think very thoroughly through all my reasons for wanting the audition, and thus only proceed with it with an earnestness worth the effort, and not waste anyone’s time or effort over passing thoughts. Learning costs money, and I would argue that the education of audiophile listening is one of the most profound, with the plethora and uncountable products out there to choose from. It is unfortunate that there are more than just a few of us in our amazing hobby indulge ourselves with privilege and entitlement without a care for those who serve us, as the one with the money is king. I try to play an even field, and talk with dealers in a way that helps them understand I owe my education to them, and not as though they owe their livelihoods to me. I have offered to pay usd600 for auditions of every DAC a dealer had at a time when I felt very seriously about the educational possibilities of front end equipment in order to make an informed decision about a particular purchase. In this way, I have earned a modicum of regard from many dealers, most of whom stopped accepting my offers for audition compensation after the first time. Most did not even accept the fee the first time, after agreeing and arriving for set-up, as they had a decent gauge of my sincerity by then. My audio journey of learning has leapfrogged in powerful ways this way - the six hundred I’d offered earned me the opportunity to listen to the mola mola tambaqui; aqua formula xhd and xhd v2; a Aries cerat Helena; and a wadax atlantis DAC. With these dacs, in rotation, I was able to persuade another dealer in like manner, and got to hear the dCs Vivaldi stack, MSB discrete, reference, and select 2 dacs. The learning of what different dacs do at different price points, and what different typologies of dacs sound like, made the fee offered seem as a drop in the ocean : )

In friendship - kevin

@kevn Thank you for taking the time to write out your approach. In your paragraph, about paying to audition equipment, you write,

The thought of ‘spending’ such money unnecessarily has never occurred to me, since the knowledge and learning I would be receiving from the audition would be so well worth the cost, if I didn’t proceed with the purchase.

May I ask, in earnest, if you take this approach when trying out cars you might purchase? If not, what's the difference between test drives and auditions? Do you offer to pay for other product testing? Golf clubs, bicycles, etc.? I'm curious what might make the difference for you between an audio dealer an audio dealer and others selling goods which might cost a lot but really require a "fit" between purchaser and item to purchase.

Off subject, but a bigger problem is auditioning cartridges at home.  I know of no dealer who allows this, even ones well known to me for many years.

The refusal is understandable, carts are extremely delicate, easily wiped out, damaged, or just put out of adjustment.  Further, once out of the box, their value falls to no more than half retail, so there is a big problem for the dealer if you audition at home and then choose not to buy.

Recent case in point.  I bought an Ortofon Anna but found I had not factored in its high mass in my lightweight arm.  It simply did not gel and I could hear this immediately.  So, with an hour or two and a day on it, I wanted to resell it.  I found no dealer interested, even at half price.  There is little market for used carts.  This is a costly cart, so I put it in my second system with heavier old 1980s Zeta arm.  It sounds good there.

Perhaps a dealer wishing to take a large share of the high-end cart market could dedicate one piece each of a few models to demo, taking a damage deposit of 50% retail?

As a former dealer I regret ever letting an individual take speakers home. They just bring the back to the store and say they didn't sound very good at home. 

They probably put them flat against a wall, or something equally as bad. 

As a former dealer I regret ever letting an individual take speakers home. They just bring the back to the store and say they didn’t sound very good at home.

They probably put them flat against a wall, or something equally as bad.

Did they ignore your instructions about set up? How frustrating if that’s what happened! Other people here have testified again and again as to how they (as customers) bought gear they took home. Wonder why that never happened for you.

If your experience was rule rather than exception, I'd expect that not only smaller dealers but outfits like TMR, Crutchfield, Music Direct, Upscale, and Audio Advisor would not let people try out speakers.