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Do You Buy Speakers Without Hearing Them?

In the 'good old days' there were a lot of hifi stores around so there was plenty of opportunity to go in and listen to various brands and models of speakers.  With the continuing disappearance of audio shops, I'm wondering if more people are making the leap to buy speakers they've never heard in person, or just limiting their purchase options to the brands they can hear locally?  If you are buying a speaker that you haven't heard, how do you get comfortable with that?  Magazine reviews?  YouTube demos?  

I've mostly heard any speaker I ended up buying, but in two cases I bought speakers that weren't available in my area.  I made my decision based on reviews.  In one case the speaker was really nice, but in the second case, the speaker was well-reviewed but ended up being disappointing.

Appreciate your thoughts.

 

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corelli
999 posts
 

My favorite speaker of all time was bought without a demo BUT it was based on much feedback that in one case included a common denominator (Magnepan 1.7) that we both had owned and which served as a reference point.  The new speaker exceeded expectations.  

Another case was based on one very enthusiastic professional review.  That speaker I never learned to love.

So with the right type of feedback (and a return policy) I would not be fearful at all.  Gone are the days of showrooms packed with speakers.  Honestly, that isn't the proper way to evaluate a speaker anyway.

blackbag20
468 posts
 

After research ... would buy wo audition!  

mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 

It depends. Even if you audition a loudspeaker you can not be sure of what you will get at home in your room. If you have a dealer that will let you audition at home that is a huge plus but rare now a days. I usually by based an design and reputation. But my interest in loudspeakers is limited to dipole line arrays, principally ESLs. My choices are limited. If you know what format you want, tower vs bookshelf, efficiency you need to get the volume you want,  know your amp will drive them correctly and have a set price you can go by reputation. An example would be you want a highly efficient loudspeaker as you have a 60 watt/ch tube and you like rock at realistic levels and size is not an issue. The Klipsch Heritage series very well made and supported. The Cornwall is the speaker for you. I like 8 foot tall dipole ESLs. I have only one choice Soundlabs and I got exactly what I wanted without hearing them in person first. 

reched
5 posts
 

I'm up against that right now. I want to hear the KEF r 7 Meta but no dealer within reasonable distance. The r7 non Meta are available and at a good discount but if I buy them it will always bother me if I missed something not hearing the Meta ized version. One way or another this will be my last speaker as I am 73.

zlone
684 posts
 

Just did. I bought some KEF Reference 1’s used, without hearing them. These were preceded by LS50’s, so I figured it was low risk. An excellent upgrade. 

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