Do You Buy Speakers Without Hearing Them?

I started buying speakers (all kinds and sizes) in the early '80s. Probably a dozen to a dozen and a half pairs since then, all but one or two used. I'm pretty sure I heard only one of those speakers very briefly before buying (in a noisy showroom). So of course that purchase was a disaster. The speakers sucked and I quickly dumped them. Easily the largest and heaviest speakers I ever owned were the Vandersteen 4s. I bought them used from 3,300 miles away based on various reviews of different Vandersteen models (all positive reviews). The 4s had to be shipped to my house on a semi-trailer. It was insane. They were an immediate success, and still live on in memory as the best speakers I ever heard.

Buying speakers "blind" is easier now w/the aid of the internet. I long ago figured out my sonic preferences, and since then have become rather good at decoding/translating the descriptives people use for speakers. For example, "accurate" and "transparent" often = bright (or at least, brighter than I want). And so on.

For me, price dictates my desire to actually hear a speaker, unless I am familiar with the "house" sound.  But I have found that no matter what, speakers don't sound the same in the store, of course, and as you go up in price, they become more sensitive to the electronics and cables and room treatment too.  So I bought Focal Diablo Utopia III's after listening, Joseph Audio Pulsars without any audition, since they only get rave reviews from everyone, and I like the Joseph Audio house sound, and bought my Wilson Sabrina X's by listening to the Sasha DAW's in the showroom.  If I want to upgrade from the Sabrina's, I will definitely go to Axpona or some other audio show to listen to a wide variety of the speakers that folks talk about on here.  One thing that I DON'T do is buy based on published reviews. As someone observed above, have you ever read a review that was not glowing?  It is also tough to buy based on comments in the forums, since everyone has a different set up and room, so one person can dislike the speaker in their setup and another might think that the speaker is the best thing since sliced bread.  So bottom line, its not the perfect solution, but an audio show is probably the best way to get exposed to many options in a given price range.

Bob @dorkwad  best answer here.

The safest way is to listen to them in your system at home.  Won't make a bad decision that way.  I've learned the hard and expensive way more than once.  I know that I'm a VMPS RM40 BCSE man.  I love the VMPS ribbons and have owned about 5 of them.  Listened to a couple before I bought but they were in an unfamiliar system.  Made poor choices both times.  One other I bought without hearing them based on good reviews--also turned out poorly.  My choice back in 2012 still beats out all challengers to my ears.

Bob

I have many reasons for my answer. I always listen to any speaker before I buy. The reviewers, people who give 5 stars do not have my ears. All ears hear differently, and it Boils down to what kind of sound you enjoy. I hear cars going a block away with so much bass I can hear reverb echoing and resonating around me. I call it noise, they think it’s great I am sure. Brick and mortar demos give you an idea. At home, they will sound different. Especially on your system. A break in period too will change as they break in.

Speaker preferences are so specific that I would always make sure I heard them before I sprung for them--even if it's just at a show.  I've owned Merlin, Neat, Klipcsh, Nola, Linn, Audio Note, Magnepan, Q Acoustics, Harbeth, Votli, and Fleetwood (still have the last four) and heard them all ahead of time before buying.

The only exception was a pair of KEF LS50s that were on sale for $799 and were going on my bar, so not an ideal placement and under $1K.