How to meaningfully audition speakers??

Elizabeth has some great points but when I went auditioning speakers I brought my my current speakers with me for a reference (monitors and stands). No dealer refused to let me bring my speakers in to compare. Actually they liked that idea. One dealer thanked me for not buying his speakers. I'll explain - I went to the shop and listened to his speakers and was very impressed. I came back a second time with my speakers and compared them side by side. Well I preferred my speakers overall. The reason he thanked me is because I would have bought those with a CC. He would order them and said because of his satisfaction guarantee he knows I wouldn't be happy with them after taking them home. He would take them back and be stuck with the CC charges and the speakers.

I like Mapman's suggestion. IF the sound of live is your goal, I would take Mapman's approach a step further. Listen to as much live music as possible leading up to the speaker audition date(s). Bite the bullet and don't worry about wether it's your favorite type of music or not, favorite venue, or even by good artists; it's not always possible, you are listening for the sound. The idea is to simply recalibrate your ears to what real music really sounds like; we tend to forget that in the pursuit of audiophile stuff. There are enough common threads in the sound of live music regardless of genre, venue, etc. that will become obvious the more you listen to it. Then when you listen to speakers the presence or absence of them will be much more obvious and you will have found your speaker. Good luck.

Great post Liz. I like the way you summed it up: "And if you go and buy [the speakers] online to save a few bucks after using the store to audition. Then you are a bad person." I agree 100% with that view ... and that really is my dilemma. I try to be very straight with people ... just because ... And I think my member feedback reflects that approach.

Without going into specifics, I have a certain speaker in mind right now, say Speaker X. If bought used here on A'gon, I could probably pick up Speaker X for $5K less than discounted retail, which is roughly 35 to 40 percent less. There is no way I will plop myself in a B&M store for hours to check out speakers, with or without talking to a salesperson, and then buy on-line. Just not my style.

As an aside, I have communicated directly with a couple of reviewers who are familiar with my current rig and with Speaker X. The feedback is that Speaker X IS excellent, but the reviewers also said that so is what I already have. I might experience a different presentation, but it's hard to say whether I am stepping up or not.

In the end, I may just quench my curiosity and stay pat and enjoy what I have while my hearing holds out. If really that curious, the comment above about spending some time at a good audio show might be the way to go.

As another aside, IME, what I am finding is that significant improvements are coming at prices that are increasing at geometric rates in excess of what I perceive as the subjective improvements. For example, this may be audiophile heresy, but I just sprung for $4K (net of trade in/resale bucks) to step up from an ARC VS-115 tube amp to the much ballyhooed ARC Ref 150. Is the Ref 150 a better sounding amp. Yes ... I believe it is -- hands down. Is it worth $4K more??? That's a tough call. I certainly wouldn't give up on a necessity for the upgrade. But it is kinda cool to hear the difference. Yeah, it is!

Thanks all for the great comments. Kinda corroborates my thinking.

Bruce

I think Mapman's advice makes a lot of sense too. And St114_nj, I posted a comment a little earlier that jives with what you said. Once one hits a certain level, incremental improvements require a lot more due diligence and effort. My comment also touched on incremental cost compared to benefits gained.

a legitimate audition requires not only my own environment and equipment, but a good long period of time. No way a dealer could facilitate this, if the few places dealers still exist in an area near you. So you just have to take your best shot, buy something and live it with for while. Sell 'em and try something else, if you must. hence, Audiogon.