How to meaningfully audition speakers??

****Live music is the reference when but one can NEVER it replicate in one's room****

I couldn't agree more. But here is the problem: because of that unfortunate (?) reality, most audiophiles are very quick to abandon the POSSIBILITIES from using that benchmark simply because perfect replication can never be attained. To my ears, far more audiophile sound systems owned by listeners who regularly attend live music performances sound closer to GOOD live sound than systems owned by audiophiles who don't; regardless of preferred music genres.

It all comes back to what is your reference for good sound.

As long as you know what it is for you, there is a good chance of a happy ending. Otherwise, chances are slim.

****The reason live drum sounds don't go through your hifi is the fact that uncompressed drums would blow up most any home system's speakers, unless you're using large, professional, huge coil 15" or 18" woofers****

Understood, and I agree. But, that does not change the truth in my premise; and in a sense you make my point: if you don't know ( through experience) what is possible as far as speed and visceral impact, how can one best judge which component (speaker, in this case) gets closest to that ideal.

****Try it****

No thanks :-)

Is suspect most people are quite happy listening to whatever it is they are listening to for whatever reason. Only audiophiles are "smart" enough to let it bother them.

Hey, wait a minute.....

I think the discussion about so called "live" music being a gold standard reference is ok by me and I find the discussion interesting. So by all means, please continue. But since I am the OP, I would like to add my thoughts and then "seg" back to the original topic.

As far as MY personal home audio is concerned, I am looking for a musical experience that I find satisfying and enjoyable. The standard I used to judge whether the experience is satisfying and enjoyable -- simply put -- is whether or not it is.

Now, going back to the original topic, it seems to me that whether one wants to judge any particular piece of equipment by this or that standard is ok. But isn't the real issue as it pertains to speakers, or pretty much any item, is how can one meaningfully audition the speaker of interest or other item??

My sense of the early responses is that many members expressed similar frustration as me. Yeah ...., sometimes one can luck out and a dealer will arrange for a home audition. But most times, many just do the best they can by way of research, perhaps an occasional visit to a B&M store, and so forth. After all of that, in the end, they buy and if they like what they picked up, all is well. If not, hope to sell the piece at not too great a loss, and then try something else.

Thanks,

BIF