A
Anonymous
Guest
Buying online (without an audition) can be very convenient, that is until you run into a problem and have to do a return. You have to package the item, take it to the post office, and pay for shipping. This can be expensive and time consuming, versus driving to a local dealer and handing them the gear within minutes or an hour or two at most.
I learned the hard way earlier this year when I bought a pair of Wharfedale Evo2-10 speakers that just didn't work out for me. Now I'm going to sell them (I got them cheap enough, so the loss shouldn't be much). I just find them to be too bright and harsh. It's a lot of time and aggravation spent that proper auditioning could have avoided. I learned the lesson of what a good local dealer is worth, especially considering I had to send the Evo2's back one time due to a noise I heard within when I knocked on it (this drove up the cost as I paid 3x the shipping of what I should have paid).
I think auditions are more than worthwhile. Listening to gear yourself is the ultimate test, and even if auditions (other than in home) are flawed they are better than nothing, which is even more flawed. An audition of speakers for example, with your own amp and CD player but at a dealer rather than at home - it's not perfect but you can certainly compare various speakers this way and narrow things down. This is what I'll be doing later this month...auditioning 7 or 8 different speakers with my own amp and CDP and I'm quite confident that I'll be able to narrow the field down to 1 or 2. Chances are if I prefer those at the retailer I will also like them at home. Not a guarantee, but it does increases the odds, as you've eliminated all but two variables (time and the room).
I learned the hard way earlier this year when I bought a pair of Wharfedale Evo2-10 speakers that just didn't work out for me. Now I'm going to sell them (I got them cheap enough, so the loss shouldn't be much). I just find them to be too bright and harsh. It's a lot of time and aggravation spent that proper auditioning could have avoided. I learned the lesson of what a good local dealer is worth, especially considering I had to send the Evo2's back one time due to a noise I heard within when I knocked on it (this drove up the cost as I paid 3x the shipping of what I should have paid).
I think auditions are more than worthwhile. Listening to gear yourself is the ultimate test, and even if auditions (other than in home) are flawed they are better than nothing, which is even more flawed. An audition of speakers for example, with your own amp and CD player but at a dealer rather than at home - it's not perfect but you can certainly compare various speakers this way and narrow things down. This is what I'll be doing later this month...auditioning 7 or 8 different speakers with my own amp and CDP and I'm quite confident that I'll be able to narrow the field down to 1 or 2. Chances are if I prefer those at the retailer I will also like them at home. Not a guarantee, but it does increases the odds, as you've eliminated all but two variables (time and the room).