I auditioned and bought speakers by listening to them on YouTube

[pravstar]

System, musical fidelity a3.2 cd + amp, proac response 1.5 , thorens td 166

Audition old speakers, unless you're willing to pay a premium that's not feasible. So I thought id listen to some on YouTube.

I listened to my own speakers proac 125 on YouTube, then went up the range, narrowed it down to the proacs 1.5 &2.5, the 3.5 weren't cost effective.

Space consideration 16by 14 ft , 88db vs 86db efficiency and excellent YouTube demos of the 1.5 swayed it. Two days later one came up for sale,bought it ,price difference just over £100 buying and selling.

Im aware I am at the mercy of good mics and good uploads being used on YouTube,but by applying a bit of common sense to the equation it made this option a no brainer.

Obviously if you are looking at new equipment,go and demo them if you can. I went in to a hifi shop in the early 2000 set on buying an arcam a85 solely based on what hifi 5star reviews, I got my amp for not much more after an hour demo of various kit ,and have not changed it ever since.

On the other hand this is the fourth, and final pair of speakers for this particular set up anyway I am on. My first pair were a back of the lorry acoustic reference sm1000 that served me well for ten years, I had castle avon for 6 months and proac studio 125 for 2 1/2 years all based on reviews and not auditions , my "YouTube audition" you can say was my first ever speaker audition

 

[nick8858]

Not a bad idea this. Certainly better idea than reading written reviews which are full of subjective words like warm, sweet, soft, muddled which is totally useless for the buyer. Beats any subjective woolly review by a mile. Might try this myself. Great idea

 

[MajorFubar]

I'm pleased this technique worked for you, but I can't say I advise it in general. It doesn't matter how well the speakers have been recorded*, you can only ever judge their sound through the audio signature (and limitations) of the pair you're listening on.

*and before some smartypants says you can't record the sound of speakers accurately with a mic, how do you think recording studios have been recording guitar and bass amps for over half a century...

 

[radiorog]

I'm pleased this technique worked for you, but I can't say I advise it in general. It doesn't matter how well the speakers have been recorded*, you can only ever judge their sound through the audio signature (and limitations) of the pair you're listening on.

*and before some smartypants says you can't record the sound of speakers accurately with a mic, how do you think recording studios have been recording guitar and bass amps for over half a century...

He hasn't stated that it worked for him. As far as I can read he hasn't got the speakers yet.

 

[radiorog]

You should be ashamed of yourself .
As far as I'm concerned, a YouTube demo is no demo at all. You have bought these totally blind. Good luck though (sincerely).

 

[pravstar]

Sorry, just to let you know I have got the speakers, and they work a treat in my particular setup, better than any of the predecessors

 

[radiorog]

Sorry, just to let you know I have got the speakers, and they work a treat in my particular setup, better than any of the predecessors

How do I delete my last posts?
That's cool though....nice one, and interesting to hear.

 

[pravstar]

No need to delete your posts, everyone is entitled to an opinion. I know its extremely unorthodox what I have done, and goes against the very grain of what is advised in terms of demoing equipment

 

[pravstar]

It will definitely give you an idea of the components capability. You sometimes have to factor in if they are using bright cables or poor audio equipment to upload, but there are generally more than one stream available

 

[Al ears]

You should be ashamed of yourself . As far as I'm concerned, a YouTube demo is no demo at all. You have bought these totally blind. Good luck though (sincerely).

+1

 

[lindsayt]

In this case Pravstar was buying speakers further up the product range than what he already had, for a very cost effective £100 net outlay. Seems like a very sensible way to buy hi-fi to me.

Well done Pravstar, I'm pleased you're happy with your latest purchase.

More people should buy hi-fi this way - IE go up the product range via the cheapest route they can. They're only a pair of speakers.

 

[Native_bon]

In this case Pravstar was buying speakers further up the product range than what he already had, for a very cost effective £100 net outlay. Seems like a very sensible way to buy hi-fi to me.

Well done Pravstar, I'm  pleased you're happy with your latest purchase.

More people should buy hi-fi this way - IE go up the product range via the cheapest route they can. They're only a pair of speakers.

+1

 

[pravstar]

Ty lindsayt,

Yep, im over the moon with my purchase. I always believe that costs need to be a major factor in purchases.
For the outlay and the gains I have achieved, its been the most significant I have ever encountered.
Its also saved me a lot of money long term as I was contemplating changing components, which to me now are no longer a necessity

 

[avole]

I'm pleased this technique worked for you, but I can't say I advise it in general. It doesn't matter how well the speakers have been recorded*, you can only ever judge their sound through the audio signature (and limitations) of the pair you're listening on.

*and before some smartypants says you can't record the sound of speakers accurately with a mic, how do you think recording studios have been recording guitar and bass amps for over half a century...

than buying on spec because some forum owners say their speakers are fantastic, though