? for you, how can you know how it sounds

leftwinger57

After I started a couple of threads saying that another b&m store went away I got many responses that went both
ways.Some said they were sad that stores are going and one does not get to hear and feel a certain product ,then yo have the other 1/2 where the convienence ,no taxes and shipping to ones door out weighed everything. I get
monthlys from Audio Advisor and they push PSB,Martin Login and amps like Parasound and Bryston and Vincent.With
speakers being so subjective to ones taste how do you know what a line sounds like if you can't hear it at a store.
You go to BB and of course they can't cover every brand and seem to cater to lower philes.This question bothers me
sometimes at this Polk club level because some say visit a friend and hear what his/her set up sounds like ,I have
no such person to do this with. Another way would take a trip to the CES show.Well, even if that would be possible
then it would wipe out the budget of the new speakers I wanted to get.The only idea I so far came up w/ and not
a lot of companies do this is a trial period at your house. OHM does this for 120 days but once in your house it seems you just might cave just because you don't want to repackage and send it back,that's not my answer.Reviews also
while giving a lot of insight and specs and graphics also is not perfect.Does anyone have an idea on how to solve this dilema which will only get worse because of economics are running b&m stores under.

decal

There is no way to truly know if you like the sound of a speaker unless you hear it in your room with your gear. If you are unwilling to repack and send demos back then I guess you are SOL.

tonyb

Join some local audio clubs if you have no friends. You'll get a taste of a variety of gear while making new friends. It's impossible to get an ear on everything but you send back or resell the items you don't like. Even if you could hear what interests you at a store, speakers will almost always sound different once you get them home. If you find the right deals used or demo, re-selling something could mean very little loss if any. Buying new, your gauranteed a loss of coin if you don't like it.

zingo

Local listening parties are a good way to get your ears on different gear, but don't be afraid to visit local stores often to listen to everything they offer. If you have a good local Craigslist, spend a couple years buying and selling used gear, and you should be able to come out about even with the funds.

Once you get your ear on a number of brands and designs, you'll be able to better predict what different gear may sound like, and feel like you're choosing a little less blind.

naturallight

There is no answer. It is very sad to see the B&M stores close, but nothing you can do about it.

I have tried the trial periods on other speakers. I ended up sending them back.No it is NOT fun packing them back up and yes i suppose you could throw up your hands and just cave to the fact there, there and you don't want to deal with the packing and shipping. But NOT a good answer.



I myself have moved to a stereo dead zone. If there were any stereo stores they were long since gone, and the only thing is a BB. I don't even go in there they have nothing i want, so i tend to buy anything i need online.



The idea of going to listen to other peoples systems is nice, but that "assumes" there are other people like you close by. What passes for "stereo" around my area is more like a large boom box type or all in 1 thing. The people walk into my basement music room, and there jaws drop to the floor. Pretty much i'm the crazy music guy, that has speakers as tall as your shoulder....LOL

In some cases it's nice..you put on what type of music they like..they sit there and listen, and all they can say is, holy crap, that sounds insane.

It's nice to impress the hell out of people, but you can't sit there and talk to them about systems or equipment..they just don't have a clue, nore do they really care that much about it.



An audio club may be a good idea..if you don't have to drive 100 miles. At least you could talk to people about there equipment, maybe get to hear some of there stuff.

devani

in NJ, there are number of good people that you could visit and find out what you like and don't.
I met alot of good people and still remember how nice it was to see some of them and talk to them in person...
it won't hurt to ask

naturallight

You know..when i look back at all the states and places i have lived(working for different companies on jobs)....all the friends, neighbors, people at work. Nobody was a real "audiophile" Most of the systems tended to be those complete rack systems sold by Fisher or Sony back in the day. If they had an old large set of Advents with a decent receiver, and TT, or a CD player...thats about as stereophile as it gets. Pretty much, if they can play the music they want, if it gets loud enough for them...there happy. Nobody spends thousands of dollars to make the system sound like your sitting in the middle of the Fillmore, for a live concert....LOL

Nobody spends 1K just on a tube CD player...LOL They have better things to do with there money.

To them "I'M" the nut case.....LMAO



To find other "audiophile" type people is not easy, and depending on were you live..may be next to impossible without driving for an hour or more, just to hear somebodies setup.



I have never found anybody, friends or neighbors, that has had a system close to mine at anytime or anyplace i have lived. Which pretty much stinks..but nothing you can do about it. I have nothing else to Gage my system against. In the long run...that may be saving me some money..LOL as if there was somebody close, and we start comparing stuff and swapping gear for testing....then we would probably start trying to out do each other..which would lead to more expensive gear...LMAO



Audio is just a big rabbit hole of a hobby...if you get sucked into it, i'm not sure anybody is completely happy with what they have, and always looking for something better.

But we seem to be a very small percent of the population..

naturallight

You know what kills me, is some of these people could be right...LMAO

I have retired to GA in a real small development west of Atlanta. Maybe there are 50 houses in here, not much more. Everybody here kind of looks at me as the crazy music guy from up north....LOL

The area is a complete stereo dead Zone..again just a Best Buy here.



Now i took all of my finished basement area, about 1K sqft, and turned that into music area's.

I built a recording room, that has guitar amps, guitars, a full large PA and keys in it. Plus i use a Sony ES CD player to feed the PA. Then i have a 17X30 foot listening room with a bar at the end of it with a small fridge. Now the listening room may not sound strange...but i have not 1 set of speakers sitting in there..I have 3. But only 1 set is connected at any time. I have an old set of large Advents that i redid a few years back..work great..but just sitting against the sidewalls. A set of RTi 12's, that could be sitting against the sidewalls depending on if i'm playing them, and an old original set of SDA1c's that i need to redo. The only thing in the rack at the moment is the power amp, the Jolida cd and the pre. The tape player and SL1600 TT are upstairs in the closet along with 8 crates of albums.



Now to me...I still want a set of SRS of any type..and I need to get a tube pre-amp...LOL



Now most "normal" people walk into this room, look at me and say why do you need all these speakers...my stock answer is, i change them out, as i like the difference.



The real fact..is i really do that...Once i get completely used to the SDA "effect" and know i have to redo the speakers..I pull them out and get blasted by the RTi12's..completely different sound..LOL

Then when i get tired of the 12's i put back the SDA's..and i can go WOW..the SDA "effect"



Now i'm sure this is pretty much not the norm...LOL I have created my own store here were i can pull speakers and change them when i feel like it...now really who dose that?



Now just based on that..and the fact i still want a set of SRS...i am really too far over the edge with this stuff...LMAO

Msabot1

Atlanta....Birmingham just to the west...man you are right in audio heaven...should be lots of shops around there! Spec yer room then look for gear that will fit...should be a lot of cool doing that! As for the neighbors.....soon as you get your room set up,you will see that you won't be able to get rid of em....no kidding!!

txcoastal1

Took me over a year to pick out the parts I wanted in my 2chnl system, every time I ventured toward one of the major cities on business i took the opportunity to stop at a Hi-fi store, visited a couple shows etc

It just takes time

KellyMic

I seem to be the only one into audio here but haven't looked a lot. I have been thinking of looking for some local groups. I am in a similar situation where people love the way it sounds but clueless beyond that.

naturallight

To be honest,,i live in Douglasville...there are no stores..i would have to go into Atlanta to find any. Which i would not do, i'm 60, don't on any face of the planet want to deal with Atlanta traffic...LOL

The people were i live..to be blunt..don't care about stereo stuff..they pretty much think i'm the nutcase. Which could be possibly true...LOL



The music room i already built will pretty much blow your face off, with the SDA1c's or the RTi 12's.

The people that come over and listen...they think i'm nuts....they think it's great and kicks there ****...but bottom line...they could care less. The don't have the money to do this, or could really care to do it. To be honest a Bose wave radio may work for most of them.



Would it be nice to find other nut case stereo people..sure. But thats pretty slim. I'm old my back is shot and getting worse and i really can't drive that long any more. To find other people would be great...but probably out of the question......

naturallight

yup kelly....the people think it sounds great. But could really care less to spend any money on it, and don't have a clue...

scottyboy76

naturallight wrote: »

To be honest,,i live in Douglasville...there are no stores..i would have to go into Atlanta to find any. Which i would not do, i'm 60, don't on any face of the planet want to deal with Atlanta traffic...LOL

The people were i live..to be blunt..don't care about stereo stuff..they pretty much think i'm the nutcase. Which could be possibly true...LOL



The music room i already built will pretty much blow your face off, with the SDA1c's or the RTi 12's.

The people that come over and listen...they think i'm nuts....they think it's great and kicks there ****...but bottom line...they could care less. The don't have the money to do this, or could really care to do it. To be honest a Bose wave radio may work for most of them.



Would it be nice to find other nut case stereo people..sure. But thats pretty slim. I'm old my back is shot and getting worse and i really can't drive that long any more. To find other people would be great...but probably out of the question......

I understand not wanting to deal with atlanta traffic, and crime, and rudeness from people from all over the world who knows so much better how to do everything,and yet moved away from their nirvana where they used to live to this awful place, but to say you are alone in an audio desert........well.

tonyb

scottyboy76 wrote: »

I understand not wanting to deal with atlanta traffic, and crime, and rudeness from people from all over the world who knows so much better how to do everything,and yet moved away from their nirvana where they used to live to this awful place, but to say you are alone in an audio desert........well.

Jeez man....

You got all that from him saying he didn't like Atlanta's traffic ? Who the ef likes traffic regardless of what city they live ?

scottyboy76

No, was sympathising with him for all the reasons anyone would not want to go near atlanta(i moved away)

But the one thing i wish is the retail and used audio opportunitys in atlanta

naturallight

No scotty.. on the complete opposite..every body is nice, my neighbors are wonderful. Do they care about insane stereo...NO....the neighbors that come into my basement..love the sound, but pretty much think i'm nuts and would never spend dime one for it. Do i care..no.

You live in North GA..how long would it take you to get down here, plus the fact...you may not like the equipment that i have in the first place.



Pretty much all i'm saying is...it is really hard to find an "stereophile" type person with in a at least some decent driving distance. I have never found a neighbor..to roll tubes with..LOL

Pretty much ..nobody cares...so, bottom line it is what it is....

scottyboy76

I got ya, seems that is more and more common, people just dont want to spend money and devote what it takes to experience quality audio like they used to.

Guess thats why sometimes you can find good deals on formerly expensive audio audio gear.................and backgammon boards.

cfrizz

Personally I think it will only be a problem for those of you that insist on trying to hear every speaker under the sun. For the vast majority of us once we find a speaker that is pleasing to our ears, we keep them and enjoy them for years if not forever.

This gear is made to last for years, look how many of us still have RTA's, SDA's etc. Those of you who are gear swappers/testers whatever are the exception, not the rule.

leftwinger57

Seems this time this post I started is a real problem that some of us do have. Yes it's nice to shine our own badges so to speak
when we turn on our own systems.Where I live it's a commuter town to N.Y. w/ kids being the biggest noise makers and absolutely
no sense of neighborhood what so ever.About these audio clubs, I have never seen any kind of flyer,add or communication saying
this club meets at such and such like there is a radio controlled boat club but naturally that would be in the park at the lake. So
how do would I find out about such and audio club.

tonyb

cfrizz wrote: »

Personally I think it will only be a problem for those of you that insist on trying to hear every speaker under the sun. For the vast majority of us once we find a speaker that is pleasing to our ears, we keep them and enjoy them for years if not forever.

This gear is made to last for years, look how many of us still have RTA's, SDA's etc. Those of you who are gear swappers/testers whatever are the exception, not the rule.

Don't know about that Cathy. If you watch all the threads on people who come here looking for advice on upgrading, there still exists a need to want better sound. I think it has more to do with the various degrees of disposable income that people have that determine how often they will seek out new stuff.

cfrizz

tonyb wrote: »

Don't know about that Cathy. If you watch all the threads on people who come here looking for advice on upgrading, there still exists a need to want better sound. I think it has more to do with the various degrees of disposable income that people have that determine how often they will seek out new stuff.

I absolutely agree Tony a lot of it comes down to disposable income, and a good many who do come on here get the advice they want, upgrade and then promptly disappear with mission accomplished. We might see them years later when they want to upgrade again.

But a great deal of the upgrades exhibited on this board is really not the norm. I MAY upgrade my speakers once more in my lifetime, that would become definite if something went wrong with them. But I don't feel an urgent urge to change them out just to hear something new. The electonics will only be upgraded when they die.

naturallight

Really unfortunately..it dose have to do with money..like everything else. Nobody in my area would spend 1K on a tube CD player. But then again they don't go down to a "music" room..sit X amount of feet away from there speakers and sit there for hours listening to every little thing there speakers may or may not give them.



The fact if you could talk to people that at least would like that, and even if they don't have the equipment you have..thats fine. At least they think the way you do...and can go wow that sounds great, or your right on some some amp they may have had.



It would be nice to sit and talk with somebody that at least has the same outlook on stereo that you do.