Ethics were part of your question, yet most responses seem to ignore that aspect. From the standpoint of a dealer selling headphones, the only real ethical point is that if you use a dealer's time, demo inventory, home trial policies, etc., you owe it to the dealer to make your purchase from them if you settle on something they made available to you. In a case where several dealers have the same offering and each made their best effort to facilitate your decision, you have to choose to buy from one. A "good customer" will thank the losing dealer for their help, and acknowledge they bought elsewhere and why. If price becomes a factor, always allow the most courteous and professional dealer the option to counteroffer or match, and be prepared to ethically decide if their service has monetary value, because if it doesn't, you are not a "good customer"!
Auditioning headphones (ethically)?
I've had some good headphones and I want to move up to some very good headphones. I'm thinking about the obvious ones in the $1500 range: 800s, Clear MG, Arya.
Given that one needs to live with headphones for a while for both sound quality and comfort, how do people audition two or three pairs at once? Do you buy them from the same site and return what you don't want to keep? Do you buy them from different sources and return what you want? Are there any concerns about doing this, ethical or financial? I've read the policies on Headphones.com, the Cable Co., AudioAdvisor, etc--most have generous return policies but they seem to be centered on one-at-a-time purchases.
Anyway, all this is obvious. I'm sure many of you have faced this question. What do you guys do?
Given that one needs to live with headphones for a while for both sound quality and comfort, how do people audition two or three pairs at once? Do you buy them from the same site and return what you don't want to keep? Do you buy them from different sources and return what you want? Are there any concerns about doing this, ethical or financial? I've read the policies on Headphones.com, the Cable Co., AudioAdvisor, etc--most have generous return policies but they seem to be centered on one-at-a-time purchases.
Anyway, all this is obvious. I'm sure many of you have faced this question. What do you guys do?