What do in store listening tests prove?

I buy stuff without hearing it anywhere. No problems. In-store - unless, as Tim says, the dealer can make it sound good, there's no reason to consider it. Listen nearfield. If not speakers, listen through speakers you know. In-store demos of speakers are usually enough to discern the character of a speaker, because speakers are very different from each other and their quality shows through even in an unfamiliar room. But, with big speakers with lots of bass, although it's difficult to arrange, an in-home demo is best.

If you bring with you some music you are familiar with and have heard on a number of different systems, you can tell something about transparency, sound staging, extension, and so on. If you are listening to something unfamiliar, it's much more difficult. The easiest way to impress is to play a well engineered recording.

Kinda like taking a new car for a test drive. You won't really know how it will perform once totally broken in, or if it will suit all of your particular driving needs or all driving/road/weather situations. But it will eliminate those vehicles that aren't suitable, leaving you with a short list. And you will get a fairer shake with more knowledgeable salesmen at a good audio/video store!

In-store listening is the first step, sort of an introduction to the product that narrows your selection. The second step, and IMO the most important, is to take it home for evaluation to see how you like it in your environment. A repetitive and time consuming process, yes, but considering the price tag, a necessary one. What's the alternative? Buying without trying? Not for that kind of money.

I don't frequent high end salons often, but I was just at one on Saturday. What I learned was the most important thing is the recording. I stopped in to listen to their 'top room'. It had a pair of Dynaudio Confidence C4's being driven by $12,000 Krell monoblocks (I don't know the model number) through Transparent cables. I listened for a few minutes and was extremely unimpressed. The sound was sterile, and uninvolving. There was a guy in there drooling over the Krell monoblocks, I remember thinking 'Why? My system smokes this junk.'. Anyhow, I spent another 45 minutes going through other rooms, as I was getting ready to go, I stopped back into the Krell/Dynaudio room. The sound was phenomenal. I sat down and couldn't believe how rich, warm, BIG the sound was. It was a different cd playing. I always knew to bring my own software when making a serious audition, or it's best to try in your own system, but I had never heard a system change so much just by changing a disc. I left wondering why they would even play that first disc, it couldn't be good for sales. Although the guy drooling over the Krells didn't seem to notice.

Regards,
John