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So you've just heard speakers that blew you away

and you can afford them. What do you do? Do you buy them and put them into your system or do you purchase the whole system you heard them with? I've been getting back into audio this last year and I've decided to sell of everything that I've put together over the last 45 or so years. Even the Stax headphones will be sold. I have been fortunate to have a friend sell me his integrated and it was the one I heard the new speakers with. I upgraded the cables I heard them with in the store, but I did stay with the same brand as it's the most neutral cables I've heard. I even went with the DAC he had in the system. I've always felt that no component seems to sound the same once you change anything in the system and I finally found a dealer who seems to have the same ear as I do and I'm trusting him and having a BALL again. I dont' even have the speakers or cables yet and I'm still loving my new system.

How do you guys do it?
ctsooner
tomic601's avatar
tomic601
12,869 posts
 
...you sold the Stax ? that may have been a mistake...
finding a dealer you trust and knows your system AND room is important.
great dealers just loan you stuff to try...some things work, some do not. 

jafant
19,036 posts
 
All great points guys. The key to a proper demo is trusting your dealer/retailer to have the set-up correct from the start.

Some do well w/ this fact, while others do not. There is soemthing to be said about the room & system synergy. Keep me posted & Happy Listening!
czarivey
5,779 posts
 
If literally, I recently picked up storage unit full of sound gear and found 2 huge speakers with 2 15" woofers, horn mid-range and aluminium dome horn-loaded tweeter. They stand 5' tall, handle over 5kW of power each. The model is AA Design that  I actually found no information on the internet. I think they're early 80's vintage and weigh about 265lb each. There are separate XLR connections for woofers and midrange with outputs for chaining up crossovers or other speakers. When I connected them to an array of bridged mono Crown XLS 2000 amps (2 bridged ones per side) you can feel the wind's blowing 7' away. Not sure how they do with music, but they can easily reproduce in natural sound levels Boeing jet plane during take-off.

david12
1,454 posts
 

I start from the principal that I will not buy a component that won't fit into my current system, at least adequately. That is in terms of specs, will my current amp drive the speakers for example. Then I would normally get the speakers into my system and ensure there is adequate synergy with the room and my current kit. If there is and I still love the speakers, then I would buy them. Next I would add incremental changes, such as a new power amp as a loaner from the dealer. Is it better or worse and so on, till I am satisfied.

 Having said all that, I don't actually do it every time. My last and final speakers, Daedalus Audio DA-RMAs, I heard at Rocky Mountain, then ordered for transport over to the UK. I couldn't be happier though, so sometimes, you take a chance.

ebm
9,311 posts
 
Everyday when i turn on my system.
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