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How to listen to the good stuff?

How is one able to hear some of the 100's of great systems described in review after review?

There's been six or seven high-end dealers in the local area and I've been to a few out of state, and among all the auditions I've listened to at these places with all sorts of different speakers and electronics, from systems costing hundreds of dollars to systems costing many tens of thousands of dollars, only one system ever sounded 'great', and only one or two I would consider barely 'good'. The vast majority have sounded quite poor to awful.

The funny thing is, even with the awful sounding systems, the dealers will gush about how great it sounds, how it sounds so live, and use all the usual audiophile superlatives and descriptions to describe what I'm supposed to be hearing. Yet it sounds nothing like that to me at all -- poor sound, little emotional connection with the music, no PRAT, nothing like live music, and almost always boring. It doesn't come anything close to what I hear at home, or anything like the descriptions in so many reviews. Yeah, I know it's their job to talk about everything in glowing terms, but that is the point I'm trying to make. If all of this stuff sounds like crap at the dealers, how do I find speakers I might like better than the ones I have? How do I hear a great SET amp or an exotic horn system?

I want to hear some more of these setups that are described as being able to image a full size orchestra right in your living room and you can pick out each individual player, etc., etc.

The descriptions I've read of all the different audio shows over the years make it sound even worse than auditioning at a dealer. Crowded rooms with little chance to sit in the sweet spot. Systems setup the day before in a crappy hotel room. Poor selection of music. etc. And I don't know anybody with a high-end system, let alone the high-high-end stuff, and the audio 'club' (society?) is pretty much dead.

Do you guys think most of the dealer setups you've heard sound good? How do you guys listen to some of the more exotic stuff? Pretty much going to shows, or do you live in L.A. or N.Y.?

(Some of the speakers heard at dealers: Magnapan 1.7, Sonus Faber, various B&Ws, Wilson X-1 and Sasha ?, Joseph Audio Pearl, Linn, Vienna Acoustics, Totem, various Martin Logans, Thiel, ...)
bdhgon
bdhgon OP
10 posts
 
Finsup wrote: "I get the sense from reading your posts that you probably have your systems dialed in but just want to be sure"
This is exactly the heart of my question. What if there are speakers or other componants out there I would like far more than what I currently have? How do I find them?

While of course I agree that listening to a piece of equipment in your own home and with the rest of your system is best, it's not exactly practical repeatedly buying, selling, crating and shipping $15,000, 300 lb speakers for a lot of people, me included.

From the responses so far, it sounds like the best thing to do is try and go to a show.

As far as doing in-home demo's of expensive speakers, what's the usual policy for something like scratching the speakers while setting them up or boxing them back up?
finsup
289 posts
 
From the responses so far, it sounds like the best thing to do is try and go to a show.

Going to a show, even some of the smaller regional shows, is probably the best bang for the buck. If you can find something that appeals to you at the show, then you have a good place to start.

If your budget is $15K for speakers, though, after going to a show, I might allocate some of that to visiting some reputable dealers whom have demonstrated care in setting up their showrooms, even if it means buying a plane ticket if nothing local is promising.

In a sense, you have it harder than someone just starting out since you already have two dialed-in, synergistic systems. Do you look at your source and amps and then research compatible speakers, or do you find something in the chain you can replace to get even more performance from your speakers?
bjesien
1,239 posts
 
Some dealers have excellent rooms and others do not. Maybe they rely upon the salesman to identify the best system that will fit your room. It seems like you have been to the latter and are just not satisfied.

Do you read Socrates? Perhaps you are searching for the answer that does not exist? Only you can answer the question and if you have traveled the globe and have not found the answer, buy a sailboat instead. Audio is not going to make you more happy.

Maybe a show will do it or maybe you should just tour with bands. Don't mean to be a downer but if it doesn't do it for you...

Good luck!
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