Correct method of comparing speakers?

YOu are right, memory of sound is very limited and very influenced by what we see and what other tell you you hear.. hence a good dealer will never interfee with his comments and the other dealers have to be told to shut the hell up !

The most effective method is placing the speakers where you wiill usually place them and playing the music that you know.as the most important contributor to sound is the room.

that would mean the the Most effective method is to
1. Have a Home audition
2. With music you really know

but since that is not usually very possible, what I try to do is

1. Lug your Amp/CDP to the dealer after fixing an Appointment
2. PLace the speakers in a similiar way as you would in your room (with regards to nearness to walls etc etc) with your amp/source

3. Sit at the point in terms of distance as you would from the speakers

4 . play the music you knowvvery well and for a long time (I take at least 1 hour for auditions).
5. try to place another speaker present at the dealers also at this sam position to see if you notice any differences..that is more for Kicks and also to see how much different they sound

This way if the music sounds very different from how you have heard it and you like it (Bass Boom, soundstage etc are quite room dependant. it is factors like instrument separation, your involvement etc which matter more), then you have made progress..


In this matter an Amp/CDP is much easier to compare

One problem left: What about the stereo panorama? How could you judge the ability to reflect the sound stage? It will work for general sound characteristics, sure. But we are not listening to mono, right?

Well for me TONE and Imaging is king I guess if ones priorities are set right you know what you like and enjoy it doesn’t take long to know how the system is playing. I guess I only would put in a 2nd or a 3rd cd for the audition if the system really appeals to me if not I walk away quietly.

There must be maybe 2 or 3 systems I must have auditioned for more than half hour (i.e. Only after I understood as a audiophile what I enjoy and what gets my foot tapping).

Not that mostly what I hear is bad but the basic requirement I need from a system just isn’t there.


Regards,

Satyam.

LaVeguero schrieb:

One problem left: What about the stereo panorama? How could you judge the ability to reflect the sound stage? It will work for general sound characteristics, sure. But we are not listening to mono, right? ;)

You're right, but I actually listen in mono a lot Since I don't have an audio room, I just park myself close to one speaker (less than a meter away) and do my reading / paperwork etc.

sbfx schrieb:

Well for me TONE and Imaging is king I guess if ones priorities are set right you know what you like and enjoy it doesn’t take long to know how the system is playing. I guess I only would put in a 2nd or a 3rd cd for the audition if the system really appeals to me if not I walk away quietly."

I place the maximum importance on tonality and a relaxed laidback sound. I usually test with vocals and then look at bass etc. Soundstage is great, but only works if you are placed correctly. Not a reality at my home. I have to be where my table is, not where the music sounds best.

It's worth spending more time auditioning a system only if you like it. Flaws in systems can be found out fairly quickly. If you listen to Dido, Norah, Knopfler, Lobo on a system that has an artificial sound, you will find out fairly quickly. For eg. a 2,50,000 Bose Lifestyle system didn't impress me. I am a lot more comfortable with my Rs 25,000 local maal.

When I did the auditions for my Speakers and AV Receiver, I lugged my current system (amp and speakers, ones I want to retire) along.

The rationale was to create a reference point to compare the sound. I could not get a chance to compare Jamo to Polk alongside each other(Jamo was with Cinebels and Polk with ProFx). My current system gave me the reference point I badly wanted as its otherwise very difficult to remember the music from once shop to another. I also carried 3 of my CDs.

I had already shortlisted the AVRs(Yamaha657/Denon2105) and speakers(Jamo E855, 875, Polk Audio Monitor 60/70) during my previous outing.<BR>
I connected my Amp to stereo out of CD Player while the AVRs were connected to optical out. I then went on to compare the systems with my current system.

Though in the end it was a no contest Jamo E785 won hands down. Polks were just too bright for my liking.

You sure are hard working vfm.

I faced a major problem when selecting my system. Manufacturers like Norge, Lithos, and Pulz are exclusive. Showrooms hardly stock them. So I ended up purchasing blind based on what I remembered. Luckily I am happy with the sound of my current system (Pulz) but have no clue whether I lost out on better alternatives (Mission, Sonodyne, Lithos etc).