POLL: How Much Do You Audition High-End Gear Before Buying?

i voted "none" as i bought my HD800/LCD2/D7000/HF-2/ED8/A-GD phonenix/ref7 based on reviews here.... where I'm living now doesn't exactly give u access to all the latest n greatest unfortunately. Having said that, I've been quite lucky n have actually loved most items i bought thus far.

It really depends, for high-end speakers it's about an hour, top of the line headphones is around 20-30 mins

Can't find most headphones to audition. The over $500 phones are definitely not going to be in any local store. I bought my D5000s off the reviews here and other sites.

 

Speakers are different. I spent several hours a month, every month, over a few years looking for my relatively modest speaker system. Already auditioning for my next speaker system. It is all part of the experience.

None, as i never had a chance...

Rarely do I ever get a chance to try out new equipment.  I've been to a few local headphone meets over the years, but they are few and far between.  There are no shops anywhere near where I live that could afford me the opportunity to try out new phones.  So like most people here< I am pretty welldependant on reviews from Head-Fi members and scouring the forums.  If I don't like a purchase I can always sell it and recoup my money.  I have been able to build an extensive and varied collection and am quite satisfied with my gear.

Same as most here, I don't audition headphone gear since there's not much around to audition.

Speakers I audition about twice a year though.

X2.  I've been amazed at the gear I've had the pleasure of auditioning as I've made some friends with a similar passion in the hobby.  We are likely a bit spoiled in the Bay Area...

 

 

 

 

Wow, good question.

 

My answer is dependent on price point.  If it's a small outlay, I will buy on a brief audition (1-2 hours).  Once into kilo-buck territory, I have learned to get it into my system before committing, and to only use dealers who either allow in-home auditions (for days to weeks at a time), or have a generous return policy.  For you guys that don't have easy access to the shops, use this kind of return policy to the point of abuse.

 

Cool story bro: I got burned on a stereo amp (not headphone related) from one of the biggest and best reviewed manufacturers in high-end audio that I bought on reputation, after a few hours audition in the show room and without a home trial. It broke down (and was replaced) 4 separate times within the first 60 days in my system.  The dealer insisted I was responsible and was awful,  before I demanded a refund from the manufacturer.  The dealer came to heel quickly and I returned it to cut my losses.

 

 

I spent about 45 minutes in total listening to the UE Reference Monitors at RMAF which I ordered there. I spent almost as much time listening to the LCD3 which I would have bought on the spot if I had the chain to support it.

I really should listen before buying; but I've been doing it this way for years now.

The majority of components in my main system were auditioned at home hooked up to my other equipment to assess the synergy between them before I bought them.

 

I had my current speakers, PMC 0B1's on home demo over a weekend for instance to ensure they were a suitable match for my Bryston amps.

 

I wouldn't part with my hard earned money any other way, I've known several other people make very very expensive mistakes by not auditioning equipment before purchasing it.

There are mainly general electronic stores around here who try to push some beats by dre or koss port-a-potty's on you, so I end up reading up as much as I can be bothered to - and then order them online. Not that reading about them makes much difference anyway, because people have some weird opinions about what good sound is :)

I always check specs first, reviews next, and then to a direct A/B comparison with comparable gear.  I did this with my m903 and Ultra Desktop for example.  If you do not do a comparison how else do you know you have something that has improved on your previous gear?  You leave yourself up to some pretty severe placebo.  In fact if something does not exceed what I already have or really impress me upon initial listen I will not go for it period.

 

The same goes for headphones, but typically a headphone does not change drastically over time so if it sounds better than my current gear or fills a need then I go for it without too much auditioning.

Edited by NA Blur - 1/5/12 at 3:17pm