I’ve recently been through a search for a pair of standmounts which I’ve chronicled in two separate threads on this forum:
- “Standmount speakers: $2K, $4k, or $6K”
- “Standmounts $2k, $4K, 46K: Home Audition WaveTouch, Salk Silk, B&W CM5, Totem Element Fire”
So I thought I’d share some of the things I’ve learned from my experience over the past few months, not about the specific speakers I auditioned but about the process of looking for speakers. These are my personal observations and I’m sure I’m missing much about what’s important (so others please chime in), but hopefully some of the ten following thoughts will help those embarking upon, in the midst of, or just dreaming about a search for new loudspeakers.
As always, comments from Forum members welcome.
- Have a plan
As best you can, set your sites before you start. Are you, as was in my case, looking for standmounts, or do you want a floor stander? Do you want to deal with a sub? Will these speakers be for home theater, music or both? What “personality” of speaker are you seeking…, forward, laid back, dynamic…every speaker has unique characteristics, even those considered to be the most “neutral”. Consider cosmetics, power handling, and the electronics you will be using with them. Are you willing to go the pre-owned route? Thinking these issues through will help you narrow your search and keep on track as you go through the process.
And give yourself a budget. I think speakers have the biggest impact, and the most variation of any part of a system. Generally you get what you pay for and you’ll be tempted to stretch your budget as you discover what’s out there. You may find a bargain based on your listening preferences, or you may better understand why you have to pay more to get a certain quality of sound.
Much of this may change during your search, but if you don’t start out with some sort of plan you’ll be all over the place.
- Do your research
This may seem obvious but I can’t overstate the importance of doing research before seriously hitting the dealers. It not only saves a lot of mileage, but also much better prepares you for the listening sessions you’ll have in their showrooms. I found that through my research I often knew much more about a particular speaker than the dealer did. This forum has been an excellent source of information.
Reach out to manufacturers directly with questions. I contacted many of them during my search, and often connected with the owner of the company. People like Fran Van Alstine, Jim Salk, Richard Schram (President of Parasound). Almost without exception the manufacturers were very responsive and gave surprisingly objective advice about their products.
Listen to everyone, but listen to no one. In the end everyone has a personal bias, and you have to decide what’s best for you.
- Know your environment
Understand your listening room and the impact it has upon sound. And try to mimic that as much as possible in the dealer. Many times the only thing you may be able do is try to match room size if the dealer has a choice, but even just that can help tremendously. Keep in mind electronics and differences between what the dealer is using versus what you own, or plan to own.
Also consider your spouse, children or others living with you and what impact they will have in the decision. For example, you may not want a speaker with fragile characteristics in an environment with lot of children or pet activity. And of course, aesthetics should enter into play.
- Make an appointment
Most good dealers will allow you to spend significant time auditioning a speaker in their showroom, but maybe not as a drop-in during popular shopping hours. So make an appointment and try to do it off prime time if possible.
- “Speak” up
Give dealers as much information as you can about what you’re seeking. Many HiFi salespeople make the mistake of not asking enough questions before they start talking about products. Make sure they understand your objectives or you both can waste a lot of time.
- Bring your own music, and take notes
Try to vary what you bring to an audition as much as your musical taste, and don’t be embarrassed about what you bring. (If you like Brittany Spears the dealer might also, though he may not admit it!). Make it music you know well, and stay consistent with the songs for your auditions. Notes helped me tremendously as I moved from dealer to dealer and speaker to speaker. You may want to organize the notes into specific categories, i.e. bass, high end, resolution, transparency, dynamics. Or leave it free form and just scribble some things that will help you remember how you felt about a speaker.
- Home auditions
To the extent it’s possible arrange for a home audition of the speakers you’re serious about. Many good dealers will work with you on this. Obviously it’s easier with standmounts than floor standers, if the latter is even possible. One thought on floor standers is, if they exist, home audition a standmount in the same line of speakers you’re considering. It’s not ideal, but it can at least give you some indication of how the floor stander would sound in your home.
- Envision your ownership experience
After you’ve done your listening, try to take it all in for a particular speaker. Imagine yourself owning it, looking at it every day as soon as you wake up, talking about it, maybe writing about it in forums, reading more about it after you purchase it. How will that all feel?
- Wait a week
This may be the hardest thing to do of all, but I’ve found this to be a good practice to confirm your choice and make sure there aren’t any other major factors you hadn’t considered.
- Feel good about your purchase
If you’ve done most or some of the above, you should feel good about the decision you made. You may have buyer’s remorse at some point. It’s only natural with a major purchase, but it should be short lived if you’ve put in the effort up front.
But don’t over analyze, because in the end I think it’s an emotional decision more than anything else, so try to “keep it light”. The process could get tedious, and agonizing if you let it. Just remember this is not life and death. It’s supposed to be fun, so remember to step back from time to time and let things flow a bit.
Postscript
Finally, I wanted to take a moment to thank members of this forum who’ve followed my threads and contributed many valuable posts. Swerd, Imcloud, zieglj01, Ponzio, ichigo, BoredSysAdmin, AcuDefTechGuy and many others (please excuse me if I missed someone) were consistently engaged offering excellent insights. Your guy certainly have your stripes for a reason!
