Try Before You Buy?

Colbaker

Colbaker

Colbaker

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Joined
8 Dec 2004
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1,970
Location
Paignton, Devon
I was checking out some hifi systems this morning but don't know what to buy, how can I know how the hifi sounds in my room?

Anyone know of a company that Allows you to try before you buy? Or even better if they bring you a selection of your choice to test in your room? And if not why not!
 
To be honest, unless you have some weird anechoic chamber or concert hall sized room in your house, or you want to outfit a large bathroom, the actual room will not make a huge difference to the sound.
Just go to a store which has a listening room and try some there.
 
I've never had an issue with companies i've used (usually sevenoaks etc.) with them letting me try before i buy. You can either try in their demo rooms, or if they have them on the shelves, they usually let you take the display models home to try. I have paid for them in full, tried them and then taken back for refund if you don't want them. If you do want them, you take brand new ones.

I'd spend some time shortlisting what you want and try in the shop, then if you want to try at home, ask the question. I've never been refused. What you hear in the shop can sound totally different when you get it home.
 
OP will end up with BOSE cubes because they sound "good" in an artificial soundroom.


If the OP is spending £1000's it's possible but not for a couple of hundred.
 
Most hifi shops Ive ever been in are more than happy for you to audition stuff at home. You just have to put the cost of the equipment on a card first unless you are a good customer of theirs.
 
El_Watcher said:
To be honest, unless you have some weird anechoic chamber or concert hall sized room in your house, or you want to outfit a large bathroom, the actual room will not make a huge difference to the sound.
Click to expand...

Err, no. It can make a rather large difference, especially when you're looking at loudspeakers that are full range.
 
El_Watcher said:
To be honest, unless you have some weird anechoic chamber or concert hall sized room in your house, or you want to outfit a large bathroom, the actual room will not make a huge difference to the sound.
Just go to a store which has a listening room and try some there.
Click to expand...
Actually the room is the most significant element in the performance of any decent Hi-Fi system. It's a fact though that most people don't even consider the room's contribution; and of those that do, very few take steps to do anything about it.
 
Colbaker said:
I was checking out some hifi systems this morning but don't know what to buy, how can I know how the hifi sounds in my room?

Anyone know of a company that Allows you to try before you buy? Or even better if they bring you a selection of your choice to test in your room? And if not why not!
Click to expand...
It depends largely on your budget.

If we are talking about a little sub-£300 shelf system then forget it. They're not proper Hi-Fi in the first place.

Decent separates (£150-£1000 per box) then yes, they're good enough quality to let you hear the effect the room has on the system, but it's mostly going to affect speakers. Others are on the right track here; paying for the home-loan of gear is the way forward. This can be particularly important with speaker that might take some time to loosen up from new: A demo pair would give a far better indication of the long term sound rather than a brand new pair out of the box.

If you're talking higher-end gear (up to £10K for a box) then you'd already have found a very good dealer so the question is moot. Since you haven't mentioned it then I guess that's not where you're headed.
 
It's an interesting point.
Walked into a Sevenoaks store recently, looking at some of their record decks and the "salesman" basically stated that home dems are now typically far more rare, which I assume is a result of erroded margins.
Now I've no idea if that was the policy of the company or the salesman just having a bad day, but I wouldn't be surprised if that's becoming more prevalent.

I think it's partly down to how well you can convince the group in question that you're a genuine buyer and not a time waster. For example, had a listen to a £20k pair of speakers a few months ago, and the dealer really didn't want to entertain a home dem. I wouldn't be surprised if he'd sensed that it was highly unlikely to that I'd actuall cough up the cash.

Back to Sevenoaks, didn't have the heart to mention that my power cables cost more than his deck and certainly wansn't going to mention the cost of my processor. (yeah, I know, flame here now).
 
I used to work in Hi-Fi retail back in the boom days of the late 80's. The dealer was Linn/Naim/PT plus an assortment of lower-level English and some Japanese brands (Denon, Yamaha, Nakamichi). Being a Linn dealer, the whole ethos was very customer focused (Tune dems, single speaker dems etc). I recall that home installation was part of the deal with system sales and larger purchases such as turntables.

The thing that rarely happened was home dems, even back then for a dealer at this level. I'm not saying they didn't happen at all, but I just don't recall that many occasions when it was done. It was far more usual for product selection to be done in one of the stores three rooms, and then the final part was a home install. That certainly happened a lot. I even recall my own first turntable purchase at £180 when I was but 15, and the dealer offering to install that.
 
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