How much time, trouble and expense for a home demo?

[psbake]

First I want to say hello and thank you to everyone on this forum.
I have been on the site for some time now but this is my first post. I am relatively new to the hobby without any kind of electronics background. It has all been a very interesting learning experience.
Right now I am faced with an upgrade decision. Ideally I would like to do an A/B home demo. My current set up with an upgraded Innous Zenith Next-Gen streamer server vs Wadax Studio player. Unfortunately I don't think that will be possible. To my knowledge there is not a Wadax dealer in my part of the country. There is a lot of great equipment out there. We are spending a lot of money. And everyone wants to be able to make the best informed decisions possible.
So finally to my question......
To what lengths do you go for a home demo?

 

[gestalt]

The best dealers will make this process easy for you. At this level the relationship brings genuine value; try to find someone who will work with you to achieve your goals.

(This also implies that you’re a reasonable person acting in good faith.)

 

[Hear Here]

3 years ago I decided to move from valve amps to solid state. I bought a few new or used and borrowed others from dealers or distributors. These later ones included amps from Mark Levinson, Bakoon, Valvet, Sugden, Quad and Lyngdorf. I bought examples of GamuT, Micromega, Accuphase, Benchmark and NAD. mostly used but some were bought new.

This is the only way to find a good match for my speakers and I found a great match after several months of home trials.

Even more important to get equipment in your own home is with speakers as they vary much than amps for example.

I came a cropper by trusting my ill-informed instinct (after reading rave reviews and experiencing a convincing dealer showroom demo) by buying a pair of Martin Logan speakers that turned out to be most unhappy in my particular room, despite the efforts of Anthem DSP. They seriously disappointed so were sold on a few months later at a huge loss! Nothing wrong with the speakers but the mar=tch with the room as a disaster!

ALWAYS get home demos arranged before parting with significant cash!

 

[caesar]

First I want to say hello and thank you to everyone on this forum.
I have been on the site for some time now but this is my first post. I am relatively new to the hobby without any kind of electronics background. It has all been a very interesting learning experience.
Right now I am faced with an upgrade decision. Ideally I would like to do an A/B home demo. My current set up with an upgraded Innous Zenith Next-Gen streamer server vs Wadax Studio player. Unfortunately I don't think that will be possible. To my knowledge there is not a Wadax dealer in my part of the country. There is a lot of great equipment out there. We are spending a lot of money. And everyone wants to be able to make the best informed decisions possible.
So finally to my question......
To what lengths do you go for a home demo?

"How much time, trouble and expense for a home demo?"

Do this as much as you can! This is the key to being happy and satisfied in this hobby.

When you look at this hobby, it's the 80/ 20 rule, likely 90/ 10 rule based on my experience. Most guys in this hobby are suckers, even if they have a lot of money: most guys just do what other guys do. This gets especially dangerous when you see many guys doing / buying the same thing.

And / Or they trust an "authority". Authorities could be:

- A guy with many posts on a forum
- a dealer or distributor, who occasionally chimes in on the site, who seems knowledgeable, (but is thinking how he will pay his bills this month or how he will pay for his nice vacation)
- a blabbering guy on a youtube channel
- A guy who writes for a magazine, etc.


But do all those guys like what you like? Even more importantly, do they like what you like for the reasons you like it?

This is a subjective , experiential hobby. To be truly happy and satisfied, find out what you like! And find out why you like it!

The only way to know is to compare these 2 in your own system.

Can you get some dealer to ship you the units and you pay for shipping, or even a modest rental fee?

Only after you try for yourself and have a sense of the experience, check against opinions of the authorities, if you would like.

So it's not only about "a lot of money". It's about your personal satisfaction with following the right process and being HAPPY in the hobby.

 

[Anton D]

Welcome!

I have found a great to audition gear is to hit nearby audio shows and catch demos. Compared to the price of gear these days, the cost of a short trip isn't overly onerous, fiscally.

What part of the country are you in?

 

[psbake]

I live in the Youngstown, Ohio area. I have a very good relationship with Paragon Sight and Sound in Ann Arbor, MI. But all dealers carry a limited number of brands.

 

[Hear Here]

Welcome!

I have found a great to audition gear is to hit nearby audio shows and catch demos. Compared to the price of gear these days, the cost of a short trip isn't overly onerous, fiscally.

What part of the country are you in?

The trouble is that what sounds great at an audio show or dealer showroom, may sound disappointing in your own home. Always get a home demo of speakers if buying new - after you've created a short-list based on demos, reviews (from reliable reviewers) and specs

 

[Anton D]

The trouble is that what sounds great at an audio show or dealer showroom, may sound disappointing in your own home. Always get a home demo of speakers if buying new - after you've created a short-list based on demos, reviews (from reliable reviewers) and specs

Nobody argued that, but you can't realistically audition everything at home. Dealers and shows can help expose someone to a range of possibilities to consider.

 

[Hear Here]

Nobody argued that, but you can't realistically audition everything at home. Dealers and shows can help expose someone to a range of possibilities to consider.

Of course - please re-read my last post in which I suggested that dealer and audio show demos, etc should enable you to draw up a short list of likely contenders. Then you home audition that short list, not "everything".