What is he best way to demo two pairs of speakers, back to back?

This is why I was doing listening tests where I would concentrate on one particular aspect of the music and do the speaker A speaker B swap back and forth paying particular attention to the one aspect. Once I had that in my head (e.g. B is better than A) I would then do the same back and forth but concentrating on another facet of the music and decide which is better - hopefully B again :slight_smile: Do this until a conclusion is reached. Then order speakers and make a conscious to stop thinking about it whilst waiting for the new speakers to arrive :slight_smile:

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I wouldnā€™t find that approach easy which is why a home demo as the OP is doing is the best way forward. You need to relax and just enjoy the music. If you can enjoy music more with one than the other then the outcome is easy.

Itā€™s much easier to live with it for a while and settle in to the change. Especially with speakers which will sound fundamentally different.

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A classic thing I might do in the run up to such an audition is worry so much about having the existing stereo gear looking spic and span, everything just so and forget to maximise the amount of time spent listening to the existing system ahead of the speakers arriving! So my first (and probably so obvious not worth mentioning to most folks) would be to listen as much as possible to your system in the one or two week lead in to the alternative speakers being installed.

Second thing, depending on how much effort your dealer is going to, would be to consider leaving him to install the speakers and play around with optimal location of the speakers so that you only hear them at their best rather than a rainbow of potentially confusing sub-optimal presentations whilst playing around with set up.

Completely different scenario but before Christmas I had quite a bit done to my record player during which I was listening to a few alternative set ups - all through the same set of speakers. When got home I was horrified at how much better the speakers in the dealers sounded to mine. My point being that a good long listen to your system ahead of the new speakers will most likely very quickly identify which speakers suit you most. It may only take one or two tracks!

Good luck with the auditioning and please do report back on your findings/ lessons learned!

Peter

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In advance I would pick a selection of music covering the range of my taste, and range of complexity and simplicity, and well recorded and not. (If long tracks without a lot of variation, Iā€™d cut short unless time is unlimited.),

If small/light easily changed speakers I might swap after each track, but otherwise Iā€™d play all on one speaker, unless or until I felt it didnā€™t sound right. Repeat with other speakers. If that initial play doesnā€™t show up which is best (in my experience it often does), then repeat, as many times as it takes. If two pairs of new speakers, donā€™t overlook comparing with the old,

If they both sound great, amd multiple repeats leaves me completely undecided, Iā€™d choose on other factors (cost, appearance, weight, etc). If I had have criticisms of both, Iā€™d keep searching - unless I had exhausted every possible option, in which case Iā€™d pick whichever on balance manages bestā€¦

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I did in-home speaker auditions a couple of months ago. With speakers, I tend to find the differences very easy to hear, so for me doing the a vs. b immediately back-to-back with speakers is not essential.

I always use the same set of tracks that I know well. That gives me a known frame of reference. I listened to other music too, but always start and end with those 6 or so tracks that are my test tracks.

We had each pair of speakers in the home for about 4 days. So 4 days listening to one pair, then a break where we went back to our current speakersā€¦then 4 days with the second pair. It was VERY easy to remember the sound of each, and our decision was easy. (We chose the first pair auditioned.) We remembered them very well, the attributes we liked, and felt it plenty easy to make a decision without an immediate a vs. b comparison.

Good luck!

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Some very useful points, thanks Peter.
I hope it will be just a couple of tracks.:crossed_fingers:

Thanks Bart :+1:

Thanks Innocent_Bystander.

Different speakers might require different positioning and you might not find the right positions immediately. I went from semi free space speakers (they needed a little wall reinforcement) to boundary speakers so just plonking the new ones down in the same place just didnā€™t work, fortunately, though used, they were on sale by my local Naim dealer and were delivered by him and setup for the demo. Theyā€™re a two man lift so swapping them in and out was never an option, however I found that spending time with them just using them for whatever music I wanted to listen to let them show their worth, once Iā€™d confirmed their placement myself and adjusted it latterally a bit.
Play whatever takes your fancy and be prepared to fine tune their positions, youā€™ll form an opinion without really trying if you leave it long enough. I generally find if Iā€™m under pressure to reach an early decision then that decision is more likely to be no.

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ā€œDifferent speakers might require different positioning and you might not find the right positions immediatelyā€.
Excellent point Yeti. Like most, my room layout is far from perfect, so Iā€™m a bit limited when it comes to speaker placement. At present my speakers are only about 10cm (4") from the back wall. They would probably sound better if pulled forward, but because of their size, theyā€™d be way too close to the ā€˜hot seatā€™.
The other pair are a bit smaller, so could come forward a bitā€¦weā€™ll see on Saturday!

trickydickieā€¦Without going off topic, do you mind me asking Richard, what did you demo your S20s against?

Thanks

I committed the cardinal sin and bought without audition :slight_smile:

In my defense the change was only from Kudos C20ā€™s as I wanted to change the colour of my speakers following new furniture and the S20ā€™s came up first. The S20ā€™s are improved C20ā€™s but fundamentally similar sonically and have the same placement requirements being a similar design and the same size.

Where my defense goes wrong is that I bought the C20ā€™s without audition too. They were used from a dealer for a good price so little risk. I changed from Spendor A5ā€™s.

Whether the S20ā€™s are the best speaker for the money I have no idea, I love mine to bits and have heard more expensive speakers in different systems not sound as nice/better so that validates my choice to me.

Youā€™re as bad as me!:joy: Snap! My speakers from a couple of years ago were A5s. Everyone told me they were the weak link in my system. In the end, I sold the whole lot and became Naimless :cry:

Since then Iā€™ve bought a new 282/300 systemā€¦Iā€™ve had my current speakers for only five months, got them for 3k less than the RRP, but not 100% happy with them, hence the demo in my home with a different brand. If I like the new oneā€™s, it will mean taking a hit Ā£Ā£Ā£, but itā€™ll be worth it if theyā€™re right for me.

Another way to test new loudspeakers is to listen to a radio host that you are familiar with. The more natural and believable the voice you hear, the better the speaker.

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That does sound like an interesting part of speaker auditioning. But in conjunction with some tracks that illustrate other aspects, including deep base, sound stage, resolving complex music, etc.

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Yes, otherwise you might have a speaker that sounds great with everything you play - as long as it is unaccompanied spoken voice in the same register as that presenter!

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No, I usually try them facing the same way about 8 feet apartā€¦:grinning:

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Is it a solid wall? perhaps you should be looking for something that is designed for boundary placement yourself. A nice pair of SL2s perhaps (might take some time) or try out some Audionote Es if scale is important (thatā€™s try not buy by the way) or you could ā€œprobablyā€ find a pair of used Wilson Duettes if you tried hard enough.

Holy cow, thatā€™s what Iā€™ve been doing wrong!:rofl:

Yetiā€¦Itā€™s a stud wall with a solid floor.

The dealer that Iā€™m demoing from is over 100 miles away, and he doesnā€™t sell the speakers that you suggestā€¦ There is only one dealer that sells Naim and the two speaker brands that Iā€™m interested in and heā€™s 3 hours away. I personally wouldnā€™t want ā€˜previously lovedā€™ speakers, unless I knew the person.