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Listening


Listen Carefully

I was at an audition for some room acoustic products recently. It gave me some further insight into how one should go about listening and evaluating new products and I’d thought I’d share some of the ideas. People have different ideas on how it should be done and often they all have merit.

Reviews are a great source for information and some people have no problem buying products based on reviews because they trust the reviewer or they have no confidence in themselves to make a personal decision and feel that they will not know what to listen for. Don’t be afraid!

The ideal is to have equipment in your own home for a few weeks, connected to your existing equipment. Only this way you can tell how it will interact with the other products, with the room and importantly, your personal preferences. Most decent stores or online stores will allow you to take the products home or arrange a delivery. Of course you would be expected to pay for them with the offer of a refund if you are not happy. Too many things will go missing otherwise! Treat the products with respect, including any accessories and packaging to. Make sure the products is run in before doing any proper listening as it may change its sound, this is especially true for speakers.

If you are unable to take the product home, the next best is usually in the store itself. This is good for an initial evaluation as well, helpful to narrow down a range of products. Find a store that has quiet listening rooms and ones that are prepared to take the time to set up the equipment as carefully as possible. You will of course often need to make an appointment in advance to ensure they have the facilities available and the time to do it. You may even bring in some of your other equipment if they do not have the same ones as you do. Check with the store first on this, as they may not permit it.

Some people can make a decision in 30 seconds but is it the right one? Maybe for some but do you test-drive a car for 30 seconds? Or even a few minutes? Sure, you may be able to tell quickly if it really is not for you but as products work at so many levels, give it a chance to perform. Often it is the other connected equipment that may be causing whatever sound artefacts you do not like; so if a product is not performing as you expected, ask to try it with some different gear. Even cables can make a difference.

It is often suggested to take your own music along and this can be a good idea. If you are familiar with a track, you will know how it sounds and can make comparisons between the new products and your current ones. However this can also lead to a problem. Since you are so familiar with the music, you may not be happy with the new product as it will likely sound different to what you are used to and since people usually don’t like change, you may interpret this as not being good. This is why you should also listen to some new music to give a fresh perspective as well. Your mind will play tricks on you too. Listen fresh, not after a late night or any loud parties! Hearing will be affected otherwise and will distort your perspective.

The volume level you listen to can have an effect as well. Some products simply work better at higher levels, especially large speakers. There is no point auditioning these if you will never go this loud, or visa versa! Many small speakers wont fill a large room and you may be driving them into distortion levels and ultimately cause damage.

Matching of equipment is an oft-neglected area of hifi and leads to a lot of disappointment. You should never just buy a product on a whim, as there is a good chance that it wont sound as expected in your system. Everything must gel together as a system to sound good. The problem is there are no hard and fast rules for this, even products amongst the same brand may not match together very well, so a lot of listening and testing is required. Some people take months to decide what to buy after a lot of research using all the above methods. Even online forums such as this magazine own will give you another source for information. Chances are someone else has been through the same process as you or even has the same gear.

Finally remember it is your choice! Never let a sales person tell you what you are hearing; how do they know what you hear? If they only let you use their music and not your own, ask why. Some brands have been known to have CD’s equalised especially to make their systems sound better than they really are by making up for poor response. Some shops also have sales tactics where another staff member will enter the room while you are listening and say how great it sounds, this is often pre-planed to try and convince you to buy. Take your time; after all, it is your money!


 

Written by Leon Gross, originally published in Audio & Video Lifestyle magazine.