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From: ben@moncol.UUCP (Bennett Broder)
Newsgroups: net.audio
Subject: Re: Looking for medium expensive speakers
Message-ID: <409@moncol.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 2-Jul-85 12:42:55 EDT
Article-I.D.: moncol.409
Posted: Tue Jul  2 12:42:55 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 4-Jul-85 00:29:07 EDT
References: <11353@brl-tgr.ARPA>, <3938@alice.UUCP>
Organization: Monmouth College, West Long Branch, NJ 07764
Lines: 41

>There is only one way to decide what speakers to buy,
>and that is to decide.  Don't let anyone else decide
>for you.  If a dealer makes claims about speakers that
>you can't verify with your own ears, it doesn't matter
>whether or not the claims are valid.
>
>Remember, you are the one who will have to live with them.

I don't think this is terribly good advice.  Remember how good you
thought your old speakers sounded when you bought them?  Notice how
over time they sound less and less good until one day, you realize
that a new pair is in order?  Well, this phenomena is not caused by
a degradation in your old speakers, it happens because your ears become
more trained:  they hear problems with the sound that they once
overlooked.

I would *definitely* not take a dealers word as gospel.  He has a
vested interest in selling you a particular brand of equipment, and
though he is useful in that he can point out the strong points of the
products he represents, he is highly unlikely to provide an unbiased
opinion.

This is where equipment reviews and the advice of experienced
professionals comes in.  The experts have tools to measure and the
years of listening experience to judge whether a particular item
is clean and accurate, or whether it just has colorations that you
find pleasant.  In the latter case, you may be buying a piece of
equipment that you will tire of very quickly.

I believe the best way to go shopping for audio gear (particularly
if you are new to the high fidelity scene), is with a batch of reviews
under one arm, a bunch of your favorite records and CDs under the
other, and with an experienced friend to help sort it all out.

In the final analysis, your ears *are* the best tool you have to
evalutate equipment.  But, take off the blinders, learn why you like
or dislike what you hear; try to make an informed, intelligent decision.

Ben Broder
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