I’ve learned that I have to hold something in my hand, set it up and use it, live with it for a little while, before I know if I’ll like it. Some of that is build quality and control feel, some is sound, some is ineffable.
I know this is easier for some than others, but I would try. Get used gear and resell it when you’re done. It’s really worth it. It’s the only way to really grow in this hobby.
Also as it turns out the room itself is key to how something sounds, so yes you are entirely correct.
In the days before the web, almost nobody bought anything they didn’t hear first. Often multiple times. Relying strictly on reviews is lazy. One should first read about products that seem like they fit your needs, then you hear them, either through shows, dealers, or home auditions. The cost of travel to dealers or shows needs to be in your budget, as making mistakes can be costly and time consuming.
Once you have a sound you are after, you can tailor the system to make, for example, a speaker work.
While my speaker of choice, TAD, was the sound I was after, it took quite a few years of better gear becoming available (at least that I could afford) before all my criticisms went away. The speakers were so revealing that I was hearing the problems upstream, since I couldn’t afford a something like a DCS stack. It has taken over 10 years with these speakers to get the system to a point where it is now, and I’m still awaiting upgrades (custom transformers in my DSMKII Dac)
Once you have an established system, If you read multiple people with your same gear touting a component or tweak, then going off online reviews is probably a good bet.
Luckily however, today gear is much more neutral than in the past, so the odds of random components working well together is much higher, IMHO.
My mantra is “Internet reviews can often help me avoid a horrible decison. They can never guarantee the right decision.”
Ok I lied, I just made that up - but it more or less reflects how I have used the internet for research over the years.
That, plus it’s where I learn this “one simple trick” that my nemesis hates.
If you can’t, try in store demo. If you can’t manage that, try to demo some really well k own baseline speakers so you have a measuring stick for reviews and accurate comparisons.
Remember that most higher end speakers are usually available for in home 30 day demo and all you really gotta do is ship em back (they’ll tell you how). You can also contact local hifi places and ask if they allow in home demos, they usually have a few floor models for this purpose.
Also spend some time making your home environment a little nicer or audio. Just work on primary and secondary reflective surfaces and put absorption there. Not scientific but it works better than nothing,and you can adjust position after.
The best advice I can give you is to get items on the used market place. Because if you don’t like it in your set up you can usually sell it quickly and not waste a lot of money.
Thanks Cap
I watch internet reviews daily and it’s driving me crazy. There’s too much hyperbole and too many biases. Measurements don’t fix that problem, they aggravate it. Everything is becoming a ranking system. Not agreeing with the top ranking products is a curse. Not having the same priorities as the internet reviewers will guarantee buyer’s remorse. This entire hobby can be summarized with a Starter Pack meme showing KEF speakers, Hypex chip amplifiers, SMSL DACs and Wiim Streamers. This hobby is so diverse and we’re narrowing everything down to a tiny list.
And I feel like a crazy person thinking that single driver speakers are the way to go. I heard single driver speakers alongside 2 or 3 way speakers in a showroom. And yeah, the single driver speakers just sounded more clear and life-like. The 3 way speakers had more bass and were more dynamic, but they sounded like speakers. I was not immersed in the music.
A pair of these mounted in some simple DIY open baffles. The coaxial OB sound was eye-opening (ear-opening?) when I put together my first pair.
The speakers ‘fill’ the room with your music in such a satisfying and natural way, you forget about them altogether. The build is as easy as you could ask. No crossover, no cabinet volume, porting, polyfilling, or bracing to worry about. If you can build a wood panel that stands up (or hangs suspended), you can build open baffles.
Add 2-4 subwoofers with DSP, and you’ve got an even, equally room-filling low end, which, admittedly, is something open baffles struggle with on their own.
Give yourself time to get used to it too. Your brain will become accustomed to your old gear sound. New gear might sound…off. I’m not sure I buy into speakers needing “burn-in” time (aside from maybe AMT tweeters), I think it’s something manufacturers say to give your brain time to become accustomed.
Buy more gear? That’s all you had to say brother. Taking your advice already
The next best thing is to join a regional audio club. Then you get to hear other gear set up in a home setting, and while it’s not your exact space you get more of an idea about sound and component synergy than a youtube video.
Reviews are bullshit mostly. The manufacturers, hifi dealers, and review rags are cozy with each other.
Specs are real. For amps and preamps, the distortion and noise spec is your best predictor of whether it’s gonna sound clean or have “character.” Another spec that matters is stability margins which no manufacturer publishes, sadly.
Likewise the efficiency and frequency response spec on a speaker tells a lot of the story. Directivity also matters but I don’t think we have standardized metrics for it.
Only true for speakers and passive room treatments.
You’ve never bought an amp sight unseen, turned the knobs for the first time, and realized you hate it? Happened to me at least twice!
Once you read enough reviews for various products they all end up the same. Something good about it, a standout plus, something bad about it, not mentioning a major flaw, measurements, ending with a good to great rating “in that category” or “in that price range”. Essentially useless for comparing gear based on reviews alone.
It is the same bs as all the JD Power Awards, there are so many narrow categories that almost every car wins an award.
The Youtubers in particular I find clownish and ignorant, yet they want to be taken so seriously. The belief that you can tell what something sounds like from a lossy YT video is especially absurd, yet that is the stock in trade for many of these self-appointed authorities.
Yeah, online reviews are worthless. Pick any piece of gear that exists. I guarantee that you can find a glowing review for it somewhere from someone. Every $300 component sounds as good as competitors $1000 components, every $1,000 component sounds as good as competing $2,000 components and every $2,000 component sounds as good as competing $5,000 components. What is the point of the subjective reviews.
Clearly part of this is that there is a reviews industry which relies on the industry for components for review and for ad revenue. If 95% of the stuff wasn’t the best and only 5% of the stuff was praised then the business model wouldn’t work. That is why we get 95% of stuff is great and only 5% of stuff isn’t as good. Truth is that most consumers are just looking for validation on the stuff they were planning to buy anyways.