I have been looking at several listings of speakers lately. It started from a lucky find of vintage Dynaudio Contours that remain the best speakers I've heard until now. However invariably I would be severely underwhelmed when auditioning at the owners place. This lineup of underwhelming speakers include legends such as the JBL XPL 140, JBL 4311, and Allison Acoustics CD-9.
My process has been to bring my own Topping D50s hooked up to a Behringer A800 power amp and play songs Im familiar with over Bluetooth then I assess such attributes as stereo imaging, clarity, bass extension, and absence of distortion. Every time I have been disappointed.
I would note however that one time I didn't bring my amp with me when hearing a Jamo 5.1 set. They sounded similarly lacking but I bought them anyway because it was a good deal and I thought the owner's amp was underpowered. In this instance I turned out to be correct and the set sounded great in my room.
So is this process correct or have I been missing out on some great speakers to my ignorance? Im thinking that speakers do sound different in different rooms but I'm not sure how to correct for that.
My process has been to bring my own Topping D50s hooked up to a Behringer A800 power amp and play songs Im familiar with over Bluetooth then I assess such attributes as stereo imaging, clarity, bass extension, and absence of distortion. Every time I have been disappointed.
I would note however that one time I didn't bring my amp with me when hearing a Jamo 5.1 set. They sounded similarly lacking but I bought them anyway because it was a good deal and I thought the owner's amp was underpowered. In this instance I turned out to be correct and the set sounded great in my room.
So is this process correct or have I been missing out on some great speakers to my ignorance? Im thinking that speakers do sound different in different rooms but I'm not sure how to correct for that.