Anything you wouldn't hesitate to buy without hearing it first?

Wind Chaser · « **on:** 16 Dec 2007, 06:53 pm »

Before the internet, we all had fairly limited knowledge of what was available. Since then audio as an industry has exploded with what almost seems like an endless plethora of possibility. There are numerous products that are sold exclusively direct or with very limited distribution, stuff you will not see or hear in a dealer’s showroom let alone even read about in a magazine.

Now anyone who has a brilliant idea and the gumption to make it happen can be in business almost over night marketing it through out the civilized world. This means much of what we can read about and see in pictures is about as far as it gets until we are willing to take a leap of faith.

For me there is one product I wouldn’t hesitate to buy strictly on the merit of hearsay. Not that of professional reviewers, but end user testimonials combined with a base of fundamental knowledge that would pretty much guarantee a sure fire hit.

That product for me would be the Emerald Physics CS2.

So what stops me from buying them? Well it would be nice to have a suitable listening room. Due to space limitations and not having a dedicated listening room I can only accommodate a small mini monitor than can be easily moved in and out of position.

So what if anything, would you be willing to purchase on a leap of faith? What do you think would be a sure fire hit and why?

Bigfish · « **Reply #1 on:** 16 Dec 2007, 07:11 pm »

I actually purchased my entire system without hearing any of the equipment prior to purchase. Without a doubt I can recommend the Odyssey Mono SEs and Candela without auditioning first. I believe anyone will find the combination of performance, value and personal attention from Klauss to be almost impossible to match.

Ken

some young guy · « **Reply #2 on:** 16 Dec 2007, 07:14 pm »

well, i guess i'd have to go with the apl hi-fi products. i'm on my 3rd apl player now and each one along the way has been better than it's predecessor (and the first one was no slouch by a loooooong shot). now alex is whispering about a new amp that i think i'll be taking that leap for. after speaking with him, it would definitely seem to be exactly what i want in an amp and he voices his equipment the way i like it (very neutral and natural).

ecramer · « **Reply #3 on:** 16 Dec 2007, 07:32 pm »

I bought a pair of mono se's off of Klauss and had never heard any thing from odyssey

Quote from: Bigfish on 16 Dec 2007, 07:11 pm

I actually purchased my entire system without hearing any of the equipment prior to purchase. Without a doubt I can recommend the Odyssey Mono SEs and Candela without auditioning first. I believe anyone will find the combination of performance, value and personal attention from Klauss to be almost impossible to match.

Ken

BrianM · « **Reply #4 on:** 16 Dec 2007, 07:41 pm »

Gee, I would think that these days buying things you'd already heard would be practically the exception, at least for AC members. (I bought my entire system sound unheard.) The internet makes it too easy to do just what you illustrate with the Emerald Physics: form a highly educated guess about how something might work for you. Plus I assume there's about ten times as much churn going on nowadays, what with that crazy smorgasbord/cakewalk over at Audiogon.

95bcwh · « **Reply #5 on:** 16 Dec 2007, 07:46 pm »

I would buy these without listening

a review of its smaller sibling can be found here: http://www.dagogo.com/Spotlight/AcapellaTriolon-Crowder.html

BrianM · « **Reply #6 on:** 16 Dec 2007, 07:52 pm »

Well, okay, I would buy this without hearing it first:

I hear it sounds very musical...

TomS · « **Reply #7 on:** 16 Dec 2007, 08:02 pm »

I have done it too often but hesitated every single time. Now that I have them, at least in hindsight, the Merlin VSM-MX's would be a sure fire hit, at least for me. There is loads of hype and plenty written about them that sounded mostly like fan-boys to me. Regardless, after talking with Bobby at Merlin many times, I did it anyway and don't regret it.

I'd buy Jim Salk's speakers that way too, though I had heard Mables' HT3's and liked them a lot. Same goes for Danny Ritchie's GR-Research designs, as his taste and mine must be rather close. All are very well engineered and high value, though not reviewed by the mainstream audio press much, which I don't really care about.

With that said, speakers are a VERY personal decision, based on your own needs and as you said, the environment/room that is available. They are always a compromise of sorts and we all have different priorities on what we can accept. I now have the Emerald Physics CS2's as well, but was lucky enough to hear them at RMAF, making my decision to explore them further, right then and there. They were totally different in approach from the Merlins, yet I am enjoying them very much in my short time with them. I wouldn't say they need a lot of room, but you do need some space behind them. The nice thing is you can compensate for what you have with the crossover settings with the push of a button - nice!

Another I leaped blindly with were the Bolder SB mods, mainly due to the posters here. Very happy with that result too.

Tom

btw WC, love your avatar

Wind Chaser · « **Reply #8 on:** 16 Dec 2007, 08:18 pm »

Quote from: BrianM on 16 Dec 2007, 07:41 pm

Gee, I would think that these days buying things you'd already heard would be practically the exception, at least for AC members.

Unfortunately rolling the dice doesn't always work out so well and when it goes sour on a bigger risk, most people tend to learn from that experience and will never buy another product without first listening to it in their home on their system. That has happened to me, so now the calculation is more thoroughly thought out and the hopeful "guess we'll find out when it arrives" mentality is diminished considerably, but not totally eliminated.

Hey Tom,

Thanks for the compliment. That was a view from my audio room window up until 5 months ago. I left the Mecca for the Metropolitan.

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #9 on:** 16 Dec 2007, 08:27 pm »

Quote from: Wind Chaser on 16 Dec 2007, 08:18 pm

Hey Tom,

Thanks for the compliment. That was a view from my audio room window up until 5 months ago. I left the Mecca for the Metropolitan.

John....I remember this thread.......but the outside view was nice.

Marbles · « **Reply #10 on:** 16 Dec 2007, 08:40 pm »

I wouldn't (didn't) hesitate to buy subwoofers designed by Brian Ding of Rythmik and Danny Richie of GR Research, built in Dymaxion cabinets by Christof.

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=47310.0

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=25672

tanchiro58 · « **Reply #11 on:** 16 Dec 2007, 09:00 pm »

I would like to build this listening room and buy this gears without listening first.

DaveC113 · « **Reply #12 on:** 16 Dec 2007, 09:06 pm »

I bought Omega XRS and a Trends T-amp without hearing them with plans to have them in a small room / nearfield. This worked out very well, especially after selling my ss preamp for a tubed unit.

Dave

JLM · « **Reply #13 on:** 16 Dec 2007, 09:25 pm »

I bought my entire system un-heard. In fact, I commissioned the speakers from drivers unheard and a designer that I'd never heard any of his products. I don't have good access to high-end, high-value products such as found here at AC.

It helps when you can get inside the head of the vendor, reviewer, or current customers. It turns into a mix of research, reading for comprehension, and an Einsten "thought experiment".

Some stuff, especially if its cheap enough, are no-brainers. Examples: my Oppo 970 universal player; VAC-1 power supply for Channel Islands Audio stuff.

The only problems I've had buying from the internet were all product failures (loose batteries during transit on two pieces and a blown output board). In those cases the vendors took only partial responsibility.

Imperial · « **Reply #14 on:** 16 Dec 2007, 10:01 pm »

That 3-way Elite Audio Speaker, Elite Performance 10 from China!
My 2 cents won't be enough, but this speaker has me intrigued!

I found the "congrats" thread on an asian forum, but no online translator engine can clarify what they are saying to this
YiZhen Yao, designer dude... (looks like a congrats thread to me!) - and I can not find their webpage either!
Anybody know what it is?

Imperial

Wind Chaser · « **Reply #15 on:** 16 Dec 2007, 10:16 pm »

Quote from: lonewolfny42 on 16 Dec 2007, 08:27 pm

John....I remember this thread.......but the outside view was nice.

I forgot about that NASTY stench! My God, I feel ill just from reminiscing.

zacster · « **Reply #16 on:** 16 Dec 2007, 10:23 pm »

I only buy unheard equipment if it is cheap enough that I don't mind spending the money if it doesn't work out. Just recently I bought a Monica dac with a tube gain stage for $115. For that money I didn't care if it didn't sound good. Also bought the Charlize T-amp for $100, and probably the most expensive was the Outlaw 1050 I bought for $499 a few years back. None of these ended up being bad.

I've spent a lot of money on mod parts not knowing if I'd hear any difference, sometimes I do sometimes I don't. These don't usually cost much.

I wouldn't spend big bucks on something I couldn't hear, especially speakers. That being said, I spent around $750 on my speakers without hearing them but I built them myself. Between the drivers, crossover parts, and especially the unpaid labor, it adds up and I couldn't hear them until they were done a few months later.

Tweaker · « **Reply #17 on:** 16 Dec 2007, 10:53 pm »

I have purchased everything in my system without listening first but, with the exception of my speakers, which were very inexpensive everything I did buy had a 30-day money back guarantee. The one I wouldn't hesitate to buy, and have, is a Hsu Reasearch subwoofer even without a 30-day return policy. You never hear anything bad about them and that's been the case for years. The Emerald Physics CS2 I'm sure is a fine loudspeaker but to my mind right now it's the Speaker Of The Month. I'm always a bit wary of the initial excitement over a product as I've seen it numerous times like with the Art DI/O which no one talks about anymore. If in two years from now there's the same level of enthusiasm about the CS2 then I could add them to my list of gear I'd take a chance on sight unseen, ears unheard. At least one of the people charmed by the CS2 seems to have a revolving door of gear through their home so it'll be interesting to see how long it lasts. Again, I'm sure it's the real deal but I'll take a wait and see attitude.
I guess there's another speaker that has maintained a high level of enthusiasm for long enough to make me confident it's not the flavor of the month and that would be anything by SP Tech. That is a speaker that seems to make itself at comfortable for the long haul in many peoples homes.

Bemopti123 · « **Reply #18 on:** 16 Dec 2007, 10:56 pm »

My First Sound Presence Hot Rod MKII was bought site unseen and so was my First Sound Presence Deluxe MKI.

My 47 Labs Shigaraki transport was bought unheard.

So was my 47 Labs Shigaraki DAC

and my Mcintosh MR-78 tuner off from Ebay

as well as my DNA-225

My Final Laboratories Music 5 and 6 amplifiers

as well as my two turntables....

The only items I possess that I heard in demos from now, defunct dealers, my Sumo Athena MKI preamplifier

as well as my NAD 6300 Professional series tape deck

and my Technics SLQ-33 all from around 1988.

You see a pattern here, with the advent of the internet it has lead me to search far and wide for equipment that I would not have a chance to have heard anywhere near me nor to hear them to my satisfaction.

At least I am very proud not to have taken any hours or minutes from a bricks and mortar audio store to "audition" their gear and then, hunt for them used in Gon or here.

I find it very difficult to "listen or audition" gear to my satisfaction in regular stores, they do not carry what I am usually interested in also, I am fortunate to say that what I heard in large retailers, I found rather unappealing, so I did not purchased them used or new anywhere.

I am pretty sure that since the inception of the NEt and especially Audiogon, many people have taken the same road I did.

I am fortunate to say that most of the stuff I bought and kept, has given me more than my money's worth. Some items I dumped back to net were overhyped audio gear such as that Morrison ELAD two source "purist" preamp and some other items that I have not bothered to remember.

The biggest problem with internet dealings is that there was questionable sellers that do not disclose full details until you get stuck with a "surprise." I am also lucky that most of these surprises were not so horrible so as to have me turning in my bed that night or nights after. One thing people should understand about buying items used is the possibilities of lemons or a--h-l-s that pander garbage in the net. I call it part of the "game."

musicman06 · « **Reply #19 on:** 16 Dec 2007, 11:06 pm »

Most of my system was bought unheard, simply based on several hours of research, product components knowlegde, user reviews, talking to the manufacturer often via email. Current components I bought from afar include a Gemstone Blue Diamond amp, NuForce AVP-16 processor, Paradisea DAC, and my entire 5.1 speaker package from Selah Audio - made to order and shipped across the country. And my interconnects from ultimate cables. Heck even my audio stand was bought online, and the supplies for the speaker cables. I did buy the CD player, DVD player, speaker stands, and computer locally. Oh, and the power conditioner was off eBay.