Comparing sound: Tune Method

As always, be sure to listen to the whole chain. I can not stress it enough.
"If you are not buying everything you hear,
you will not hear everything when you try it at home."

But what if you only need a speaker, or an amp...?
A good Hi-Fi shop will allow you to bring your own material to test with, and maybe even come at your home to demonstrate the new stuff. (so the first quest you have is : 'find a good shop')

Comparing sound is difficult for most people, because they forget easily. 15 minutes can be enough for an untrained ear to loose most of the detail in a comparison. With the method I am going to describe below you will be able to remember much longer, several weeks at least.
This ability will enable you to compare systems demostrated in different shops.

First you have to setup the speakers so that you to hear them individually. What do I mean by this? It is a known fact that even speakers that are not connected, influence the sound in a room. If there are more than one speakerpair in the room, remove them, or place them as far from the test pair as possible, with the front facing the wall. This way you avoid the influence of the passive speakers on the sound.

If you think you can not hear this effect, try it at home. Listen to a system, then bring an unconnected speaker in and place it between the speaker pair... Et voila !

What I am to say now will probably be a source of depair for many housewives :-)
"This principle also counts for all speakers in the room, even small ones. I once removed the speakers from my television to avoid interference. This is a bit drastic, but you can also cover them up with a thick cloth to get most of the effect. An other alternative is to turn them on, with the volume to zero. Think also about the computer speakers or surround sound rear speakers, if not included in the system... The closer they are, the more harm they do."

Once you cleaned the room, you are ready to start testing.

Below, you will find a method that helps discerning the level of musicality of a Hifi chain.
If you have this right, you will certainly have an enjoyable system. Now how do you do this?
The method I am going to describe is quite controversial. It might sound so simple that some people will not believe it works. But believe me, there is something in it.
I was doing some kind of this test myself for years, until I found out that Ivor Tiefenbrun the founder of the famous Scottish brand Linn perfectioned the method even before I had a decent protable radio. They almost entirely build a brand that is now selling all over the world based on this method.

Tune method:

Choose a tune you really like, with a quite vivid tempo. So classic lovers need something like vivace, allegro,...

1. Adjust the first system to a volume that suits you, and do not touch it for the rest of the test.
2. Start the song for about a minute. Forget all technical considerations, just enjoy. Try to tap your feet, sing along, hum along, or for musicians even try to play along! It is very important that you actively try to be involved in the music.
3. Switch to the second system.
4. Find approximately the same volume if needed.
5. Repeat step 2... Notice a difference? Maybe you are not even able to tap, or perhaps you can not sit still?
6. Switch back to the first system.
7. Repeat step 2

Sometimes it will be much easier to tap along with one system than the other. Always go back to the first system, so always listen at least three times to the same tune, to capture all differences. The beauty of this is that this method encourages you to listen to the things that really matter, if you want to enjoy the system after you bought it.

You will notice that you can remember the character of this sound quite easily, and you can take the same tune ( or tunes ) to other shops as well.

That is why it is important to use music that you like most, and will be playing most often. This seems obvious, isn't it?
Well, I encountered several good believing music lovers that bought special test-cds with music they did not even like to select their system. I know there are good and bad recordings. There is nothing against selecting the best recording you can find, but do it for the music you really like.
A rock enthousiast who buys a cd with the Toccata and Fugue from Bach will probably end up with an ill suited system for him. ( and this is not because the music would be bad for testing) He will simply not hear much difference, or will be misleaded by his ears.

If you try this method, and it works for you, i would welcome some comments about it!

Enjoy!