Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Thoughts or Experiences With Providing Auditions?

I was pretty frustrated in trying to hear the speakers before I bought them. Apparently no one was in the area or else they weren't interested. I bought them anyhow and I'm very happy that I did.

Because I like them as much as I do and because everyone at Axiom I have dealt with has been wonderful, I just signed up to provide audtions here in Rochester, NY. Gives a little back and I get to show them off.

Does anyone have any thoughts on providing auditions or any interesting experiences you have had in either giving or getting an audition?

I've had at least half a dozen demo's at my place. All have gone very smoothly. I've even had a couple people bring me a gift as a token of their appreciation!

Things have quieted down recently though. For awhile I was having people email me for demo's all the time.

The fact that Axiom will now offer a commission on sales based on home demos is an added bonus! I didn't even know that plan existed when I was having my little demo sessions. Like you, I was just so happy with my purchase, and how Axiom has been (by FAR) the best online company I've ever dealt with, I felt like sharing my experience with others.

Hiya Craig. Do you normally suggest that they bring along their own CDs/DVDs; something they are familiar with to judge the output? How long do they normally last?

What kind of reaction do you generally get from your guests? I'm guessing that it's mostly positive.

Ray, I've hosted a successful demo that resulted in a purchase (and commission check). I told her what playback equipment I had available and suggested she bring her own music, but I also let her know she could browse my collection as well.

I've had 2 sessions w/ 3 different groups. Lasts about 1 to 2 hours, depending on how much time I have. I usually recommend people bring demo music and DVDs that they are familiar w/ and have tried w/ other equipment. I let them use some of my music, but granted everyone has different tastes. I let auditioners demo in 2 channel (w/ and w/o sub), multichannel, Dolby Digital surround etc.

I've had 1 referral check sent and one of the last auditioners bought a system last week. Another 4 weeks and I'll get a 2nd check. Definitely worth it to spread the gospel if you're OK opening up your home.

Most listeners are impressed. But it doesn depend on the sound that the listener is used to.

I would for sure let people to audition my system, once i have it setup.That way i would have some 'brag' time and also spread the joy of owning axioms...boy with number of axiom owners growing and a referal check being a good bonus, i belive there will be a time when the owners compete for potential 'auditioners'...[just finished my vodka, so my thinkingz gone crazy ]

I was supposed to host an audition last month but the guy never contacted me again after initial contact so i guess he didnt wanna do it anymore.

I did audition my system for a relative who was looking to buy some speakers and put together a whole ht system, we listened for probbly 2-3 hours, he didnt have any cd's but i had some stuff to his taste so that was fine.

I just handed over the remote and let him put it at whatever volume he liked etc, dont try to impress them with sheer volume

I did impress him with shear volume when it came time to pop in the THX worlds deepest bass track, made em sweat for sure.!

I'm interested in this thread. I hope that most regulars here already know me as a reasonable, helpful person. But I'm not all that comfortable with letting total strangers into my home based solely on their interest in my electronics.

Do you have any advice on ways to build trust in this regard? What sort of information would you expect to know about the listener before the audition?

Thanks for your advice.

- Tom

tom, you might ask about beer preferences. if it's bud lite, no way. if he/she mentions one of your favorites, then there might be greater cause for consideration.
dan

Well Tom, when i was in Austin a couple of months ago, they had a sign posted on the hotel doors stating "no handguns or other firearms alllowed".
I suppose that is a start for strangers coming to your house.

Second, get a big dog, like this drooling monster. The 'uncomfort' level fast swtiches from you to the stranger.

I always suggest they bring their own music/movies, but of course I've always got a couple of music tracks and movie chapters that I enjoy showing off as well.

The sessions last anywhere from 30 minutes to 2+ hours. But an hour or so is generally normal.

So far the most common thing people have been impressed with is the soundstage. I've had numerous people check the center channel and QS8's to see if I had the system in a surround mode when we were actually only playing in 2 channel.

Tom...call me crazy, but I tend to trust people. So far I've had some very cool people stop by for a visit.

Craig, I'm pretty much where you are. Someone will likely find out about the audition opportunity from this site and because they are looking for speakers. Combine that with the amount of money they are planning to part with and you probably end up with an aficionado whose interest is in audio.

I borrowed a friend's copy of an interesting demo CD. There are no markings on it and the case label was produced on an inkjet printer, so I don't know much about it's origins. It has 29 eclectic music selections that play about 2 minutes each and this is what I used in my audition rounds. I expect it would work if someone wants a broad spectrum.

Ray
I think that disc came from an HT show. One of my auditioners used a similar disc that he got from a San Francisco HT show. He gave me an extra copy. It has a FANTASTIC drum solo that demonstrates great soundstage and separation in 2 channel on my M22's. You can "fee" the drummer going around his drum set. It is a great demo disc. However, I always warn audtioners that it is recorded well, so it'll sound great on a good system. If auditioners bring bad recordings, it'll make the Axioms sound bad. You have to explain that it's the detail of the Axioms and not that the Axioms sound bad.

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If auditioners bring bad recordings, it'll make the Axioms sound bad. You have to explain that it's the detail of the Axioms and not that the Axioms sound bad.
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I agree with that, i judged axioms using a old album from U2. I tried to explain this to a co worker, he would not agree with me, he was like 'what the heck, a 2000$ system shld make anyting sound good'. I did some explaining and he was not buying any of my points. A simple example did the trick, i told him that its like taking a picture of sand using a real good SLR and complaining the picture is grainy.....a stupid analogy i know , hey but it did shut him up!!

That's true. I alway encourage people to bring their own music, but I always have some well engineered stuff on hand, in case they've brought something that sounds horrible. Those old U2 albums are notoriously bad.

Great idea. This will also give me a chance to show off my Kate Smith and Spike Jones victrola collection. Kate can bring some serious LFE!

tom,

Definitely have a phone conversation with a potential guest before giving out your home address. Also, being 6'4" and 225 lbs. helps a lot.

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its like taking a picture of sand using a real good SLR and complaining the picture is grainy
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That's a GREAT analogy.

"being 6'4" and 225 lbs. helps a lot."

I knew you'd never fit through that hole. Rats!

Agreed about the music quality situation..

when i was auditoning we played a few selections from pink floyd and some of this and that and there wasnt much that really made him say whoa! that was.. until i put in the mapleshade music festival. The first thing he said was.. it sounds like theyre right there. This is one of. if not my best sounding discs and it really shows what the axioms can do with good source material.

Of course it does! They use Mapleshade wires in their recording studio. The combination of Mapleshade interconnects/speaker wires and their great recordings is terrific.

Must...not...rise...to...bait

Axiom speakers are like a new HDTV. You actually begin to realize how well each movie is transferred when you get one. On an analog 4:3 TV, almost all movies look fine, but on an 16:9 HDTV, some movies look incredible while others look terrible.

This works the same way for Axiom speakers, a well mastered disc will sound amazing while a poorly recorded disc will show that it is poorly recorded.

This is why some people do not prefer detailed speakers.

snippy
good point. w/ my new plasma, I see A LOT of the DirecTV compression artifacts on SD. DVDs look great, granted, those that are recorded well. Man, this audiophile/videophile can be depressing. Sometimes it feels like living in the "matrix" was so much easier... Ignorance really does seem like bliss.

Fortunately, my HD DirecTV will be installed next sat.