Outside of going to an audiophile store (which there are none nearby me), it seems many on this sub are often purchasing headphones with the intent to just try them. They’ll give em a good critical listen, and if they dont like em, ship em back. Amazon seems to be popular for this.
But I dont get how this works. I dont trust Amazon’s “free returns” policy as they’ve screwed me numerous times in the past (non headphone related). Furthermore, free returns are often not free at all, and I see tons of fine print about restocking fees, return fees, etc etc. So how are you guys managing to test so many headphones before buying them?
I know headphones.com has a 365d return policy, but at least they’re transparent and tell you upfront that there are restocking fees (as opposed to Amazon which is the exact opposite). So at least you can budget and act accordingly. But again, I ask - how are you guys doing this? Is Amazon really being that good to you guys and I just have the worst luck in the world? Help!
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In vietnam, we have to settle for
A. Special occasions when big stores are generous enough to let the customer demo without any commitments.
B. Join a “listening group” on facebook or whatever then trade / resell with other groups.
Buy and sell used
This. All of my headphones are used. We are in a hobby where people generally take care of their stuff and phones cameras mean everyone can take high quality pictures. Always make sure to ask about the condition and then always pay with paypal goods and services. Typically headphones take a massive hit once they are no longer new in the ball park of 50-80% but after that as long as they are well maintained the value stays pretty flat for quite some time. So as long as you are patient and don’t over pay you pretty typically are only out the cost of shipping and the goods and services fee. Then I don’t just get a month but as long as you want to really get to know them.
Dedicated headphone retail store near me that allow demos.
I go to meets (Head-fi has a forum for organizing meets in an area), I go to expos (haven’t been to CanJam yet, but I went to Capital Audiofest this past month), and I demo at stores. The trick to store demos is to combine them with travel. If you are ever traveling somewhere for work or holiday or whatever, look up if there are any audio stores in the area you’re visiting and see if you can add a visit to your itinerary. That’s how I visited The Source AV near LA last week; I was in the area visiting my wife’s family and took the time to visit the store. Note that few stores are dedicated to headphones. Most will mainly deal in speakers and may have a few headphones on the side. If you’re looking at expensive headphones (I’d consider >$800 expensive), it really makes sense to wait for a demo opportunity before buying. If you’re looking at the topmost echelon of cost, like several thousand dollars, I think it’s absolutely worth spending a few hundred to travel to a store to demo a few pairs. Otherwise, no matter how many reviews you read online, you’re still essentially gambling on the purchase.
I also never liked the buy then return process.
The only way I can try out headphones is at Microcenter where they have gaming snd consumer headphones for you to demo.
If I want headphones I will watch as many reviews as possible, get everyone’s opinion and see if there are any correlations or contradictions between them. Negative reviews are the best because they really tell you what you need to know about them. Resolve is my go to person as he is very knowledgeable and very critical about sound quality.
For me, there are several major audiophile stores within 30 minutes by subway. Perks of living in a giant city…
All the stores here have demo units.