Originally Posted By: Guitarhacker
<...snip...> Buying any guitar in the mail without playing it is a gamble.<...>

It used to be that you could buy just about anything locally and try it out first. But those days are long gone. That was so 20th century.

I bought a MacSax saxophone and a Parker Guitar on-line without trying either first. I'm delighted with both.

My first pair of Carvin passive speakers were done without hearing them first. But I did hear a pair of older models.

I was thinking about getting rid of my 60 pound sub-woofer and the two satellite speakers. I do one-nighters ('nuff said).

I went to music stores and did A/B switching with Mackey, Samson, JBL, Peavy and other brands, all with 12 and 15" woofers. Nothing really sounded that good. Nothing was bad, but they all sounded a bit thin in comparison. The only ones that sounded as good or better were a pair of EV's that were way out of my price range. If I remember correctly, they were over $800 per passive speaker.

Then I was playing in the clubhouse of a retirement community, and noticed the Carvins. When setting up my gear I asked the contact person if I could try one out. He was a Carvin fan and was happy to let me A/B them.

They of course sounded different, the bottom end was lighter (as expected with no sub-woofer) but the midrange was warmer than my system and all the ones I tried in the music stores. I figured I could EQ the bass to compensate.

So I called Carvin, the ones I tried in the clubhouse were discontinued, so I got the newer models. I was delighted with them.

Fast forward a number of years. My QSC PA power amp failed and I played a gig with fuzzy sound. Fortunately it was a gig we had been doing weekly for years, and the regulars all understood. I have a spare power amp at home, and replaced it immediately.

Then I started thinking about powered speakers. The logic is that if the amp on one of the powered speakers failed, I could limp through the show on one speaker. So I bought the Carvins I'm now using. I'm a 'the show must go on' person and anything I can do in advance to assure that is a good idea. My old Carvins are happy now as the speakers in my home stereo.

I have friend who uses a Bose for their PA. I did an A/B test with both their gear and mine swapping speakers. We all agreed that the Carvins had a warmer, thicker sound with better lows and mids. But I suppose some people might prefer the edgier, thinner Bose sound, and it is certainly easier to transport.

I gave my old speakers to a couple of teenagers starting a band. I did that years ago with the sub-woofer system too. I like doing that. I just go to my local M&P music store, and ask the owner if he knows anyone needy. I give them through him, he gets loyalty out of the teen band, and I get loyalty from my local music shop. More importantly, it's great to help young musicians.

OK, I'm drifting way off topic here (sorry).

Bose gets some great sounds out of tiny speaker cones, and I'm really impressed with how much they do with such tiny speakers. Speaker technology has really gotten better than it was in the past (anyone remember schlepping 'voice of the theater' speakers). But for now, at least IMHO, the advanced Bose technology is getting closer, but still hasn't replaced the big 15" cone of a well designed speaker system.

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