How to test speakers in store?

[wemmick]

I'm shopping for some new powered speakers (well, new to me anyway) for my band. We generally have only the vocals through the PA.

How do you recommend testing speakers? Should I bring my mixer and mics and hook it all up? Use what the store has?

Alternately, should I just buy from a place with a decent return policy and hope nobody spills on it before I commit?

 

[oerk]

Depends. The mixer shouldn't factor into the sound quality, so it's kind of useless to bring one. And if you use standard mics for vocals, such as SM58s, the store should have some.

I would bring music I know well and run it through the speakers.

 

[ThirstyMonkey]

+1 on bringing your own music with you. If you have a good recording of your band, bring that. If not, bring in a recording of music that is comparable to the music your group plays and that you're very familiar with. When you audition the speakers, make sure the various speakers are in the same relative place (height and distance). You'd be surprised how much the "room" can impact the sound of the speakers. Also make sure the mixer's eq is flat and their not using any processing on the speakers. Finally, don't decide that day. Come back a second time and audition them again, this time starting with a different brand than the first time.