Neubilder: I agree that it is good to see B&W being compared to BOSE! I think that people who poo-poo a model based on its manufacturer should have a reality check.
(But I have never heard anything from Bose I could stand.) On the other hand, I loved my B&W DM 7's.
NAIM, KRELL, LINN... etc. have cult followings like B&W. I have heard fantastic sound from all of these manufacturers. I have also heard crap.
A good example of my point can be made with cars....
A VW owner who is into his car is kind of like a cult member who thinks anything B&W makes is king.
Ahh the wonderful 1976-1986 Rabbit/Jetta. Good car if you like to tighten the alternator belt every 5,000 miles, have chronic fuel injection issues and eventual electrical smoke from the dash.
But lord help you if you point that out to a VW nut.
The same is true for the "Nameplate followers" in audio.............
McInto$h... I think would have to be the best example. Rich guy who knows nothing goes in and buys "the best" HA!
There are certainly past models made by Mirage..even Energy (remember those?) that blew away models by B&W. Yet people would leave the shop with an overpriced set of B&W's totally based on "snob appeal". BAH HUMBUG.
Remember when SOTA was a big thing? Oy-Vey. Give me the cheap little Planar 3 ANYDAY! But, there were a ton of people out there that would fight you to the death because of the name. Hey, they cost more...so they must be better, right?
I would like to see people not pay any attention to the name plate affixed to audio gear. Find what you like. Ignore the name, concentrate on the model you are listening to.
Zstokes: I agree with people telling you to trust your ears, while knowing that the sound that is intially impressive for the first half hour...can grate on you later. Make sure you have played a wide range of recordings you like on the speakers/amp(s) and be certain that you bring a few of your favorite movies as well. If the salesman does not want to spend an hour or two letting you play..then find a new salesman.
I recently heard an Atlantic Tech. Flagship setup with 9,000.00 just in speakers. The same ones that they have at the Lucasfilm ranch.... They S-U-C-K-E-D! I thought it was the setup, so I went to another shop offering the same speakers with a totally different front end..(to the tune of about 30k worth of gear)..once again, they S-U-C-K-E-D!In fact, my buddies little Mirage set up, with less than 2,750.00 into the whole thing (including the 349.00 JVC that drove them), blew the AT's away without question (to my ears).
If there is one golden chunk of advice I could give someone looking for a system, it would be to trust thier ears, not thier eyes or salesman!
It is a sad fact that so many people spend thousands of dollars after reading a few reviews..(you think all that crap is for real? Or that the reviewer isn't worried about losing the ad $$$ from a manufacturer?)
True good sound, regardless of your budget, requires many hours of research and many hours of listening. The ultimate judge being your ears.
