Over the last 15 years been in 3 audio shops.
The first one I went into to buy a power conditioner, and while there asked about a used CD player they had for sale. The salesman asked me about my current player (musical fidelity A5) then proclaimed in a snooty pretentious way how all Musical Fidelity equipement sux. bought the conditioner and never went back.
The second time I went into to audition a VPI prime, very nice store, nice salesman, his associated electronics were way above mine yet the sound sucked. I asked him about why he didn't position the speakers correctly, why he had equipment rack between the speakers, why no power conditioning, no vibration remedies, lowfi cabling etc and he stated he didn't want to optimize things and then have a customer disappointed when they setup things half arsed in their home. Puzzling thoughts, I bought the VPI Prime anyway despite being underwhelmed by the demo. It sounded great when I set it up at home.
Third store I made an appointment, I wanted to audition Hegel H20 and Bryston amp for my new Magico A3 speakers, Very highly respected audio store in Delaware that carried Magico. Nice store nice salesman, but they setup Magico A3's with these amps in a room where the speakers were 20 feet from the sidewalls 20 feet from the rear wall and 20 feet of open room behind the listening chair. How the hey am I supposed to get a valid sonic impression? Bought the Hegel anyway and very happy with it at home.
All in all I'm thankful for Audiogon reviews and opinions to get me started and don't expect much at the bricks and mortifying stores
The first one I went into to buy a power conditioner, and while there asked about a used CD player they had for sale. The salesman asked me about my current player (musical fidelity A5) then proclaimed in a snooty pretentious way how all Musical Fidelity equipement sux. bought the conditioner and never went back.
The second time I went into to audition a VPI prime, very nice store, nice salesman, his associated electronics were way above mine yet the sound sucked. I asked him about why he didn't position the speakers correctly, why he had equipment rack between the speakers, why no power conditioning, no vibration remedies, lowfi cabling etc and he stated he didn't want to optimize things and then have a customer disappointed when they setup things half arsed in their home. Puzzling thoughts, I bought the VPI Prime anyway despite being underwhelmed by the demo. It sounded great when I set it up at home.
Third store I made an appointment, I wanted to audition Hegel H20 and Bryston amp for my new Magico A3 speakers, Very highly respected audio store in Delaware that carried Magico. Nice store nice salesman, but they setup Magico A3's with these amps in a room where the speakers were 20 feet from the sidewalls 20 feet from the rear wall and 20 feet of open room behind the listening chair. How the hey am I supposed to get a valid sonic impression? Bought the Hegel anyway and very happy with it at home.
All in all I'm thankful for Audiogon reviews and opinions to get me started and don't expect much at the bricks and mortifying stores