He has it broken down with the installation and equipment. The equipment is all list price. Installation is $250 an hour for a 2 man crew. It's a big order, I think I should get a break on equipment. Is it customary to get bids from other dealers and installers or to just go with the one who has put the time into talking, and demoing equipment. I think since dealer has put in the time I would not seek other bids
Should I expect a discount from dealer for buying and installing complete system
I am getting ready to purchase a complete Home theater system from my dealer. It will probably end up at or over $17000. I am buying all the equipment from him and they are doing the install. He sent me the proposal today and I was surprised that there was no package deal. All the equipment which includes a receiver, a 9 speaker Atmos system. I may only need 7 if I can use my already installed rear ceiling speakers, cables, 65" TV 4K DVD player some other things I need. plus speaker stands. It's a complete redo of my home theater and will require extensive installation as my home theater room was done when we renovated and the room was frame. All the wiring is hidden behind the walls and all the equipment is in the closet. A lot of holes will be drilled and crawling under the house and going into the attic to do the work. Am I out of line to expect a solid discount on the equipment?
Thanks,
Bob
Thanks,
Bob
Showing 14 responses by galleybob
2Paradigm 75F and 155C 2Paradigm Surround 3 2Paradigm CI-PRO P80R 2 Paradigm surround stands 1 stand for 55C 1JL Labs TRX 1 Parasound Zampv3 1AQ Active HDMI 1 Sony X1000 ES blu-ray 1Sony XBR950G 65" 1 Sony STRZA5000ES receiver He didn't include it but I know I will need 4K cables for Apple 4K and Sony Blue-ray player I'm he will find some other things I need to set it up System Installation
I chose the Sony 950G I probably was going to buy either Marantz 812 or Anthem 720 but he played me the Sony a few times and I had to agree that it sounded great. He wanted me to buy the Sony 3100 but I wanted the 5000 Installation does include calibration. The surround and the two Atmos speakers he suggested. I already have 5 ceiling speakers but we will only use the 2 rear for Atmos. The prices are all list. I haven't checked price of cable yet Yes I have heard it but not with 55C. I think I heard 55C with another system. I also heard Anthem I am assuming the installers are top notch. This is a very hi end store. I'm buying their mid-fi I guess in comparison to Wilson Speakers and all the super expensive amps and preamps, etc. They have been in business for 30 years and I have dealt with them for thirty years. This is the first time that they will install anything. The labor estimate is $3000. I think it will go up though. When the installers come they will go under the house to see the feasibility of installing wired surround sound speakers. The owner thought it would be labor intensive and suggested the wireless surround. I have to see the difference in price because with the wireless I need the wireless transmitter plus the Parasound amp. I would prefer the surrounds to be wired so I am hoping it will be not to hard to install the wires through the back of the house. Thanks your opinions! Bob |
Those are the prices that I am playing except for the Sony Blu-ray. He told me $$499. I will ask him about a package deal $250 an hour may be expensiveIf I hired one guy $125 an hour it would probably work out to the same amount. I can live with what they are charging for install. I have no doubt at all that it will be excellent work. I think though that since I am buying so much equipment I should get a discount. We first installed our home theater 11 year ago when we renovated our house. I regret not thinking about this business back then. We used an independent guy who our contractor recommended. At the time I knew zero about Home Theater. He definitely over charged, no doubt and did not set up receiver correctly, no sound calibration, installed 5 ceiling speakers when they all could have been in wall. The room was just frame. It all sounds good but I know it could have been a lot better for the money I spent |
Yes that is why I am buying all the equipment from dealer. I did check some independent installers. One of them did some work for me when I was having a problem with a zone 2 channel not working. While he was here he did a proper install of my HSU sub which was not connected right. Doing that changed everything for me in my home theater. It's really good with the sub properly installed. I talked to him about new ceiling speakers and he suggested just starting with a high quality Yamaha amp. I asked what it would cost to install and calibrate and he said $800. I thought that was crazy which is why I wound up going to my dealer |
Right I’m not asking for a discount on labor. I think the price quoted is fair. My question was should I get a package deal on the equipment as I am probably spending $13 or $14 thousand on the gear. I don’t have the attitude at all that they are cutthroat and out to fleece me. I like them and trust them enough if they say Sony ES is the right receiver for me I will go along. They have tried to convince me to buy lower level equipment that they say will work with my speakers but I’m willing to spend more to get a higher level. I think 15% would be reasonable discount. If they no i’m Not going elsewhere as this is the top store |
I really appreciate the comments. I am really getting a tremendous amount of useful information. I had never thought about a service agreement. That's a great idea. I don't think that around $3000 is a lot for the amount of work that needs to be done. The owner has been to my house and understands the work involved. As I have said my home theater was installed when my room was just frame and all the wiring is behind the walls. I have checked the price on everything except the HDMI cable which I need to check as it seems expensive. Everything that I have checked is list price. I could do better I guess if I bought everything on Ebay or if I looked on Craig's list but thats not what I want to do. I get a lot of criticism for choosing Sony and I pretty much know that people just have an attitude without hearing it. I was pretty much shocked when I found out that this business was selling Sony. As I have said they are extremely high end and have always sold Anthem. I have read all the reviews that I can find and they are almost all positive. I read the Stereophile review which was a bit negative but it was written I think in 2014 or 2015 and so its not reviewing the current model. If you read customer reviews, most people are happy. I have heard Anthem which is great and I have heard Sony which was great. If my dealer who I trust says I will be better off with Sony, I will take his advice. It's not as though he is making more money on Sony. He could easily suggest the 1120 Anthem which I would have bought but he strongly suggested Sony and not even the top model. I decide to spend the extra $500 for the top of the line even though he said I don't need it with the 75F speakers. Before I make my final decision though on the Sony I will have him play me again the 720 Anthem and have him explain exactly why the Sony would be better. I think though that I would be looking at the 1120 as the 720 only has 7 amps and I would need to buy additional amps to cover 5.1.4 and my bedroom. I will definitely ask for 15% discount on equipment when I am done deciding on what I want to buy. Yesterday I pretty much decided I want to add a Bluesound music streamer and I have to decide which model. I think I have explained that its as though I can make an offer and if does not accept then walk away. This business is the best by far in my area. My alternatives would be Magnolia, or to buy from a home theater installer. As I have said, he is not jacking up the prices on the equipment. They are list prices that are the same everywhere and I totally trust that they will do an excellent job with the install. I will ask for a package deal that would include a service agreement, I will ask for 15% off of the equipment but I won't be going elsewhere. The owner has been to my house, I have been to the store numerous times, asking questions taking up their time, and having them audition the equipment. It's hard to answer every comment so I have tried to be comprehensive in my comments. I like the idea of asking 15% and having him counter. I will ask for service agreement. I won't walk away if I don't get the 15%. I do believe that this business is completely honest and ethical and they are not out to get my last dollar. I do trust their opinions on which brands to buy but I make my own decisions. For instance my dealer downsells me. He suggested a lower level Paradigm floor speaker and center speaker but I decide to go with the higher priced 75F and the 55C. He suggested the mid priced Sony and I wanted the more expensive 9 channel. If after hearing the Anthem again, if I feel that it is a better buy than Sony I will choose it |
I did think about separates it does make some sense but I think good separates would be a lot more money than $2200 for the receiver. Years ago, about 40 years ago I was very interested in equipment and had a lot of different amps and preamps. I would most of the electronics used and they were easy to sell so I was always buying and selling. I think I had a Threshold Amp, Adcom, Nad, McCormick and so many different preamps. Bryston, I forget the others but they were all good. I think I bought and sold most of them on Audiogon. I bought my speakers back then at Music Lovers. So I know about separates and I don't want to go down that road again but it is an interesting idea |
If the dealer is making a larger profit on Sony then why would one salesman and both of the two co-owners suggested the 7amp version rather than the 9 amp version which is $500 more. I really think people don't get that this is is not an operation like Magnolia. https://www.musicloversaudio.com They are not trying to suck every dollar from me, it's the opposite. Yes, I agree about having it done right. This business will do it right, I have no doubt. Like I have said this isn't a simple installation as every wire including the sub is hidden in the walls as the room was just a frame when my 5.1 system was installed. All the electronics are in a closet so it will be a lot of work to do the wiring. The owner loves the John Wick movie and he demoed the Atmos with the DVD. Was great with my speakers and the 7 amp Sony receiver with the 45C center so I know it will sound even better with the more powerful receiver and the 55C center |
No I don’t think think $3000 is fixed, it has to be guesstimate until they actually go under house and into attic. Also I keep adding what I want done. I am going to add Bluesound Node 2i and also I want my 55” tv mounted in bedroom and bedroom tv mounted in my son’s room. They will patch and paint i don’t know anything about support for cabling and sealing. My assumption is that they will do what needs to be done We have discussed having them see what the labor will be to wire the back speakers. If the labor is close to the cost of adding $350 amp and$250 transmitter for wireless I would prefer paying for wired. The owner came to my house and saw the work that needs to be done but he did not go under the house or go to the attic. As I have said all the work had been done when the room was frame so it may not be as straight forward as he thinks. If the installers find that the installation is complicated and the price of the install goes up a lot I may not want to go ahead. The problem is he won’t send anyone out until I sign contract and pay half. Is there any way of protecting my self from a big increase in labor that I may not want to pay. Would it make any sense to pay him $250 before signing contract to have workers come and give me a true estimate. If I agree I would think I could apply the $250 to the labor. If I doesn’t agree he would keep the money. |
He did have $3000 on proposal for labor. We agreed that if the back surround can be reasonably done by going under the house we will so the labor would go up. Other than that looks like $3000 is the quote which I find very reasonable for the amount and difficulty of the job. This business is known to be as high quality as you can go. I have no doubt that the job will be perfect. The owner keeps trying to save me money. He suggested today that instead of going ahead with buy two Paradigm speakers for close to $800 plus the labor why not just see how it sounds with my 2 front ceiling speakers. He said if I don’t like, I can always have the speakers installed. I think I will just go ahead and have the speakers installed |
Exactly, thirty years ago when I was interested in 2 channel separates I had a lot of different business's to buy from. I did buy and sell a lot of used equipment but I also bought from the stores. Now where I live the store I go to is the only high end one left. If I didn't know about them I would be shopping at Magnolia's |
I don’t have a budget. I’m designing my home theater to be the best that I can afford without going crazy. That means spending a lot on high quality speakers, buying a good receiver, buying a good streamer, a great 4K tv and paying for a complicated installation which includes being able to stream audio around the house and connecting my bedroom to home theater system. I will after I see the final proposal ask for a reasonable discount on the gear I buy. |