Was my friend given misinformation.


My friend is just getting into audio for a music system. In his price rang I thought the Rogue Sphinx V3 would be a nice choice. He could also look at the Revel Concerta 2 line of speakers. Well he decided to stop by Magnolia at Best Buy.  Not a bad setup he got a Denon 3700 AVR and a pair of B&W 603's. He said the salesman told him to stay away from integrated amps as they are not anything but stripped down AVR's without the features. So I guess all us owners of 2 channel preamps and integrated have been duped. Who knew??

luxmancl38

Let it Ride is maybe the worst movie I have ever watched (in its entirety). Thought it would get better. I can't believe Richard Dreyfus did it. Must have needed the cash.

The OP didn't mention whether his friend also was going to put it in a room with a TV and if he wanted surround sound (or whatever format they're pushing these days). If he is just getting into music and still will be needing a movie experience, it probably was an OK decision.

I'm happy with a 2 channel with an excellent integrated amp (Plinius) and don't care about the sound coming out of a Sony TV. My cable box used to have an audio output that I plugged into the integrated so I at least got 2 channel sound out of my stereo, but the new one with 4K doesn't have it, so for video, I live with the crap sound. I'm not outputting my TV audio into my amp (if it even does that).

Some of the Magnolia guys do know a lot. They're not supposed to let the regular best buy guys who focus on computers and phones into that department, and in my experience, they will tell you they are just covering for somebody. As a matter of fact, when I was looking at TVs a while back, I started talking about stereos and the guy introduced me to power conditioners and how it could help the SQ. This was before my Audiogon days. I ended up buying a used PC from a stereo dealer I knew (retired),  but probably wouldn't have gotten one for a decade (or so) later.

Plenty of stereo store guys don't know their ass from a hole in the ground (or are so biased it is ridiculous). Especially regarding turntables (if they carry them at all).

WOW....B&W at Best Buy, the best you see at Best Buy Canada is Klipsch RF3's! 

An AVR will convert all of the analog inputs to digital, then use a digital volume control, digital signal processing, etc., then go back to analog for amplification.  The AVR will have lots of extra output channels and you'll end up paying for that.

A proper integrated amp should be analog from the input to the output.  One easy thing to look for is the presence of a motorized potentiometer for volume control rather than a rotary encoder, though the presence of a rotary encoder doesn't always mean a digital volume control.  If an integrated amp without a DAC is chosen, said piece will not age out as DAC technology progresses.  

Some friends will take advice, and some won't. That's just the way it is. In defense of Magnolia, I went to the one near me and bought my Oppo there. The Magnolia section was separate from the rest of the store, and the guys there did know what they were selling. However, they only sell a few brands. They carried McIntosh and Martin Logan to name a couple. Not bad, but limited.

well at least he has an AVR if we wants to add to build a surround sound system.  I am sure the salesperson qualified him 🤣🤣🤣.  Did he go in saying I am looking for a 2 channel system for audio?    AVR , Audio, Video , Receiver.  If he told the guy/gal I am not playing video and have no need for all of those Video features he should have walked out with a 2 channel integrated .  Maybe the guy said he also wants to watch movies etc... B&W 603s will be fine