Would you trust a local dealer to help you put

Seattlehifi, you make many fair points. But as a consumer, let me tell you where I come from. First, as I have said in many other threads, I don't want to waste a salesperson's time. When I was a kid, a buddy and I used to hang out at a local super hi-end shop and shoot the breeze with the owners about audio. We didn't have a lot of money, but we saved and bought a lot of used gear from the shop -- when we could. But this shop didn't make its bucks on selling used gear to a bunch of kid stereo junkies. It was looking for the big fish who were going to drop major bucks on Tympanies, Crown electronics (in the day), Infinity Servo-Statics and so forth. So that's problem #1.

The second problem is that few dealers carry enough gear to showcase in order to do meaningful A/B comparisons between product A vs Product B. Yes, I know of a couple of dealers who showcase Vandies, but not Wilsons, and so forth. So what I'm left with is running from shop to shop, after I have taken up a salesperson's valuable time, trying to make an "informed" call. Yeah -- right. Moreover, being in the business world myself, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that a dealer will sell what its has. So there's goes objectivity out the window. That's problem #2.

The third problem as you said is knowledge about compatibility. The way I have dealt with that issue is to pick a reputable company and stay with its equpment. As you can see from my System description, I'm all ARC with respect to electronics. And by the way, that's no slur on the quality or cross-gear compatibility of other fine manufacturers. For example, over the years, based on my readings and so forth, I've come to greatly respect AtmaSphere gear and Ralph Karsten. Interestingly, I've had a few minor compatibility snafus, e.g., matching a carty with my VPI Classic TT, overloading the outputs of my preamp when trying to drive the amp and a self powered subwoofer. Fortunately, I was able to sort through my little issues with help from VPI, Audio research and Tom Tutay. That's problem #3.

So I'm left in a state of confusion and ignorance. In the end, I read what I can, to and fro with members on AudioGon, and maybe call a manufacturer. But in the end, I take my chances and hope for the best.

Final comments: I like the hobby very much. Yeah, I would like to sit around in a high-end shop, listen to the latest gear, shoot the breeze with my favorite salesperson, and pick up a few pointers. But that just doesn't work given my biases and preferences.

As usuaul, just my opinion.

Great points Whart!! I particularly like the audio club idea. And as far as OPs asking for equipment recommendations, unless there's something that jumps out at me as being a problem or as being only fair to make a suggestion, I rarely if ever respond. There's been an OP running for some time about "The Best Speaker" or something to that effect. IMHO, it's a nonsense thread.

Burt, sadly I am not aware of a Burt/Seattlehifi shops in the Philly area. Nor do I have "friends in the business" with whom I can shoot the breeze in the off hours.

So I do what I can to cobble together a nice system, which has evolved over the years. The main reason I went with ARC is because it was the cutting-edge SOTA, or at least described as such, by the super hi-end store I hung out at as a kid back in the early 70s. Whether it really was SOTA back then is irrelevant. I thought it was.

My speaker choice, Paradigm Sig 8s (v2 w/ Be tweeter) was a pure chance decision. Nothing informed about it. As it turns out, by shear dumb luck, it is actually an incredible performer that compares with many other big name brands at multiples of its price point -- or at least so I've read.

As I said, too bad I'm not aware of a Burt/Seattlehifi store where I live. But again, even if there is (or was), I will not sit in the shop and shoot the breeze about audio while a paying customer is around ready and willing to dop major bucks on a system. That's just not right.

Thanks for the comments Burt. It sounds like you like what you do and have found a way to make it work for you. All the best.