Would you trust a local dealer to help you put

I would not personally, but its always better to consult with someone knowledgeable and trustworthy when one is not sure what to do alone.

I know a local dealer that I would trust for the most part if needed. There are others I would not. It all depends...

A good dealer will attempt to determine what you are looking for (not what they like best) and also take your room and any other external constraints into consideration.

But in the end they cannot hear what you hear so there needs to be room for trial and error along the way.

Foster,

From our interactions in the past, I think you are on the right track. You need someone who knows what they are doing and will listen to understand your goals and most importantly is able to listen in your home with you perhaps in order to help advise. I think these are the main things needed to find your optimal solution. I would have a budget (sounds like $10,000) to work with , but try to come in as far under as possible initially.

Emerson,

In order to achieve a goal, the goal must be clearly defined. In home audio, that means knowing the sound you want. To know that, one must actually have heard it and known it prior to achieving the goal.

Have you heard it? What is your reference system that you have heard? You have to have that reference standard to achieve your goal. Dealer systems at dealers can provide that. Then the dealers job becomes helping you achieve that sound as best possible in your quarters.

I had similar experience at Sound By Singer in NYC once.

High end audio guys can be full of themselves sometimes or at least money grubbers that will say anything to get you to see things their way.

There was also at least one salesperson at SBS that seemed interested in what the customer wanted.

SO the moral is its the individual people you deal with that make a difference. Bottom line is you have to be able to trust them. The more you know, the harder that can be sometimes. Ignorance is bliss?

Here's an example of a good dealer interaction.

When I was looking for a pre-amp, compatibility and good results with my existing phono rig was a consideration. I was interested in the ARC sp16 that I ended up buying, but wanted to make sure the phono section was up to snuff. The problem was the sp16 phono input sensitivity versus the low output level of the Denon DL103R cart, which I did not want to have to change.

So the dealer ( a very small home audio shop in Baltimore area) let me bring my Linn with DL103R in and give it a try. As expected, not enough volume was possible. When I insisted that this was a problem, he offered to let me try and buy a used Electrocompaniet step up device from an associate of his (he was NOT an Electrocompaniet dealer and the unit was not a current model anyhow). So I did the audition again with the Electrocopaniet and bingo, so I bought the ARC and got a good deal with the Electrocompaniet.

I had to know to stand my ground on the input sensitivity issue but once I did the dealer did what he needed to do to make things work and make the sale.

That SBS scenario was apparent to me as a result of just a single conversation with Andy there. I guess that's part of the reason SBS is no longer there physically at least.

"Moreover, I take issue with individual component reviews vs. system reviews. Brand X preamp may we highly touted and reference caliber but only when placed within certain systems. "

Yes, me too when the review does not address how the component under review performed as a result of being in that particular test system. Then people wrongly might expect similar results by buying that piece alone and will often end up disappointed. Reviewers that go on and on about the piece in question and ignore everything else that is part of their test scenarios loose credibility with me immediately.

What I want to know often is how test system A with test component A compares to reference system B. If it can compare then that at least tells you that test component A may not be a bottleneck if used properly.

"It was a good experience that has motivated me to hang in there with my current setup. "

I'm curious what specifically was said that motivated you to hang in there?

Does that mean that you may be better off than you thought?

I know you've jumped through a lot of hoops in recent years. Any chance of "getting off the merry go round"?

EMerson,

I would tend to agree.

I recall us going through some similar discussions awhile back. The configuration options with your room seemed to be a bottleneck. Major changes there, if at all possible, may be the only way to solve the problem.

Of course it is always hard to say anything definitively without being able to hear how things sound. Maybe you can get the local dealer to come by and offer suggestions on how to fix the room acoustics? I think having some other expert ears in your room to offer up ideas is a part of solving the puzzle. Then, it comes back to what is possible given WAF, general livability, etc.

Spending some $$s to renovate the room to better meet your needs might be an option worth considering if that should come up.