Dealer wont let me have a home dem!!

Ok, I am waiting with a fat wallet to splurge on speakers after a very long house move. (God have I been waiting for this upgrade!)

So I ring a dealer (nameless for now) whom I have met before and he knows fulll well that I am no tyre kicker - and I ask to take in my amps, then maybe have the spkrs at home for a while.

He said no.

Why not? I ask - I wanted to make sure that they sounded right in my room.

He said - If they sounded good in my dem room, they'll be fine at your home.

(NB he has never seen my home)

So, the question is, Is he correct? Am I being too fastidious? Am I making a mistake speaking to an unhelpful dealer? Should I just buy 2nd hand if Im not getting the service from a dealer?

FWIW I have contact the spkr distributor and will go to another dealer to get a home dem (and probably report the dealer to the disti for his poor efforts in selling the product).

And the spkrs? Ill let you guess what they are (i must change my avatar!)

I am willing to try something other than Amphion Xenons - so any suggestions will be welcomed but please stick around this price (£1.5k to £2.5k)

cheers folks //lamboy

 

No, he is most definitely not correct. He is a wanker and should not be running a hifi shop. Look elsewhere.

 

Tell him if he doesnt let you have a home dem you are going to get the speakers elsewhere!

 

The simple law of room accustics means that HIFI setups will sound very different in different rooms. My system for example can go to club levels and remain in good control in my room, also it never sounds bright. If you placed in a large room with little furtniture or fabrics it would struggle to fill the room and would probably sound right.

I hate shops like that. I've even had home demos on £30 interconnects!

 

No demo, no parting with the folding stuff Tell him blow some goats, in mid winter on a scottish hillside.
Besides, Craig I feared you were a closet hifi buff, don't fall into the downward spiral of airrrrr and spaceeeeeeeeeeee........................................... ......... .... .. .

 

indeed.

and sometimes i haven't bought them!!

 

If he won't dem them, it's unlikely he'll install them or even give good basic service. Tell him you're going elsewhere.

I know of one dealer who is willing to travel around the country to do home dems so if you're in the same town there's no excuse, unless it's Dixons.

 

That's crazy not giving you a home dem, particularly as you are spending a sizeable sum of cash, and more so, as it is on speakers, where a home dem is pretty much mandatory.

Will he not even let you have them after a decent dipper?

I'd take my cash elsewhere.

 

Time to Name & Shame?

 

I don't understand that if you are spending a good deal of cash, how a dealer can expect you to buy without trying it in your own room!!! avoid and go elsewhere, or tell him like above...

 

Okay Lamboy,

We've established that your dealer is cack. Now, let's help you find the right speakers for your system...

Please can we have;

Room size (and any domestic constraints)
Partnering equipment
Musical tastes
Your priorities in sound reproduction


that'll do for now...

reg

 

Enter 7_V

 

just ask merlin if rooms make a difference to the sound that speakers make
tell the dealer in question you need to have a home demo before you'll buy speakers. leave a credit card imprint for his peace of mind and inspect the speakers and get any damage or marks to them in writing signed by the dealer before you leave the shop for yours.
are you sure you are talking to the owner of the shop and not some spod on a salary? if the latter ask to speak with the owner. not sure if home demos are part of bada's charter or not but if they are a member it may well be worth talking to them.
if all that fails then definately go elsewhere as 2.5k is a lot of money to waste on speakers that sound boomy or bass light in your room. (i'd take the money in cash to the shop in question and show him exactly what he was missing but that;s me).
cheers


julian

 

wot they said !


Is this a certain company in the midlands with the word 'central' somewhere in the title? There's few other people who would say that about a demo.

Personally, I wouldnt even go back. If he's like that now, whats he going to be like if you have a problem in a months time with your new purchase?

 

I agree with bottleneck. If it was me, he wouldn't get my money now on principle. Any decent dealer should offer a home dem on any piece of equipment they sell (I have no objection if they want it covered with a credit card). Otherwise I go elsewhere.

-- Ian

 

Why not just show the dealer this thread. He should get the idea

 

cheers guys,

The dealer isnt centralaudio but is 'audioconsultants' based in Reading. He seemed a nice enough chappie but was very hesitant to let me have gear - obviously I said he could have my amex or mastercard. The real kick was when he said I could buy the dem pair and if I didnt like them I could bring them back for credit against a different pair!! Sheesh, Im surprised he is still in business with a 'blue knob' attitude like that.

So ere goes....

Room size (and any domestic constraints)
Around 5m by 9.5m, and minimal (modern) furnishings. No curtains, wood floor (onto concrete base), big rug on floor (tames the room a little). Spkrs will be on long wall firing across the room.

Partnering equipment
Currently, Electrocompaniet 4.7 pre and awb120 power amps, but I am willing to sell these off and change should I find something more accomplished.
CDP Is another item I shall be purchasing with the spkrs (I heard lilolee's audionet and was impressed, I also like the electrocomp cdp) - but Im not so concerned over source. Any recs here would be good to - im willing to join the dac side should it take me - Im eagerly awaiting the new meridian stuff.


Musical tastes
I do like a bit of thwack to my plucked electric bass, I rock (literaly) to Pearl Jam, Korn, some metallica, you get the drift, but I also chill to Blues, Jazz (only the likes of eva et al), a bit of folk (Natalie Merchant is my fave at the moment) and the wife listens to Justin Trousersnake (when Im not in the house, natch). So I like realism, bass (Im a comitted reggae fan too) groove and the ability to play subtlely for my folky side.

Ta very much //lamboy

 

Now that really surprises me. When I was looking for stuff he quite happily gave me a home dem of the Wadia CDP over a weekend (without even a credit card deposit IIRC ) - and also volunteered home dems of record decks AND CARTRIDGES. I guess home dems do have to fit around other dems he has lined up for the week or so though. Maybe he was a bit worried about the distance. I also wonder whether he's been bitten by a bad experience or two recently.

As for the lock in - credit for something different from him - that's new. Actually it's the same way JJ at S-o-M works - so maybe he's having to play the same game (JJ also discounts quite heavily, which other dealers don't like). For that to make sense though the dealer does have to have a range of stuff (at sensible prices) that you can keep switching until you're satisfied. In AC's case most of his stuff is of a similar type of sound, so you're OK as long as you're only fine tuning.

And the statement that "If it works in my room it'll work in yours" - utter rubbish and I find it hard to credit it from Stephen: he does know much better than that. I know e.g. that my old speakers sounded much better here than in his room (unless of course he's trying to say that his room is so bad anything will sound better elsewhere - which we also know is not true).

 

Cheers Graham,

I was also suprised as I had met him before (had a dem of the spkrs in Reading but using wildly different amps) - we got on quite well, so this added to me confusion. FWIW his demo room is lighlt built ex-office affair but with some room 'treatments' so he does know the value of the room.

Ho hum, Any other reccomemded dealers in the are for home dems?

 

Where is Audio Consultants in Reading then? That's not the B&O dealer down in Kings Walk is it?

I hate some shops' attitudes.... My favourite is going into a shop and saying "do you have x/y" and they retort with "if you can't see it we haven't got it". I then flash my symbol cane and snort "you've got an empty shop then" and storm out - never fails to satisfy, that! Oh - and I don't go back either....