Why didnt they just Listen?

zx_toth

I went to my local Specialty Audio Shop, the only shop in Northern Ontario that sells seperate amps and found the experience very frustrating. Im not sure if they understood my needs and wants.

I told them I had the Polk LSi25s, 4 ohms, 300-350 watts <?>. I told them I had a Denon 2807 with preouts. I asked them about the Rotel 1092 (out of my price range) just out of curiousity ... the owner of the store said there was no such thing. He directed me to the Rotel 1072 or 1070 telling this would be fine. However its like only 100-120 watts, like my current reciever other than the fact my receiver cant push 4 ohm speakers. I said no. I asked about the Rotel 1080 and quoted me an inflated price of $1599, knowing that in the US its $999, and with 1 Canadian dollar = 99 cents US this type of inflated price is unacceptable to a consumer. I can understand distributer pricing being different, paying employess and rent but in the end as a consumer I dont care about any of that I just wonder why Im paying $600 dollars more than other people. He also tried to sell me an Anthem MCA 20 however I read that the Anthem MCA series isnt the best for home theater and he also was trying to seel me an older 5 channel Anthem again with 100 or so watts ... again not listening to the fact that I wanted a 2 channel amp and at least 200 watts.

After he confused the hell out of me by giving a long explanation as to why I shouldnt consider Sunfire and Parasound (surprise he doesnt carry them) I just stated "Well it sounds like I have a bit more research to do before I purchase". He went into the back office and never came out than one of his minions was ordered on me who kept trying to get me to ditch the amp idea and buy a new pioneer elite amp.

I didnt really enjoy that experience but have no other options locally. I guess Ill regroup and try to drive down the inflated Rotel 1080 price.

The brands he carried were NAD, Anthem, Rotel, McConitosh, Bryston. The last two are way out of my price range and he kept talking poorly about the NAD so that left me with the Anthem that I didnt want and the Rotel with the inflated price .....

Any comments?

jakelm

Move to the USA

danger boy

yeah.. go to www.audiogon.com and look there for an amp.

don't do any business with those Bozo's

BTW it's McIntosh - very high end highly respected stereo equipment company

hockeyboy

Buy an amp from Hifitrader.com. They know thier **** and all of the gear I have bought has been tip top. Most of the time even if they don't have something in stock they find it for you within a month.

Call the guy over there and be specific about how many channels and how many watts you are looking for. You might be able to buy a cheaper amp and bi-amp your Denon if you need to save some Canuck dollars.

Lainar

zx_toth wrote: »

I I asked about the Rotel 1080 and quoted me an inflated price of $1599, knowing that in the US its $999, and with 1 Canadian dollar = 99 cents US this type of inflated price is unacceptable to a consumer.

The brands he carried were NAD, Anthem, Rotel, McConitosh, Bryston. The last two are way out of my price range and he kept talking poorly about the NAD so that left me with the Anthem that I didnt want and the Rotel with the inflated price .....

Any comments?

Hey fellow Canuck. Yup it's terrible the price difference for anything between US and Canada has always been crazy. Our dollar and the US dollar has been fairly close for the last few years but it seems that we pay at least 33% more for any goods imported from the US even though the dollar difference is 10% or less and right now out dollar is worth slightly more then a US dollar as of todays close. I buy my stuff from Ebay, Audiogon and have even bought quite a few things from JR.Com. I bought some RTI 12's a month ago and they were 399 US each so with shipping it cost me under $1000 Canadian dollars and I can't complain about that. I think dealing directly with US stores (If they will sell to Canadians that is) is not a bad idea. You just have to know what you want before you go shopping because listening to some of this stuff you will not be able to do.

So anyways that's my story and I'm sticking to it. LOL

Don in Bumsville Alberta.

hypertone

Just order it from the US, but be careful you don't get stuck with any outrageous brokerage fees. Don't use UPS. That's the good thing about a free market. You can tell the store that you will order it from the US for $600 less than he is asking and if he doesn't negotiate a better price, tell him to get screwed and walk away.

SolidSqual

Audiogon should be your new friend. Once you reach a certain level of high-end . . . wait no. Once you deal with many of the people at Audiogon, you will find individuals who respect their audio gear and treat it with love. I just picked up a pair of Acoustic Zen Adagios that were used for 5 months, but appeared to never have been open. They are normally $4300 speakers. I got 'em for $2595. If you can, listen to the 1080 at that crap shop, then watch like a hawk for one to pop up that you like on Audiogon. Email the seller and start a dialogue. Discuss his experience with the amp. He might even give you his phone number to talk more frank over the phone. If you purchase the equipment then decide you want to upgrade or it doesn't fit in your system, fear not! You may be able to sell it for damn near what you paid! You won't be wasting money. At any rate, I can't say more about Audiogon other than when I am old and god willing wealthy (family and some cash to spare), I will still be buying off Audiogon despite the possibility of being able to afford the brand new stuff.


O'doyle RULES!

danger boy

then go drink lots of Kokanee and Labatts

janmike

Hello on the island. Yes, living in remote areas has its problems, but there are solutions - I know. As well as Audiogon check out CAM (Canuck Audio Mart - http://www.canuckaudiomart.com/). I have bought and sold on both will excellent results. Actually sold my 1080 on CAM and purchased Proceed gear there as well. Good luck.

Frank Z

http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/index.html

We're done here...next!

cfrizz

This forum ROCKS!

Midnite Mick

I have seen the 1090 pop up on occasion right around the 1000.00 mark on the CAM.

Yeah, we get soaked up here on most things.....just look at the price of vehicles. It is just the way it is unfortunately. That being said you should be getting much better customer service than that crap. Don't ever step foot in there again...you don't deserve that.

Here is an option (others more knowledgeable can give their opinion)

http://www.canuckaudiomart.com/details/67997-parasound_hca1000a_/

http://www.canuckaudiomart.com/details/66989-adcom_5503_theatre_amp/

http://www.canuckaudiomart.com/details/66474-aragon8008/
loads of power hear

Good luck,
Mike

zx_toth

Good insight polk folks ... see the US and Canada can get along

SolidSqual

Was there a war against Canada? Where was I? I thought the 51st state was always friends with the other 50?

janmike

I hope the hell not or I am going to be dramatically out numbered in a couple of days. I am on VAC for 2 weeks and this is the first time in 12 years that I have had a solo vacation. 51st State Mike - NOT.

Systems

SolidSqual wrote: »

Was there a war against Canada? Where was I? I thought the 51st state was always friends with the other 50?

Don,t make us mad,:mad: we have hockey sticks and frozen pucks and we aren't afraid to use them.

janmike

And don't forget those large curling stones either!

Systems

janmike wrote: »

And don't forget those large curling stones either!

Yep thats our version of Shock and Awe.

F1nut

I can understand distributer pricing being different, paying employess and rent but in the end as a consumer I dont care about any of that I just wonder why Im paying $600 dollars more than other people.

I'm going to buck the trend here and say that I don't think you really understand what you think you understand.

LuSh

Hello Fellow Nuck,

I'm going to agree with F1 here...he's not getting a break on pricing either his price is based on what Rotel's dealer pricelist is. Also; I've run a pair of LSi's with as little as 50 watts per channel. Think Quality and not Quantity. Alot of people in these parts always insist on large numbers...the numbers for the most part are for the birds. Just ask him for an in-home audition. LSi's aren't really that tough a load for true hifi gear...the speaker could have been rated as a 6ohm nominal load.

Cheers

Spacedeckman

The guy is a tool. Don't get hung up on the whole "watts" thing, quality is more important than quantity. You are much better off with a lower power beefy amp, than a "big watt" cheese whiz amp.

Parasound is a great option, and I'd sooner buy a nicer Japanese receiver than the Rotel. JMHO, I know there are a lot of Rotel fans on board here, I just don't see the value. Used is always a good thing.

Mark

zx_toth

The Canuck Audio Mart is great! I will be keeping my eyes peeled on it at least a couple times a week.

After the bad expereince with the owner, I called the shop and asked to speak with another employee who seemed more reasonable during our exchage. Afterall I helped that employee carry a 32 inch Sony Trinitron CRT TV to the trash bin ... IT WAS AT LEAST 250 lbs!! He gave me $300 off the Rotel RB-1080, which the owner didnt seem to wan to budge much on when I first visited... Im not a great negotiator

So I am pretty pleased and do like the fact that if I dont like it I can exchange it for another amp of similar value or upgrade by adding more cash to the original purchase. Being in remote rural Ontario I like the fact that I can drive 1.5 hours to get it looked at as well if I have any problems.

My noobie status kind of drew me to buy new and fairly local at this point. I anticipate I will buy used next time but just dont know enough about amps to confidently buy used at this point.

Thanks again for the advice ... should have the rig going on Oct 18th.

Zsolt

Willow

GV#27 wrote: »

Don,t make us mad,:mad: we have hockey sticks and frozen pucks and we aren't afraid to use them.

Those better be the original hockey pucks not the ones made of rubber !;)