What is it with AV stores?

eyetrip

eyetrip

eyetrip

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Phoned up one to get prices on 5M HDMI cable. Guy asks do I want cheap or quality, and I state cheap as there's no diff between them, to which he responds that there is a big difference. OK...

Anyway, get the price - £60!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For the cheap one!

I decided I was going to pop into this store on boxing day to buy an amp and speakers so could test some speakers out rather than just guessing by online reviews, but now am dubious.

I am dubious because I can see just see them trying to talk rubbish to me and trying to sell me something I don't need. Now I know the amp I want, but speakers are open game, and while I am not going to buy anything over budget or that I don't like, I don't respond well to pressure and rubbish from sales people, which could turn this into an unpleasant experience.

Anyone ever walk into the store and before letting them run off, stipulating that you will not go over budget and don't care to be lied to? How do sales people respond?
 
I know I don't have to - I jsut don't understand A: why they charge such ridiculous prices, and B: why the guy feels the need to try and convince me that the quality makes a diff on a digital connection.

It's B that bothers me the most.

Are most shops open on boxing day?
 
a) because they pray on peopls naivity

b) just tell them you already have a suitable cable at home, youre under no obligation to buy one from them so just tell them straight you dont want one (unless they want to throw one in for free lol)
 
Because they are sales men and make their money by selling things at over inflated prices to people who dont know any better.

Make sure you have a short list of equipment you want to listen to and take your own music with you, chances are if you go in looking as though you know what your on about they will react in like when showing you equipment, if you go in looking as though you haven't a clue they will probably try and sell you what ever they are trying to sell off or something that they make a large markup on.
 
they wont give you a demo on boxing day. They wont even give you a demo full stop unless you call and pre-arrange a few days in advance, but on boxing day? Forget it.
 
None of the speakers I've ever bought came with cables unless I haggled to get some budget stuff thrown in for free (always useful to have some around for helping mates out with etc.)


I've bought a fair bit of kit from richer sounds over the years, even when I was in the trade. I even met Julian once at a trade function. I've found all the stores I've visited excellent - they employ numoties occasionally like everyone ( I've set my fair share on over the years) but they don't last long.
 
Pug said:
they wont give you a demo on boxing day. They wont even give you a demo full stop unless you call and pre-arrange a few days in advance, but on boxing day? Forget it.
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Oh well, will just have to go in and pick the speakers I think look the nicest then and hope for the best.

Have been going back and forth on whether to get this stuff, and what I want that I just want the blimmin things now. I become obsessive to the point of sleeplessness when I get it in my head to get something, so come boxing day I am returning home with an amp and speakers.
 
The solution is finding a decent AV shop to be honest, I've found a nice little family run place near me who appreciate that most of their customers know their stuff and they aren't in the business of pushing sales. They're great because they'll say 'well if you like that, have you had a listen to x?' which is really helpful. However they also don't really sell anything which costs less than £500 unfortunately.

But keep looking, decent shops do exist. Even the sales orientated places in the central London will usually demo you kit if they aren't really busy, but they will make stuff up to try and sell unfortunately - I had fight with a sales guy in one about bi-wiring which he claimed would make no difference, now with certain music I know it does and I want it so don't point blank refuse to cater to that!
 
capriboy1978 said:
None of the speakers I've ever bought came with cables .
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Hopefully they won't try to fleece me on this then. Will try for some freebies.

What should I expect to pay for cables? I will require 2 x 2 meter and 2 x 5 meter. These will be used in a small room to drive something along the lines of Mercury Tannoy F1's (though front only at that price) or maybe some Wharfedale 9's, running off an Onkyo SR507 more than likely.

And that's another thing that worries me, is I don't have enough knowledge on what speakers would go best with what amp. Would either of those mentioned above work ok?

End of the day, I want the Onkyo cause it is the cheapest I can find that does the HD audio codecs and audio over HDMI, though I know the Yamaha RXV465 and Sony 800 something or other are similarly priced and have the same capabilities.

It's going to be used for gaming on PS3 and Xbox, with some music from time to time. I am considering avoiding a sub for now due to space limitations and not wanting the bass to be too boomy.

Would either of those speakers work ok? What other possibilities are there in a similar price bracket?
 
To be honest, if you're spending that much you really want to hear them in store or at a friends - I can tell you my speakers are fantastic and great quality but that doesn't tell you whether you'll like the warmth and general 'feel' of the sound. Some speakers are colder, more clinical (almost monitor like accuracy in some cases), while others do give a warmer, friendlier sound. Which you want is a matter of personal taste - most people instinctively go for accuracy but not all music sounds better for it.
 
Bought my 37" Panasonic V10 from John Lewis with a free blu-ray player deal.
Salesman: "Have you already got a HDMI cable or would you like to get one now"
Me: "Nah I haven't, so I'll grab one now"
Salesman: "Sure" <Walks me over to the HDMI cables> "What length do you reckon you'll need?" "And remember that they're a digital signal so it'll either get there or it won't - there's no point in fancy shielded cables like there used to be with SCART."

Proper decent guy, nope of this £80 HDMI cables BS.

:) to John Lewis.
 
Westyfield2 said:
Bought my 37" Panasonic V10 from John Lewis with a free blu-ray player deal.
Salesman: "Have you already got a HDMI cable or would you like to get one now"
Me: "Nah I haven't, so I'll grab one now"
Salesman: "Sure" <Walks me over to the HDMI cables> "What length do you reckon you'll need?" "And remember that they're a digital signal so it'll either get there or it won't - there's no point in fancy shielded cables like there used to be with SCART."

Proper decent guy, nope of this £80 HDMI cables BS.

:) to John Lewis.
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For a high street store in general, there's a lot of good things about John Lewis. I've always found them a pleasure to deal with and well worth their price premium.
 
ffallic said:
I know I don't have to - I jsut don't understand A: why they charge such ridiculous prices, and B: why the guy feels the need to try and convince me that the quality makes a diff on a digital connection.

It's B that bothers me the most.

Are most shops open on boxing day?
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hehe unfortunately it is a business and due to stiff competition with online etc.. for amps etc... the best margins they make are on cables, docks and all those nifty accessories.

anyway I think about 99% of AV shops will do the same, the trick is to go there and have a candid discussion. the smart ones will back off the sales pitch, if they don't listen to your needs best to go find another shop ;). I find that a good ice breaker is talking about different music you and he/she likes, this way you can find common ineterest and have a discussion that is not audiophile propaganda or money, but just a discussion between 2 people from planet earth.

PS as far as Richard Sounds, I think it depends on the people in the shop, so can't really generalize, although my experience has been ridiculous in those shops. In the end I have never bought from them, I just go check their prices and usually other shops will at least align to their prices (if not better), but I must admit RS doesn't really sell the stuff I have bought anyway.
 
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pick the speakers I think look the nicest then and hope for the best
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Thats the sort of thing my wife would do, you want the best sounding ones not the best looking ones ...within reason.
 
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