And in other news..... Off to Oxford now for another audition.... and another 70miles on the poor ageing Beemer .....
I'll report back if anyone is interested ..?
I'll report back if anyone is interested ..?
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When should you upgrade your hi-fi? How to control ‘upgradeitis’
Good grief yes Brian looking forward to it. Food for thought , those Blades regardless of how they sound will you go off the shape pretty quickly , they are a bit marmite and the novelty looks could wear off pretty quick.
BrianRostron said:
I'm sure that many of us will be interested. Especially if some people can stay on thread and not blather on in their own little world, or engage in insulting twaddle.
Have you a specific colour in mind for the Blades? I see they do/did quite a few. They do look amazing but, as others have mentioned, will they go off looks-wise?
I do hope you are 'insulting' enough to insist on a home demo.
DocG
Well-known member
As suggested by BenLaw a couple of pages back, I'd encourage you to try some planars before pulling the trigger on the Blades. My personal preference -- by some margin -- would be the Quad ESLs, maybe the 2912s if you want some bass too. They are very there, but so are the Blades of course (in a different way). The Quads go well with Devialet too, I've been told (haven't heard them together myself yet).
Frank Harvey
Well-known member
BrianRostron said:
I don't mind giving anyone my opinion on this sort of thing (or anything else for that matter), and I'll be as open as anyone else in my view on things, but I've learnt that stating opinions on this sort of thing just ends up in the retailer being attacked and ripped apart, whether it is the view of the store or my own personal one...
Frank Harvey
Well-known member
floyd droid said:
While the looks are admittedly marmite (then again, what speakers aren't?), they're hardly 'novelty'. They are shaped the way they are because of necessity. Due to the design, very little, if any, wadding is needed inside them.
steve_1979
Well-known member
BrianRostron said:
If I were spending £30K on a hifi then being an insulting idiot would be the last thing that I'd worry about. If there was any chance of being able to save a few grand by a bit of cheeky haggling than I'd just give it my best shot. If you push your luck and manage to save a few grand extra but the salesman thinks you're an insulting idiot because of it then so be it. It would be worth it to have a couple of grand extra in your pocket.
BrianRostron said:
I'm interested.
busb
Well-known member
With £30k to splash, I'd suggest merely haggling for the biggest discount is a bit unsophisticated. If you are dead set on the Blades but less sure on amplification, check the Blades are going to work breathtakingly well in your room first. If they they do, ask Oxford Audio for their best price on the understanding you want them driven by the best amplification they can offer at a price you can afford but want to try more than one amplifier - this will ensure the Blades are well run-in before you complete the system. In other words - take your time.
I'd also be checking other brands of speakers such as Focal Utopias, Aurum Titans etc. Good luck & have fun in choosing! I'd be checking what Studio AV in Eton could offer if not too far from you.
I'd also be checking other brands of speakers such as Focal Utopias, Aurum Titans etc. Good luck & have fun in choosing! I'd be checking what Studio AV in Eton could offer if not too far from you.
David@FrankHarvey said:
Oh dear , I didnt mean novelty how you perhaps have interpreted it. Ruddy KEF dealers preaching the mantra
Frank Harvey
Well-known member
floyd droid said:Oh dear , I didnt mean novelty how you perhaps have interpreted it. Ruddy KEF dealers preaching the mantra
Well that's the problem with forums isn't it - you can say what you like, but virtually everything can be taken more than one way. Another reason why my comments on some of the issues in this thread aren't forthcoming!
chebby
Well-known member
David@FrankHarvey said:floyd droid said:Oh dear , I didnt mean novelty how you perhaps have interpreted it. Ruddy KEF dealers preaching the mantra
Well that's the problem with forums isn't it - you can say what you like, but virtually everything can be taken more than one way. Another reason why my comments on some of the issues in this thread aren't forthcoming!
Well, to be fair, no-one even thought about asking you anything until you popped your head over the parapet to post in the thread. this morning.
The insults and 'argey-bargey' had all been moderated (and perpetrator disposed of) by the time you posted and it seemed safe to ask your opinion on discounts (as one of our 'resident' hi-fi dealers).
If you only wanted to come in and post that you didn't want to post then ... err ... why the post?
Have a nice afternoon anyway.
Frank Harvey
Well-known member
chebby said:
I read the first page or two this morning before leaving for work, so my initial post in this thread was based purely on that - I didn't even know about the later posts in the thread until I got to work and read the rest of it.
Have a nice evening.
busb
Well-known member
floyd droid said:David@FrankHarvey said:
Oh dear , I didnt mean novelty how you perhaps have interpreted it. Ruddy KEF dealers preaching the mantra
Novelty is being extremely diplomatic
chebby said:
Now heres a thing , I'm at a loss at which one, out of a choice of two the way I read it , went into the big bucket ?.
**** it ! Just go listen to some Beolab 5s, if you like them buy them. No amp matching.
Course I'd suggest an alternative. But you snooze, you lose
Course I'd suggest an alternative. But you snooze, you lose
Deliriumbassist
Well-known member
Too bad the one who loses out most when discounting is the salesperson, who'll get even less commission than the pitiful amount he would normally get paid (in my experience, with godawful wages) after all the time and effort he puts in to the sale and service.
chebby
Well-known member
floyd droid said:
The one that gets you the 'Access denied' message when you click on the name.
chebby
Well-known member
John Duncan
Well-known member
chebby said:
Crikey Nimmo looks like a schoolboy. Yet according to my maths he was 36 when it started.
Just a quick update. I listened to the Blades with the Devialet 240 and the 170. With the 170 a whole chunk of the bass extension and definition was gone versus listening with the 240, I was very supprised by the difference. So in conclusion the Blades need power, probably a low ohms issue with the four bass drivers. So deffinately worth looking into alternative amplification but I suspect it needs to be of the high current "meaty" veriety. I started thinking that there would be little difference going down to the 170, in therory loosing less than 2dba spl, now I'm thinking two bridged Devialets would be better, but this is getting into silly money. This hi fi business can be an annpying game sometimes!
Interestingly, the guys in the shop stated that with the majority of speakers they get no noticable difference between the 170 and 240, so the Blades must be a demanding load somewhere.
Interestingly, the guys in the shop stated that with the majority of speakers they get no noticable difference between the 170 and 240, so the Blades must be a demanding load somewhere.
Hello,
I hope I will be understood well, because it's sometimes difficult for me to find the right words in english. But it will depend of the gear you are buying and the margin the seller is making on it. If KEF (it's an example, not a truth), allow a margin of 20% of his products, and devialet 35 %. When you ask 30% on the total price, you will undergo the margin of your seller and he's loosing money. So it will hardly depend on what the margins are.
Hifi sellers on the other forum I'm on, said to me that their margins where really tight and didn't allow them sooo much free room for negociation. Beside of that, more and more, brands are giving a fix price that you can't underpass.
I, usually, ask my dealer what his margins is and arrange with him a price he could be happy of. Another point we didn't discuss here, but is important, is the fact "what work your seller had with you". Did he brought the gear to your room after make it come from far away ? Those are all points that are heavy demanding money from him, because he bet that you gives him the favor of a buy. For all this, I would search discussion with my seller.
In ONE and unique situations, I contacted the official distributor and asked for a 50% price drop for my local seller. Because I knew they make beetween 150 and 200% margin on the amps they are importing. They was ok for 25% price drop (yes... not 24 or 26... 25), and my seller was able to make me a better drop, with a better margin for him.
I hope I will be understood well, because it's sometimes difficult for me to find the right words in english. But it will depend of the gear you are buying and the margin the seller is making on it. If KEF (it's an example, not a truth), allow a margin of 20% of his products, and devialet 35 %. When you ask 30% on the total price, you will undergo the margin of your seller and he's loosing money. So it will hardly depend on what the margins are.
Hifi sellers on the other forum I'm on, said to me that their margins where really tight and didn't allow them sooo much free room for negociation. Beside of that, more and more, brands are giving a fix price that you can't underpass.
I, usually, ask my dealer what his margins is and arrange with him a price he could be happy of. Another point we didn't discuss here, but is important, is the fact "what work your seller had with you". Did he brought the gear to your room after make it come from far away ? Those are all points that are heavy demanding money from him, because he bet that you gives him the favor of a buy. For all this, I would search discussion with my seller.
In ONE and unique situations, I contacted the official distributor and asked for a 50% price drop for my local seller. Because I knew they make beetween 150 and 200% margin on the amps they are importing. They was ok for 25% price drop (yes... not 24 or 26... 25), and my seller was able to make me a better drop, with a better margin for him.
Your experience doesn't surprise me.
They sounded good to my ears bi-amped with Linn Majik amps.....but it had a Klimax DS/1 as a source.
Could you try them with a Musical Fidelity AMS35i, which drives my Kef Ref 205/2s (same sensitivity and impedance as Blades) very nicely? Don't be put off by the power rating.....the amp doubles it's power as impedance halves and is stable into 2 Ohms.
Downside is that it runs hot and uses 400W from the power supply as soon as it's switched on. Also if you play music at ear busting levels, it might be found wanting. I haven't reached its limits in a room that's 15' x 21' x 11'.
They sounded good to my ears bi-amped with Linn Majik amps.....but it had a Klimax DS/1 as a source.
Could you try them with a Musical Fidelity AMS35i, which drives my Kef Ref 205/2s (same sensitivity and impedance as Blades) very nicely? Don't be put off by the power rating.....the amp doubles it's power as impedance halves and is stable into 2 Ohms.
Downside is that it runs hot and uses 400W from the power supply as soon as it's switched on. Also if you play music at ear busting levels, it might be found wanting. I haven't reached its limits in a room that's 15' x 21' x 11'.
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