You have to be careful. Read all terms and conditions and only buy if you are 100 per cent sure. Sometimes you can pay extra for the shops expertise - that's what I do.
I have mainly dealt with Jordan Acoustics in Bournemouth, Guildford Audio, Sonata HiFi in Kilburn and Fanthorpes in Hull. All have been upstanding, honest and flexible, and none have made me keep a product I had bought but later decided wasn't for me. They are all passionate about HiFi and all offer advice regardless of whether they are going to make a sale. Of course they all try to sell the brands they stock, but I have never been coerced in to taking a direction I wasn't entirely happy with.
With Fanthorpes I had a bad experience with some Cyrus Mono X300's. I basically went through three faulty pairs before I gave up on the brand. Not once did they moan at me during that frustrating period for all parties, although Cyrus were very quick to point their finger of blame in my direction it has to be said. Fanthorpes even offered to get a fourth pair of 300's and come to London (250 miles each way) to check my installation etc.. I said no to the Cyrus and purchased some Bryston from Fanthorpes instead. I haven't looked back and have put £10K's through them since.
Maybe I have just been lucky but I can't imagine getting that kind of service if I was buying off the internet. I'm happy as pie with my dealers!
With Fanthorpes I had a bad experience with some Cyrus Mono X300's. I basically went through three faulty pairs before I gave up on the brand. Not once did they moan at me during that frustrating period for all parties, although Cyrus were very quick to point their finger of blame in my direction it has to be said. Fanthorpes even offered to get a fourth pair of 300's and come to London (250 miles each way) to check my installation etc.. I said no to the Cyrus and purchased some Bryston from Fanthorpes instead. I haven't looked back and have put £10K's through them since.
Maybe I have just been lucky but I can't imagine getting that kind of service if I was buying off the internet. I'm happy as pie with my dealers!
Gazzip said:
One of my regulars was a bit of a clubber, brought his player in one morning with the entire cantilever missing from his cartridge.
Admitted that he had just got in from a night out and had to try a bit of 'scratching' for himself. His player was one of our favourites at the time, a Xerxes in piano black, Series V arm and the wonderful Kiseki Purple Heart Saphire.
The bill was around £600 for an exchange PHS, a hell of a lot less than the Koetsu Red he had been contemplating.
Al ears said:
Just got a bit carried away. Can't remember what electronics he had but definitely SF Electa Amator speakers. City boy, really nice chap.
QuestForThe13thNote said:
Yes it's Julien, I remember I bought a Naim CDX2 off him about 5 years ago and when it arrived it didn't work, so he drove all the way up from Brighton to Bromley with a new machine.
As for the guys at Guildford, they've always been prepared to come out to me with equipment to demo and often left it with me to play with.
Mac
www.realmusicnet.wordpress.com
Some time ago I bought a Nait 5si in a local dealer. It was a saturday morning and for some reason the payment terminal wasn't working.
I said I could to drive to some ATM (there isn't one nearby) and the guy replied I could make the bank transfer when I got home. And he just handed me the amp. No ID or anything. He just asked for my address, in order to send me the invoice.
It was the first time we met, but not the last haha.
True story.
I said I could to drive to some ATM (there isn't one nearby) and the guy replied I could make the bank transfer when I got home. And he just handed me the amp. No ID or anything. He just asked for my address, in order to send me the invoice.
It was the first time we met, but not the last haha.
True story.
He didn't have a card print slip like on cards in 80s? Went into a few shops today, some had card terminals down, only one shop (fatface) had card slips bizarrely.
It was a fairly recent terminal, like the ones we have in every supermarket and shop over here. For some reason it was off.
But the guy just said that after talking to me he trusted me. Brilliant guy and not only because of that story.
But the guy just said that after talking to me he trusted me. Brilliant guy and not only because of that story.
It all depends. For matters of hi-fi I probably would trust them. I've two independent dealers that I swap between with good results. The one I prefer rarely moves on price but there are other benefits.
Outside of their speciality I probably wouldn't hold too much trust. Sure they'd be grand lads to have a pint with but would either of them take a bullet.......no chance. Nor would I expect it.
Outside of their speciality I probably wouldn't hold too much trust. Sure they'd be grand lads to have a pint with but would either of them take a bullet.......no chance. Nor would I expect it.
knaithrover
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Alantiggger
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Alantiggger
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Think about it ?
THEN THINK HARD ABOUT IT ALL ?
These folks were suckering , in Some cases BIG TIME TOO.... Suckering decent normal folks into purchasing meters of MEGA EXPENSIVE WIRE , speaker wire...(wire of all things).
Such a RIP OFF !
THEN THINK HARD ABOUT IT ALL ?
These folks were suckering , in Some cases BIG TIME TOO.... Suckering decent normal folks into purchasing meters of MEGA EXPENSIVE WIRE , speaker wire...(wire of all things).
Such a RIP OFF !
Yes and no. An awful lot of people believe that speaker cables can make a significant difference to the sound, so I'm sure many dealers genuinely believe it too. And I'm sure that some see it as a sales opportunity, and know they make little to no audible difference.
I've dealt with several Seven Oaks shops, the staff were helpful and non pushy. Oddly one gave me a demo of an Arcam Solo Movie that was already setup for a demo that had just been cancelled, and the sound was atrocious, I have no idea what he'd done to ruin it. Then when I asked for another demo, this time using my own CDs, and source, they did not even reply. I went on to spend £2,000 on amp and speakers elsewhere. Very odd.
One AudioT chap did seem to push me in his preferred direction. However, it was obvious, so I was inclined to go elsewhere. Basically a dealer should allow you to demo gear, and not push you in a given direction, whilst letting you know of the available choices. Seven Oaks seem quite good in that respect. Richer Sounds are too.
I've dealt with several Seven Oaks shops, the staff were helpful and non pushy. Oddly one gave me a demo of an Arcam Solo Movie that was already setup for a demo that had just been cancelled, and the sound was atrocious, I have no idea what he'd done to ruin it. Then when I asked for another demo, this time using my own CDs, and source, they did not even reply. I went on to spend £2,000 on amp and speakers elsewhere. Very odd.
One AudioT chap did seem to push me in his preferred direction. However, it was obvious, so I was inclined to go elsewhere. Basically a dealer should allow you to demo gear, and not push you in a given direction, whilst letting you know of the available choices. Seven Oaks seem quite good in that respect. Richer Sounds are too.
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