Cheeky sales rep

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Dan Turner

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The sales rep judged a piece of kit he has no experience of based purely on the power spec, demonstrating his ignorance that that is any way to judge something and the fact that he is a moron by commenting on the quality of something he's never even heard, plus he's managed to do all this in a way that is unbelievably condescending in the process.

That should tell you all you need to know - you shouldn't worry about what that numpty said......or go anywhere near that shop again!
 

ElectroMan

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You ought to have asked him how you were supposed to take him seriously as a hi-fi 'expert' if he'd never heard of a great brand like Sugden!

Or return to the store with a mate or two, and all burst out laughing when you tell them, in earshot of the salesman, he rates Cyrus!
 
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Anonymous

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Sugden and Spendor. A very nice combination indeed. I'm yet to hear a Sugden I don't like. I'm yet to hear anything from Cyrus I do like. But hey, I'm just a fludget that has tiny speakers connected up to a 1979 amplifier. There's NO WAY it can possibly sound good.
 

matthewpiano

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igglebert:Sugden and Spendor. A very nice combination indeed. I'm yet to hear a Sugden I don't like. I'm yet to hear anything from Cyrus I do like. But hey, I'm just a fludget that has tiny speakers connected up to a 1979 amplifier. There's NO WAY it can possibly sound good.

Same here. Every Sugden I've heard has been superb but I've never got on with any of the Cyrus kit I've heard.

I went into a hi-fi dealer enquiring about NAD kit just before I purchased my present system and, even though they had a NAD account, they told me in no uncertain terms that I'd need to be looking at Cyrus instead to get into 'proper hi-fi'. They didn't get my business.
 
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Anonymous

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There used to be a hifi store near where I live. There were a few pushy, know it all salesmen in this store...very similar to such salesman in such hifi outlet. Every time I asked for advice they would contradict what I believed to be good choices, they were uncompromising and ignorant...and the store closed down a few months later. I put it down to poor customer service, they lost my custom and I believe I was not the only one. This story is a case of deja vu.
 

Frank Harvey

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He is wrong to pass judgement on something he's never heard, but at least he admitted he'd never heard it - many would (and do) lie about products they don't keep and have never heard, and make something up about how they compare, to their benefit, obviously.

After a performance like that, I'm assuming you'll be avoiding them in future Johnny? You could give them one more chance to redeem themselves, then if it all goes pear shaped I'd name and shame. Hopefully dealers like this will wipe themselves out before they wipe the industry out. They not only give themselves a bad name, but also the whole audio industry as well. Imagine somebody who's never been to a specialist dealer decides they want a quality hi-fi system, and pops into a local dealer only to be treated like that? CHances are, they'll never walk into a specialist retailer again.

Even though many people complain that there aren't enough dealers close to them, there's actually too many dealers out there for most products. If we can lose the muppets and keep the decent dealers, things will improve drastically. It's the muppets who're dragging the industry down, in more ways than one.

One thing I would like to mention - I'm assuming many of those who're putting Cyrus down haven't heard any of the bigger Cyrus systems. I can understand some of these comments if the only products heard were the older discontinued integrated amplifiers (probably partnered with the wrong speakers too), but that wouldn't be said by anyone who'd heard any of their pre/power systems (or the 8xp) with a well matched pair of speakers.

Johhny, amplification hasn't really changed much, your beautiful bit of UK engineeering is still decent. I remember wanting the headphone amp purely because of it's build quality! Take it along for a comparison demo, I'm sure you'll not be parting with it for anything the cheaper side of an A21....
 
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Anonymous

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True Blue:As long as it doesnt sound like a nine inch angle grinder its got to be better than Cyrus ;-)

Well I haven't listened to any Cyrus equipment, but the 3 amps and CD players tested in the WHF review section all get 5 stars
emotion-42.gif
 

True Blue

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Stumpy21:
True Blue:As long as it doesnt sound like a nine inch angle grinder its got to be better than Cyrus ;-)

Well I haven't listened to any Cyrus equipment, but the 3 amps and CD players tested in the WHF review section all get 5 stars
emotion-42.gif


Absolutely nothing wrong with them if that is the sound you like. Just a bit too revealing and clinical for my liking. Just down to personal preference.
 

jc.com

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FrankHarveyHiFi:

You could give them one more chance to redeem themselves,

why bother? It's been said already in different words, if the salesman had half a braincell, even if he knew the kit and genuinely believed it to be rubbish compared to what he's selling, he wouldn't have said so.

Giving them another chance simply prolongs the existence of one of the "muppets"
 

Pete Shields

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Have I missed something here?

Shouldn't you be naming and shaming them to warn the rest of us off in the future?

Or does that go against forum rules?

If they are an authorised Cyrus dealer they should know their hifi and their lack of knowledge surprises me.

Would have expected it from comet and Currys. Unless they now have started to sell Cyrus gear next to the washing machines and hoovers....
 
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Anonymous

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At the weekend i popped into a well known hi-fi and tv outlet branch just to kill some time while my wife did some shopping. The sales guy was right over asking if he could help etc, after asking me what kind of system i had and not knowing the sugden he asked what the price was at the time of purchase. I told him it retailed for about 3 grand 7 years ago and that the amp was 34 watts at class AB. After laughing and getting his mate over the both of them told me i was mad and that the cyrus kit they had was a lot cheaper and far superior because it had more power. Now i don,t know what the price of the cyrus was or how it sounded because i left feeling very angry that some little snot had a laugh about me not even knowing how it compaired, but it got me thinking when i got home that maybe he had a point and that 7 years later mybe you can get better for cheaper. Any comments much appreciated.

Well i took the sugden kit along yesterday and asked if he could do a comparison against his cyrus. He already had the cyrus gear set up and said it "wouldn,t be a problem sir, i,ll get one of the guys to make you a coffee, you just sit down while i unpack your gear". After opening the boxes, as he took the sugden components out one at a time, his face changed as he noticed the weight, build quality etc. "Man this stuffs built like a tank, its all solid ally, yer kettle plugs are rubbish but we can sort them out, never heard of these interconnects but can sort them as well". His mate came back with 2 coffees, closed the door behind him and left cheeky and myself to get on with it. I took along some Wes Montgomery, Michael Buble and Martin Taylor CDs. First up was the cyrus through Spendor A6, and very nice it was too apart from the fact that cheeky likes to listen to every piece of music set to LOUD. The sugden was set up with a separate pair of A6 side by side for quick comparison. After about 10 mins of chopping and changing CDs through the cyrus he suggested we try the "wee suggy". I suggested that before we do, that we should pick a track that i really know and play it through the cyrus at a lower volume. He left with the empty cups and let me get on with choosing and loading the track ( Cry Me A River, michael buble). Waited until he came back in with his buddy and then it began. While it played his buddy said " if ye turn it up a bit it,you,ll get more detail", ok did that and sounded fuller. Both of them loved the sound, said the A6s were made for the kit and that they could do me a really good deal today. By the way i think the amp was the 6xp, not sure. Took the disc out, loaded up the sugden cd player sat back down and pressed play. The volume was set very low, so i slowly turned it up to the same level or there about. Difference, yea it was night and day, at low level on the cyrus it was difficult to hear horns while he was singing and the guitar completly disappeared,on the sugden you can hear everything at low levels. When i turned it up to the level that cheeky likes you could feel the hair on the back of your neck stand up and dance. So we listened for a bit longer to some tracks and the guy said that the sugden was as he admitted "blow yer head out the window", and that although he thought the cyrus was amazing value for money, he said it couldn,t give me anything more than i already have. At the end he didn,t even try to sell me connectors or power cables but actually THANKED ME for letting him hear the sugden.
 

Frank Harvey

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Jun 27, 2008
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Hi Johnny

Nice to hear you had a productive day, and that those guys will more than likely treat you with a bit of respect next time - if there is a next time of course - if he cant offer you anything to improve on what you have, I doubt you'll be going back.

Just thought I'd quote what I said earlier, which I think you'll appreciate will ring true after your demo.....

FrankHarveyHiFi: Johhny, amplification hasn't really changed much, your beautiful bit of UK engineeering is still decent. I remember wanting the headphone amp purely because of it's build quality! Take it along for a comparison demo, I'm sure you'll not be parting with it for anything the cheaper side of an A21....

The Sugden stuff is great, it's just a shame we don't get any call for it as I'd love to keep it, especially now they've given the whole range the same styling as the SE products - the build quality is amazing.
 

matthewpiano

Well-known member
Sounds much more positive and I'm glad you managed to hear the comparison for yourself. At least they conceded to the evidence in front of them rather than continuing to try and push the Cyrus gear at you.

The salesman in me is rather bemused that they didn't make suggestions as to what kit would give you the next level in performance though.
 
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Anonymous

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The salesman in me is rather bemused that they didn't make suggestions as to what kit would give you the next level in performance though.

Matthewpiano, after hearing the sugden and being totally amazed with the build as well as the sound i don,t think they could have sold me anything as good unless it was way more expensive, kind of defeats the pun of " a lot better sound for a lot less money" as the guy had originally stated, remember i originally got the 3 grand system for £1000 new and boxed 7 years ago because of the signage deal i did with the stockist.

David, your spot on as ever about build quality and little improvements over the years on amplification, your vast knowledge about hi-fi is truly amazing, you should hire yourself out as an independent re-viewer
 
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Anonymous

Guest
Thanks igglebert, just out of curiosity how do you rate the spedor sa1s
 
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Anonymous

Guest
I think the SA1s are very good indeed. They're not cheap and I suspect the finishes available are reflected in the price. I use mine in a room abour 4m squared, about 2.8m apart.

They're fast, punchy, smooth, beautifully balanced and natural sounding, and they're incredibly clear. The treble is to die for and the scale they can output is very surprising. They're easy to drive, play loud without losing composure and are very easy to place. Their imaging is the best I've heard for the money. They've been voiced to sound larger than they are, using a slight hump in the upper bass. It works very effectively.

I know this is just a list of superlatives but they're accurate!

I found the Proac 1SC too "porty" and bright in comparison. These are tricker to place, and need more room. The Tablette Ref 8 Signature had better bass control but sounded too light and bright for me. The Spendors just sound so right.

Compared to the A6 the SA1 sounds slightly darker but faster. I haven't really compared them for long enough to make judgements about imaging and clarity. I suspect the A6 sound more boxy simply due to the larger cabinet size.
 
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Anonymous

Guest
Igglebert, when i heard the cyrus kit through the A6 as i said i believed a lot of information was hiding in the background as if it was behind a pane of thick glass trying to get out and what was there was a bit thin and tinny, but connected back to the sugden kit and it sounds as if the glass has been taken away and the spendors have been given a nice glass of congnac, warm, deep, rich.
 
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Anonymous

Guest
Nice description. It's all about matching. Perhaps my positive experience of using Quad with Spendor is reflected in your success with the silky smooth Sugden and Spendor. Spendor is meant to go well with Cyrus but I think you need to look at their higher end pre/power stuff to get it right. I'd buy Sugden over them anyway!
 

matthewpiano

Well-known member
johnnyjazz:

The salesman in me is rather bemused that they didn't make suggestions as to what kit would give you the next level in performance though.

Matthewpiano, after hearing the sugden and being totally amazed with the build as well as the sound i don,t think they could have sold me anything as good unless it was way more expensive, kind of defeats the pun of " a lot better sound for a lot less money" as the guy had originally stated, remember i originally got the 3 grand system for £1000 new and boxed 7 years ago because of the signage deal i did with the stockist.

Oh, agreed and it sounds like you really would have to spend a huge amount money than you did when buying the Sugden kit. Its just that there is always something better out there and I'm surprised that they didn't make some more long-term suggestions for you to mull over.
 

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