ireland & london hifi shops

[admin_exported]

Hello Guys, I will be visiting London(u.k), dublin&Kerry(ireland) and would like to take the opportunity to audition to some speakers and amps while there, as where I live in Malta, there arent any good shops to do so. Any folks from the area know of any good shops to do so? Links from the web are welcome to! Thanks!

 

[Anonymous]

[*]Sound & Vision(020) 8692 2010 - 177 Brockley Road, London, SE4 2RSGet Directions[*]Official site[/list][*]Sounds & Vision(020) 8539 8229 - 777-779 High Road, London, E11 4QSGet Directions[/list][*]Sound & Vision(020) 8778 9557 - 43 Wheathill Road, Anerley, London, SE20 7XQ
[*]Richer Sounds(020) 7655 4333 - 44-46 Artillery Lane, London, E1 7LSGet Directions[/list][*]Richer Sounds(020) 7831 2888 - 29 Bloomsbury Way, Holborn, London, WC1A 2SNGet Directions[*]Official site[/list][*]Richer Sounds(020) 7352 8496 - 258A Fulham Road, London, SW10 9EL
http://www.obrienhifi.com/www.obrienhifi.com/Home.html

I am sure there are plenty of others although as for ireland, i gather hi fi shops are a bit thin on the ground there

 

[professorhat]

Any particular manufacturers you were looking at? Also, do you know where you'll be staying in London? Otherwise the list could be very long indeed!

 

[Big Chris]

Tottenham Court Rd should be worth a visit. rubbish for demoing stuff, but great for a good old haggle!!

 

[Big Aura]

high-end stuff in Ireland - visit Cloney Audio in Blackrock (South County Dublin, on the DART), but to be honest, you won't get any bargains in Ireland due to the pound/euro exchange rate. There are some good places in Malta tho? My father-in-law lives there and has some decent stuff, some of which he sourced locally.

 

[Anonymous]

If you only go to one Hi-Fi shop in London, just make sure you go to Bartlettsÿhttp://www.bartlettshifi.com/ÿin Islington.

The staff have so much knowledge and experience of all things HiFi related and there demo facilities are 1st class.

If you want to demo anything just make sure you call them in advance.

Really can't recommend them enough.

ÿGarryÿ

 

[Anonymous]

WOW! that`s a lot of info...

I`m looking to audition B&W, KEF, DALI, Dynaudio speakers, and Marantz, NAD, Primare, Earthquake sound (cinenova).

Will look into the links you send and will report back. I will be in the Kensington area, though I can use the tube with ease.

Is it a neccessity to book demo rooms in advance?

Thanks for your help ,

Kevin Brincat

 

[Big Aura]

I demo'd B&W at Seven Oaks on Kings Road. They were nice chaps, but weren't at the races on pricing, so I bought on Tottenham Ct Road. You're better to book as most places only have 1-2 demo rooms.

 

[Anonymous]

I know it's neccessary to book with Bartletts but can't say for any other stores.

As far as prices go In Bartletts they show the RRP's on display but if you ask them they will sort you out a better price... for example I got my Cyrus CD 8 se for £1000, brand spanking new, boxed.

Also Bartletts have an ebay storeÿhttp://stores.ebay.co.uk/Bartletts-HiFi, they've got a few things on there that they should let you demo and collect from the store.ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

Moores hifi , a tiny little shop in Newtownards , county Down, northern Ireland carries a decent stock of ProAc, Spendor speakers and various amps ,plus Jim Moore is a top bloke to deal with, very highly recommended.Heÿdoesn'tÿpush anything on you and is very genuine. He also has a great collection of old radio's from the 50's and 60's which he personally restored. Special wee shop it is.

Good sterling rate against the euro too so you can make significant savings . i saved hundreds of Euros buying in northern Ireland instead of way overpriced Dublin in the south.

If your in Dublin there are cloney audio and sevenoaks. Havent any experience with them except that hifi in the south is VERY expensive.

ÿCant recommend richer sounds in Belfast , left back some equipment recently that iÿwasn'tÿhappy with , they took it back ok but charged me a 15% handling fee (which was ok) but iÿdidn'tÿappreciateÿthe slightlyÿsarcasticÿsmile and big thank you i got from the staffÿÿas they deducted the 15% fee from my card. And you cant demo properly in Richer sounds. they seem to be more geared towards selling big tv's.ÿ

ÿ

ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

professorhat:
Any particular manufacturers you were looking at? Also, do you know where you'll be staying in London? Otherwise the list could be very long indeed!

Thanks very much for all the information.. I will have plenty of time to audition , as I have a week in london (Kensington area)

I was thinking of the following setup, I`m more into hi-fi then HT, roughly 70%music/30%HT :

Marantz AV8003 pre/pro or Primare Pre/pro

Speakers : B&W CM9`s or Dynaudio Excite`s, or Kef IQ90 or Kef XQ40, or DALI IKON .. I have to listen to decide!

as for amps , i was thinking of buying a dedicated 2 channel or 3channel power amp like the cinenova grande 3 or bryston power amp, or a 2 channel primare for the fornts, and then later on i`ll buy an averge amp for the onwall surrounds. (any stockists of bryston or cinenova in the uk)

Cant wait to buy the goodies... !!

Thanks once again

 

[Anonymous]

Big Aura:high-end stuff in Ireland - visit Cloney Audio in Blackrock (South County Dublin, on the DART), but to be honest, you won't get any bargains in Ireland due to the pound/euro exchange rate. There are some good places in Malta tho? My father-in-law lives there and has some decent stuff, some of which he sourced locally.

Demo-ing in malta is a joke! When you ask them to change an amp or to listen to a different pair of speakers, they look at you as if you were from another planet lol!

 

[Anonymous]

daspaceman:

professorhat:
Any particular manufacturers you were looking at? Also, do you know where you'll be staying in London? Otherwise the list could be very long indeed!

Thanks very much for all the information.. I will have plenty of time to audition , as I have a week in london (Kensington area)

I was thinking of the following setup, I`m more into hi-fi then HT, roughly 70%music/30%HT :

Marantz AV8003 pre/pro or Primare Pre/pro

Speakers : B&W CM9`s or Dynaudio Excite`s, or Kef IQ90 or Kef XQ40, or DALI IKON .. I have to listen to decide!

as for amps , i was thinking of buying a dedicated 2 channel or 3channel power amp like the cinenova grande 3 or bryston power amp, or a 2 channel primare for the fornts, and then later on i`ll buy an averge amp for the onwall surrounds. (any stockists of bryston or cinenova in the uk)

Cant wait to buy the goodies... !!

Thanks once again

Is there a shop with all these brands?

 

[the record spot]

Walrus Audio - New Quebec Street - superb shop. An independent, very friendly and helpful staff, mid- to high-end kit and used gear too. Definitely worth including without fail. Drop one of the Richer Sounds off the list (all much of a muchness IMO) and go here.