Best Buy Magnolia no lossless audio!! - Blu-ray Forum

nhaase · 10-17-2007, 02:49 AM

I just wanted to share this w/ the forum:

I went to my closest Best Buy, in Atlanta, GA, to get a demo of lossless audio in the Magnolia section, and hopefully the chance to option a few receivers. Well, a salesman (in a regular blue BBuy shirt, not a Magnolia shirt) took me into the listening room to let me look at all the receivers. I asked him if I could demo lossless audio, and he said he could get a blu-ray movie and put it in their demo Pioneer player. Right before he went to get the disc, after telling me how it is worth it and it is so much better (just selling it, talking down to me), he informs me that I will not be able to hear the lossless audio because all of their receivers are hooked up audio-wise via coaxial digital! None are hooked up for lossless audio, he said!! I will be calling them up to hopefully get clarification on this matter; hopefully I will get to speak to a Magnolia rep, but if not I will be voicing my dissatisfaction.

Anyone else have this experience? I hope that person was just ill-informed. He kept telling me how I MUST have a 7.1 system to get the best sound, but was silent when I pointed out that "Waiting..." was the only movie I know of w/ lossless 7.1 audio. If this is true, though, I do not understand how they hope to sell people on this, other than hoping they do not ask about it. I mean, they pump up the visual settings on TVs to make the picture look bright and vivid, yet they are skimping on the audio, in a listening room, no less!! Not even one receiver is set up for lossless audio.

Sorry for the length, had to blow off some steam.

burdenbrother · 10-17-2007, 03:16 AM

I just went into Best Buy Magnolia today as well in San Antonio and was unable to get a demo of lossless audio to due to their incapability. I then went to BJORNS whcih is a highly respected home theater store in San Antonio and they also lacked the ability even though the sales associate knew plenty when it came to bluray and high def media. Afterall that I was finally able to get a demo at my local sony style store and I was very impressed, except I don't think sony makes the best speakers, so the sound was still a little too harsh for my taste.

yankeedawg21 · 10-17-2007, 03:22 AM

thats why "blu shirts" as we call them arent allowed to do demos i work in a magnolia store and we can do lossless audio

Truckondo · 10-17-2007, 03:37 AM

If it was that receiver wall in "Studio 1", they are hooked up via coax. My store has a Blu-ray player hooked to a Denon 4308 via HDMI in "Studio 3".

sodrock · 10-17-2007, 04:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by burdenbrother

I just went into Best Buy Magnolia today as well in San Antonio and was unable to get a demo of lossless audio to due to their incapability. I then went to BJORNS whcih is a highly respected home theater store in San Antonio and they also lacked the ability even though the sales associate knew plenty when it came to bluray and high def media. Afterall that I was finally able to get a demo at my local sony style store and I was very impressed, except I don't think sony makes the best speakers, so the sound was still a little too harsh for my taste.

Bjorn's is well respected for being the only gig in town with decent hardware and speakers. That's about it. IMO

supersix4 · 10-17-2007, 04:41 AM

what did you guys expect this is best buy lol ... these people dont get part of the sale or anything extra if they make an effort to sell more things ... doesnt shock me in the least

IamNhobdy · 10-17-2007, 05:05 AM

Makes me almost wanna get a PT job in one of those store just to rewire their listening rooms...with or without permission. Not like I need that job! heheh

DefTechPioElite · 10-17-2007, 05:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by supersix14

what did you guys expect this is best buy lol ... these people dont get part of the sale or anything extra if they make an effort to sell more things ... doesnt shock me in the least

whatever dude i worked at best buy in virginia beach in Magnolia and EVERY mag associate there took pride in selling everything. We do it because we love it, and because it is fun, not for comission! If i sound pissed or anything, im not, i just REALLY took pride in that job. Anyway, on topic, it depends what store you go to, some stores may only have one listening room, we had two with studio 2 having lossless audio capability, but only from HDDUD....so, poo on that. BD ftw

PS3LUVSBLURAY · 10-17-2007, 05:19 AM

It depends which Best Buy you go to and who you talk to. I'm a magnolia PRO 3, would be a PRO 4 even a sup if i had the availability. I personally love my job, and i know what im talkin about, our studio room has a pioneer elite receiver 94 connect thru HDMI to a PS3 so we can demo lossless. It sounds awesome btw. All the other recievers are connected through digital coax so only the one reciever can play lossless.

nhaase · 10-17-2007, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PS3LUVSBLURAY

It depends which Best Buy you go to and who you talk to. I'm a magnolia PRO 3, would be a PRO 4 even a sup if i had the availability. I personally love my job, and i know what im talkin about, our studio room has a pioneer elite receiver 94 connect thru HDMI to a PS3 so we can demo lossless. It sounds awesome btw. All the other recievers are connected through digital coax so only the one reciever can play lossless.

That's fine with me, just having one receiver to demo the lossless. Of course it would be best to be able to compare the top audio on all of them, but I thought they would have at least one receiver hooked up so they could let people hear the difference. I am going to call my BBuy up and talk to a man there to see if I was just told wrong.

jdc115 · 10-17-2007, 12:47 PM

I would be surprised if a Best Buy had a system setup properly to do this. It has been a long time since I was in one since I have been living outside the country for a few years now, is Magnolia a higher end section of the store? When I lived in the San Francisco area, there was a hi fi chain called Magnolia that handled mid-range stuff. Is it part of the same outfit?

Rob71 · 10-17-2007, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IamNhobdy

Makes me almost wanna get a PT job in one of those store just to rewire their listening rooms...with or without permission. Not like I need that job! heheh

Employee discount for Blu-Rays.

buckshot · 10-17-2007, 02:25 PM

I hated trying to deal with magnolia at bbuy. when I first got into ht stuff 2 years ago they almost had me sold on some $1,500 speaker system with not receiver. hell my entire speaker set up cost less than that including the htib I bought after dealing with magnolia. it could be that everything at bbuy is overpriced, but they wanted to RAPE me on price in magnolia.

mercury187 · 10-17-2007, 05:24 PM

Does every bestbuy have this lossless audio sample thing? I live in Washington state and ive never heard of such a thing???

nhaase · 10-17-2007, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mercury187

Does every bestbuy have this lossless audio sample thing? I live in Washington state and ive never heard of such a thing???

That's my gripe, there was no lossless audio sample at this.

nhaase · 10-17-2007, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdc115

I would be surprised if a Best Buy had a system setup properly to do this. It has been a long time since I was in one since I have been living outside the country for a few years now, is Magnolia a higher end section of the store? When I lived in the San Francisco area, there was a hi fi chain called Magnolia that handled mid-range stuff. Is it part of the same outfit?

I am pretty sure it is the same. There is a stand-alone Magnolia store around the perimeter of ATL, but they have partnered w/ BBuy to have a special higher-end home theater section in certain BBuy stores.

quetzalcoatl · 10-17-2007, 08:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PS3LUVSBLURAY

It depends which Best Buy you go to and who you talk to. I'm a magnolia PRO 3, would be a PRO 4 even a sup if i had the availability. I personally love my job, and i know what im talkin about, our studio room has a pioneer elite receiver 94 connect thru HDMI to a PS3 so we can demo lossless. It sounds awesome btw. All the other recievers are connected through digital coax so only the one reciever can play lossless.

I am sorry but a PS3 does not do all lossless formats. And even then it sends them all as PCM. Where in theory they should be the same a better setup would be to use a 1400 or the pioneer 95, since this unit will be sold by MHT, to do the tests. Both of these send bitstream of trueHD and MA to be decoded in the receiver. Then you could show people what it really can do.

But back to the op it does depend on the store. I have one near me that does not have a BD player hooked up to a amp in the listening room. That one just floored me.

IamNhobdy · 10-17-2007, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob71

Employee discount for Blu-Rays.

Still not like I NEED it. heheh

gvortex7 · 10-17-2007, 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob71

Employee discount for Blu-Rays.

...And receivers, and Blu-ray players, and speakers, etc.....

10-17-2007, 02:49 AM	#1
nhaase Special Member Member since:Mar 2007 Trading Score:2	Best Buy Magnolia no lossless audio!! I just wanted to share this w/ the forum: I went to my closest Best Buy, in Atlanta, GA, to get a demo of lossless audio in the Magnolia section, and hopefully the chance to option a few receivers. Well, a salesman (in a regular blue BBuy shirt, not a Magnolia shirt) took me into the listening room to let me look at all the receivers. I asked him if I could demo lossless audio, and he said he could get a blu-ray movie and put it in their demo Pioneer player. Right before he went to get the disc, after telling me how it is worth it and it is so much better (just selling it, talking down to me), he informs me that I will not be able to hear the lossless audio because all of their receivers are hooked up audio-wise via coaxial digital! None are hooked up for lossless audio, he said!! I will be calling them up to hopefully get clarification on this matter; hopefully I will get to speak to a Magnolia rep, but if not I will be voicing my dissatisfaction. Anyone else have this experience? I hope that person was just ill-informed. He kept telling me how I MUST have a 7.1 system to get the best sound, but was silent when I pointed out that "Waiting..." was the only movie I know of w/ lossless 7.1 audio. If this is true, though, I do not understand how they hope to sell people on this, other than hoping they do not ask about it. I mean, they pump up the visual settings on TVs to make the picture look bright and vivid, yet they are skimping on the audio, in a listening room, no less!! Not even one receiver is set up for lossless audio. Sorry for the length, had to blow off some steam.

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10-17-2007, 03:16 AM	#2
burdenbrother Member Member since:Apr 2007 Location:Austin, TX	I just went into Best Buy Magnolia today as well in San Antonio and was unable to get a demo of lossless audio to due to their incapability. I then went to BJORNS whcih is a highly respected home theater store in San Antonio and they also lacked the ability even though the sales associate knew plenty when it came to bluray and high def media. Afterall that I was finally able to get a demo at my local sony style store and I was very impressed, except I don't think sony makes the best speakers, so the sound was still a little too harsh for my taste.

10-17-2007, 03:22 AM	#3
yankeedawg21 Member Member since:Feb 2007	thats why "blu shirts" as we call them arent allowed to do demos i work in a magnolia store and we can do lossless audio

10-17-2007, 03:37 AM	#4
Truckondo Member Member since:Aug 2007 Location:Huntington Beach, CA	If it was that receiver wall in "Studio 1", they are hooked up via coax. My store has a Blu-ray player hooked to a Denon 4308 via HDMI in "Studio 3".

10-17-2007, 04:41 AM	#6
supersix4 Blu-ray Archduke Top contributor Member since:Mar 2007 Blu-ray collection:572 Blu-ray reviews: 53 Trading Score:3	what did you guys expect this is best buy lol ... these people dont get part of the sale or anything extra if they make an effort to sell more things ... doesnt shock me in the least

10-17-2007, 05:05 AM	#7
IamNhobdy Senior Member Member since:May 2007 Location:Earth..I think...no, wait yeah...I think Blu-ray collection:342	Makes me almost wanna get a PT job in one of those store just to rewire their listening rooms...with or without permission. Not like I need that job! heheh

10-17-2007, 05:19 AM	#9
PS3LUVSBLURAY Member Member since:Sep 2007 Blu-ray collection:40	It depends which Best Buy you go to and who you talk to. I'm a magnolia PRO 3, would be a PRO 4 even a sup if i had the availability. I personally love my job, and i know what im talkin about, our studio room has a pioneer elite receiver 94 connect thru HDMI to a PS3 so we can demo lossless. It sounds awesome btw. All the other recievers are connected through digital coax so only the one reciever can play lossless.

10-17-2007, 12:47 PM	#11
jdc115 Special Member Top ranked HT gallery Member since:Jul 2007 Location:Singapore Home Theater Gallery:7 Blu-ray collection:87	I would be surprised if a Best Buy had a system setup properly to do this. It has been a long time since I was in one since I have been living outside the country for a few years now, is Magnolia a higher end section of the store? When I lived in the San Francisco area, there was a hi fi chain called Magnolia that handled mid-range stuff. Is it part of the same outfit?

10-17-2007, 02:25 PM	#13
buckshot Blu-ray Guru Member since:Feb 2007 Location:san die ego Blu-ray reviews:2 Trading Score:9	I hated trying to deal with magnolia at bbuy. when I first got into ht stuff 2 years ago they almost had me sold on some $1,500 speaker system with not receiver. hell my entire speaker set up cost less than that including the htib I bought after dealing with magnolia. it could be that everything at bbuy is overpriced, but they wanted to RAPE me on price in magnolia.

10-17-2007, 05:24 PM	#14
mercury187 Member Member since:Oct 2007	Does every bestbuy have this lossless audio sample thing? I live in Washington state and ive never heard of such a thing???

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