Speaker window shopping

[aramis109]

Yeah, I did "speaker window shopping once". Listened to some Def Techs and Monitor Audio, among others. Gee, I wonder what happened there?

Be careful- your window shopping will more than likely turn into just "shopping" and then "buying".

[jomari]

dont forget to reign in the horses...



its great to see that the dealer was kind enough to go ahead and let you 'experience' this so to speak. and i applaud you on being honest and up front with him as well. rarely will you see such an establishment give this amount of time, and dedication, shows you that a mom and pop store always beats out a major retailer in regards to services and proper edumacation.

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by jomari

dont forget to reign in the horses...



its great to see that the dealer was kind enough to go ahead and let you 'experience' this so to speak. and i applaud you on being honest and up front with him as well. rarely will you see such an establishment give this amount of time, and dedication, shows you that a mom and pop store always beats out a major retailer in regards to services and proper edumacation.

And to add: It's smart business! He may not be buying now, but he'll remember this dealer when he is ready to upgrade.

John

[callas01]

Originally Posted by aramis109

Yeah, I did "speaker window shopping once". Listened to some Def Techs and Monitor Audio, among others. Gee, I wonder what happened there?

Be careful- your window shopping will more than likely turn into just "shopping" and then "buying".

well... Shopping may turn into buying but the earliest I think that would happen is November/December.... Of course my wife isn't as forgiving if I just came home with a new plasma

I will have to take her.... she is a closet HT/Speaker enthusist too... I think she just doesn't want to admit to it ... I think it safe gaurds her from giving me free spending....

[jomari]

Originally Posted by callas01

well... Shopping may turn into buying but the earliest I think that would happen is November/December.... Of course my wife isn't as forgiving if I just came home with a new plasma

I will have to take her.... she is a closet HT/Speaker enthusist too... I think she just doesn't want to admit to it ... I think it safe gaurds her from giving me free spending....

plus, its an experience you want to share with someone quite close to you, who else would be the perfect candidate right?

all in all, having a hobby as ours, takes a lot of understanding, and considering you're bringing her with you, means that you're 'including' her not only to understand, but to share this hobby of yours, thus a 'shared' event, just like golf for some couples!

[callas01]

Originally Posted by jomari

dont forget to reign in the horses...

its great to see that the dealer was kind enough to go ahead and let you 'experience' this so to speak. and i applaud you on being honest and up front with him as well. rarely will you see such an establishment give this amount of time, and dedication, shows you that a mom and pop store always beats out a major retailer in regards to services and proper edumacation.

He seems totally cool, He did want me to call him also so that I wasn't just listening to stuff and they had a full on demo going on... he clearly stated that to me too. Which I totally respect. If he is gonna sell someone, then business before playtime I totally respect and agree with him and feel he should make his money first....

Originally Posted by John72953

And to add: It's smart business! He may not be buying now, but he'll remember this dealer when he is ready to upgrade.

John

You're right, because he seems like such a cool cat, I would totally want to buy from him... Plus being in sales I know that when you give good service, people know people in the same community or that share the same interested(like us on this site) and will talk to other people and give that sales person/business references...

Not to mention, but how many times will someone "find a way" to buy something even when they don't have the money.... I am sure dealers have been in that position many times.

[callas01]

Originally Posted by jomari

plus, its an experience you want to share with someone quite close to you, who else would be the perfect candidate right?

all in all, having a hobby as ours, takes a lot of understanding, and considering you're bringing her with you, means that you're 'including' her not only to understand, but to share this hobby of yours, thus a 'shared' event, just like golf for some couples!

Hey Jomari...

enough of that... I already have her in my Fantasy Football league, there is no way that I am letting her on the golf course with me.. LOL, hahahahaha (no seriously, I have taken her to the golf range... she isn't getting on a coarse, the place will close before we get past the 5th hole! On an executive course)

but in all seriousness. she would be the perfect canidate.... when I met her she ate budget gormet, now her pallet is better then mine, her cooking isn't but she can taste things better then I can.... she is very sensitive to tastes...

And with the HT, she and I do a lot of it together so we both know what we like sound wise and its pretty close I think she like slightly warmer sounds them me, so she loves the Energys, I like neutral sounds leaning towards warmer, I don't like bright and neither does she.

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by callas01

Hey Jomari...

enough of that... I already have her in my Fantasy Football league, there is no way that I am letting her on the golf course with me.. LOL, hahahahaha (no seriously, I have taken her to the golf range... she isn't getting on a coarse, the place will close before we get past the 5th hole! On an executive course)

but in all seriousness. she would be the perfect canidate.... when I met her she ate budget gormet, now her pallet is better then mine, her cooking isn't but she can taste things better then I can.... she is very sensitive to tastes...

And with the HT, she and I do a lot of it together so we both know what we like sound wise and its pretty close I think she like slightly warmer sounds them me, so she loves the Energys, I like neutral sounds leaning towards warmer, I don't like bright and neither does she.

Then one day, after your Tuesday excursion, you must try and find a Totem dealer.

John

[callas01]

Originally Posted by John72953

Then one day, after your Tuesday excursion, you must try and find a Totem dealer.

John

is that how the totem sound.... neutral with a warm push???

[callas01]

Originally Posted by John72953

Then one day, after your Tuesday excursion, you must try and find a Totem dealer.

John

Funny they have one 20 miles from me... and like 5 within 40 miles of me... I love SoCal... no wonder I never moved from here... LOL

[prerich]

Originally Posted by callas01

Well, I decided that since I have a couple days off next week I would take my daughter (2) out with me speaker auditioning. Now I am not actually going to be buying anything, just on a speaker auditioning trip.

So I call this dealer, talking with the owner, I told him what I was up too and he was totally cool with it, I asked him what speakers do you have BTW. Dali Ikon & Concept, Canton, Monitor Audio RS6, Niles Audio(in-walls). And he said he had some Energys too that he had for a little while some C-9s and C-7s, he said he used to sell them, but after 2006(when Klipsch bought them) he couldn't stand the BS of the new owning company that he stopped and now sells the Monitors. JASONR, he sells the RS6's for $950.... I know that is a good price right? But he added, that if I get serious and want to get them if I add a RS-LCR, he would do $900....

So he tells me, Give me an hour before you come by. I will hook up a set of each in my biggest auditioning room for you and show you how to play with it all and you kick back for a while. He adds, bring a couple movies and a few CDs. I asked are blu-rays cool and he laughs and responds... do they still make DVDs? HAHAHAHAHA

Next Tuesday I get to listen to some of the best speakers made... I'm Pumped.... my wife is sooo jealous too.

Now that's hot! I do that quite often, its a fun trip and I try to listen to stuff I know I can't afford . I think you will be coming back with a few new references

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by callas01

well... Shopping may turn into buying but the earliest I think that would happen is November/December.... Of course my wife isn't as forgiving if I just came home with a new plasma

I will have to take her.... she is a closet HT/Speaker enthusist too... I think she just doesn't want to admit to it ... I think it safe gaurds her from giving me free spending....

I ... I don't know what you're talking about!

My wife has become surprisingly forgiving in my recent HT acquisitions in the past year. She doesn't "get it" but she knows I enjoy it so she lets it be. Sounds like you're in a better situation where your other actually gets it as well!

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by callas01

is that how the totem sound.... neutral with a warm push???

That's how I would probably describe them. If one is into heavy metal or really hard-driving rock, then I wouldn't recommend the Totems.

Where the Totems really shine is with acoustical sounds, female voices and orchestration. They also do surprisingly well in a HT environment, although their strength is with music.

John

PS~ Not trying to promote Totem at all, but I just want people to know how good they are and should often-times be seriously considered. It's been over 2 years that I've been on this forum and I have yet to meet another Totem owner.

[prerich]

Totem?!!! 20 miles away ?!!! It's worth the 20miles and then some - you owe it to yourself to listen to them - they are a fine speaker. Heard them in Virginia backed with Krell amplification - very nice!!!

[callas01]

Originally Posted by aramis109

I ... I don't know what you're talking about!

My wife has become surprisingly forgiving in my recent HT acquisitions in the past year. She doesn't "get it" but she knows I enjoy it so she lets it be. Sounds like you're in a better situation where your other actually gets it as well!

My wife gets it and likes it... not as much as me but I know she like to get me the things I like and want so who knows, she did tell me to take her first check and get whatever I want with it... I turned her down though ... LOL

[Johnny Vinyl]

DLS_22 pm'd me a while ago to say he listened to their top of the line Totem Wind speakers hooked up to a Krell system. He said it was the best speaker he has ever heard.

Here's a pic of the Totem Wind (you got $10,000 or thereabout?)

Totem Wind_03.jpg

John

[callas01]

So.....

I had to go out of town to go get some product that a customer needed, and therefore took me within 10 minutes of one of the Totem Dealers... SO of course I decided to divert my trip for 30 minutes or so.... AND they were not there? I was kinda upset... I called the phone number figuring I may have been in the wrong area.. and NOPE, disconnected.

[-DLS-]

I have no plans to change my speakers for a long time but I still check out whatever I can if I have time when I go to the city. Like I told John - the Totem winds are the best speakers I've ever heard so far!! The only other speaker that was in the same price range(10k cdn) that I've heard was the B&W 803D's and I personally liked the sound of the Winds better.. but then again they were at different places in different size rooms, hooked up to different components so maybe it could be different. All I know is I didn't want to leave the room with the Winds singing.
If your looking to hear the Energy RC series I think you would love them since you mentioned you prefer a warmer sounding speaker. They are pretty laid back have a very smooth mid-range. I heard the RC-70's several times and took hone 3 RC-LCR's for a month to try out. I just preferred the Studios since I was offered the same price for them as the RC-70's.

Anyway have fun next week man! I always look forward to city trips to check out some new gear. It's good you're doin that so when it's actually time to upgrade you cut the down the final audition list to what you already know you like.

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by callas01

Funny they have one 20 miles from me... and like 5 within 40 miles of me... I love SoCal... no wonder I never moved from here... LOL

That is precisely why I hate Southern California. I don't go window shopping anymore. It is the easiest way to end up in bankruptcy court.

The last time I visited a high-end store after dinner with my wife, I ended up spending $1,800 for a Martin Logan center speaker. I had absolutely no plans to buy anything.

Another time, we went to a high-end audio/video show in Irvine, CA and I ended up buying a Cinepro amplifier from the show floor for $3,500.

When I went to the Hsu Research headquarters in Anaheim, CA to listen to some of their subwoofers, I ended up buying two passive cylindrical subwoofers for $1,500.

On one of my trips to Palm Spring, CA, I ended buying two Definitive Technology Super Tower speakers for $4,000.

On a trip to Pasadena, CA, I ended buying three demo Carver amplifiers. I don't remember the price, but it was over a thousand dollars.

On a trip to Westwood, CA, I ended buying a couple of Polk RTA-15 speakers for $1,300+.

On a trip to Rancho Cucamonga, CA (a few blocks away from Monoprice), I ended up spending over $4,000 for a 73" Mitsubishi Diamond Series TV.

Need I say more? I have a list as long as the Webster's dictionary. With the exception of the TV, the saddest part is that I did not plan to buy any of the above. I hate window shopping and will not visit any more A/V stores.

I have no self control when it comes to audio gear. I am already thinking about PSB's Synchrony speakers. I blame this on John. He should not have posted the raving reviews in the PSB thread. I had the urge about 6 months ago and it passed, but it came back again. John, I am going to take you to court for corrupting a minor.

I need to attend an AA meeting for A/V addicts.

[crazyBLUE]

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

That is precisely why I hate Southern California. I don't go window shopping anymore. It is the easiest way to end up in bankruptcy court.

The last time I visited a high-end store after dinner with my wife, I ended up spending $1,800 for a Martin Logan center speaker. I had absolutely no plans to buy anything.

Another time, we went to a high-end audio/video show in Irvine, CA and I ended up buying a Cinepro amplifier from the show floor for $3,500.

When I went to the Hsu Research headquarters in Anaheim, CA to listen to some of their subwoofers, I ended up buying two passive cylindrical subwoofers for $1,500.

On one of my trips to Palm Spring, CA, I ended buying two Definitive Technology Super Tower speakers for $4,000.

On a trip to Pasadena, CA, I ended buying three demo Carver amplifiers. I don't remember the price, but it was over a thousand dollars.

On a trip to Westwood, CA, I ended buying a couple of Polk RTA-15 speakers for $1,300+.

On a trip to Rancho Cucamonga, CA (a few blocks away from Monoprice), I ended up spending over $4,000 for a 73" Mitsubishi Diamond Series TV.

Need I say more? I have a list as long as the Webster's dictionary. With the exception of the TV, the saddest part is that I did not plan to buy any of the above. I hate window shopping and will not visit any more A/V stores.

I have no self control when it comes to audio gear. I am already thinking about PSB's Synchrony speakers. I blame this on John. He should not have posted the raving reviews in the PSB thread. I had the urge about 6 months ago and it passed, but it came back again. John, I am going to take you to court for corrupting a minor.

I need to attend an AA meeting for A/V addicts.

You are king CRAZY I've been called CRAZY ~ But you are worse than me !