You're not going to believe where I am......

[Razz]

So I walk in to this electronics store and I'm floored when I see these....

Most impressive was the listening room.. they have a pure 2 channel listening room that is most properly acoustically treated with panels on all walls, in the correct setting, rounded panels, bass traps in the corners, diffusers on the ceiling and set up... RIGHT!

They also have a home theater room that again is properly treated.

B&W 802, 803, 805.
Sonus Faber Cremona M
Martin Logan's Montis

Running off McIntosh solid state mono block amps,

They even had an analog set up using McIntosh tube amps.

Sorry about the poor iPhone pics.....

So I find out my electronics store is a chain and they are all over the U.S.....


any guess?























...BEST BUY!

:scared-eek:

 

[Zing]

Must be nice to live in a real area. My nearest Best Buy just sells Yorx, GPX and Soundesign.

 

[Batman]

Ha ha! I remember when my parents took me to BJ's to look at my first stereo and I wanted a Yorx because it had a clock...I was around 11-12 yo

 

[TitaniumTroy]

Yeah Razz, nice set up but where is the clock in that system? Maybe the BB store mang. is an audiophile? Just the usual Klipsch, Polk and Infinity where I live. That is the nicest BB set up far I have seen, compared to one in downtown Chicago and Queens NY.

 

[Towen7]

NEAT! There are several Magnolia stores located inside our local BBs. Most have at least one room with at least some treatment, but nothing anywhere near as nice as THAT. Same goes for the speakers, DefTech is the "nicest" thing you'll find.

 

[Flint]

I read in Voice Coil (loudspeaker industry trade magazine) that BB was closing their Magnolia stores due to poor performance and the cost of the inventory. That would suck for the few of them which are really good, like the one you photo'ed above.

I've been to a few dozen and they all sucked for audio. Good video stuff in all of them.

 

[DIYer]

...BEST BUY!

In Beverly Hills?

 

[MatthewB]

Our Magnolia only carries Sonus Fabor or Martin Logan.....along with Klipsch and Def Tech and that's it

 

[Batman]

A couple of our local Magnolias recently started selling B&W and Marantz. I've been seeing Denon and other mid-fi brands since they opened. The projector selection is a crapshoot it seems...Always some of the best TVs though.

 

[FredtheFilmFan]

I don't know how BB management works, but I wonder if what you saw is management based. I know if I ever found myself to be a BB manager and then discovered I could have access to treatments, B&W and Mac, that's exactly what I'd do. If it's a manager who gets really excited when Bose releases their new...whatever, then I'd understand not having high end setups in a store.

 

[Flint]

If you, as the manager, invested that kind of money in the room and the inventory (floor models have to be aggressively discounted to sell them), then you damn well better turn a huge profit off that business. If revenues don't justify the investment in gear and acoustics, you'll be looking for job pretty soon.

 

[Batman]

I think the Magnolia model was doomed from the start. Most people remotely into this hobby aren't going into BB/Magnolia for B&W, Sonus Faber etc and if they are, theyre price shopping. Even their highest end system revolves around an overpriced receiver...

 

[FredtheFilmFan]

I guess that's the issue, Bats. "Boutique" stores are able to make a go of it selling the exact same brands. But, in my experience, they have properly trained PROFFESIONAL sales people. Not street hires in blue shirts. Nothing against BB, they get some good product training, but being a Pro is a different thing entirely.

 

[Zing]

...they get some good product training...

I think the ONLY good product training they get is from Bose and Monster. :roll:

 

[Rope]

Our local Best Try stores (3) do not have Magnolia, since no one can pronounce it correctly.

Rope

 

[FredtheFilmFan]

Zing, they probably get the biggest sales spiffs(bonuses) on Bose and Monster. They have the huge margins and can afford to pay it. They do get Feature training on product. But my main point is, there is a huge difference between being a sales person in a Big Box store and being a Professional Sales person. I've been in sales for...nearly 15 years. I'm now in the car industry and there are big differences from my time at Radio Shack to here. Most of the basics are the same, but the customer interaction is much different.

 

[koufax65]

If you are looking for high end you don't go to Best buy/Magnolia. That is where the pinheads go to buy thinking it has the "best stuff". If you aren't looking for the best or don't have the money to get the best then Magnolia will do. Kind of like thinking the Kindle Fire is a "real" tablet that compares to an IPad. As long as you know what you are walking into you are ok. Best Buy preys on the unsuspecting and unknowing. Trying to sell you a "professional" calibration on a brand new tv. Done by the "Geek Squad" no less. Let the buyer beware.

 

[Towen7]

If you are looking for high end you don't go to Best buy/Magnolia. That is where the pinheads go to buy thinking it has the "best stuff".

The shots that Razz posted of a Best Buy with a treated room , McIntosh and B&W seems to indicate that at least there's a chance that no just pinheads can find good gear.