In over my head!

[AcuDefTechGuy]

LOL! I first heard the Viennas with an Onkyo TX-NR1000 at Sound Advice; but, it was way over budget. They are notorious for screwing their customers with refurbished crap. I found the local Best Buy had the same set of speakers and receiver and it was love at first sight!

I just can't buy something online I've never heard or seen before.....a lesson learned from the Infocus POS projector!

Heard anything about BestBuy selling referbed stuff or majorly screwng their customers? I'm not sure whether to buy directly from them or use an online retainer.

I have never heard of Best Buy selling anything refurbished, except for the open box items. Good thing for me, I have a local Ultimate Electronics store which pretty much has everything Best Buy/Magnolia has, except they will price match even INTERNET prices!!!

Best Buy does not price match internet prices, which is too bad.

Well, this is what I would do.
If I liked the Vienna Acoustics (or others) a lot and made up my mind, I would buy it from Best Buy. Then audition them at home just to be sure. Then if I still absolutely love them and if I can find a much better price online, I would return the speakers to Best Buy and purchase online.

For example, if I were to buy the Definitive BP7000SCs, 7001SCs, CLR3000, and Trinity from Best Buy Magnolia, they would have charged me $5,000, $3,500, $1,000, and $3,000, respectively. However, I got them brand new LOCALLY from a dealer for significantly less.

Best Buy is great, but they don't have the best prices. I bet they will charge you full-price on the Denon 3808 too.

There is no way I would buy anything at full retail price. That is just against my policy.

 

[erick.s]

There is no way I would buy anything at full retail price. That is just against my policy.

Agreed... never pay retail. Nearly all smaller dealers will negotiate on price, especially if they have stock they need to move. I bought all my Def Techs for between 20% and 40% off, my prepro for 20% off, my pj for 50% off, etc.

 

[HiDefGuru]

ya know, If you're financially stable, I would recommend pursuing a temporary position as a Mag Pro at BestBuy... and bail out after 5-6 months when you get all your stuff.

I was considering going back to them Part Time, but I don't feel like selling my soul again.

 

[bandphan]

LOL! I first heard the Viennas with an Onkyo TX-NR1000 at Sound Advice;

sa, florida?

 

[jostenmeat]

Gamegeek... it seems that you are really diving in. I agree about paying less than full retail. I know you fear refurbished, but I did buy such products, 3 of them in fact.

Well you can still find other avenues. Besides refurbed, I've bought open-box, demo, blemished, used, superceded, and even a trade. And all in the last year.

Everything is working perfectly. I've lost count on how much I've saved (even if I still did spend a ton). I'm guessing average savings equals about 40%, a couple of large purchases at 50% or better, and if I did "poorly", only 35% or so.

Once you start narowing down your favorites, I would put Audiogon on your bookmarks. Finding a good seller is not very hard to do. Your money can very well take you to levels of quality that you did not think you could afford to begin with. Just my experiences. Don't get me wrong, great care must be taken as costs can still spiral !!!!

 

[Gamegeek]

Well, this is what I would do.
If I liked the Vienna Acoustics (or others) a lot and made up my mind, I would buy it from Best Buy. Then audition them at home just to be sure. Then if I still absolutely love them and if I can find a much better price online, I would return the speakers to Best Buy and purchase online.

That's a hell of a great idea! I was thinking of bringing in an online price, cash for the online price, and seeing if they would flex with the cash in their faces. It sometimes happens; though not often.

ya know, If you're financially stable, I would recommend pursuing a temporary position as a Mag Pro at BestBuy... and bail out after 5-6 months when you get all your stuff.

My practice is medicine; if you all haven't yet noticed; I'm clueless in the real world! I don't do well taking orders either.

sa, florida?

Nah, Colorado; Lived in Jax for 5 years and mixed up the name. Can't remember the damn store's name here..... You there then?

Gamegeek... it seems that you are really diving in. I agree about paying less than full retail. I know you fear refurbished, but I did buy such products, 3 of them in fact.

Another great idea. I found a refurbed receiver for a grand and was actually thinking about it.

Thanks guys!

 

[20Glove]

That's a hell of a great idea! I was thinking of bringing in an online price, cash for the online price, and seeing if they would flex with the cash in their faces. It sometimes happens; though not often.



My practice is medicine; if you all haven't yet noticed; I'm clueless in the real world! I don't do well taking orders either.



Nah, Colorado; Lived in Jax for 5 years and mixed up the name. Can't remember the damn store's name here..... You there then?



Another great idea. I found a refurbed receiver for a grand and was actually thinking about it.

Thanks guys!

Game, agreed never pay full price. If you have any retailer around you that carries Vienna and the Denon 3808... shop them against each other. I have an all out electronics store that carries everything Magnolia has and they try and beat one another. when the 3808 first came out back in August, I shopped both stores and walked away with the Denon 3808ci for $1139 plus tax. So Magnolia will match local retailers and they will compete for your business. Both stores said it was below cost (not really sure if it was), but both competed against each other.

Also you can not go wrong with the 3808, it is the best receiver I have ever owned. If you like the Vienna I agree with Def Tech Guy, buy them and audition at home and if you like them, call best buy and tell them you are going to return them (make sure you call your salesman) and tell them you found them cheaper online and will be returing the speakers to the store and 9 out of 10 times... Magnolia/Best Buy would rather match that internet offer than take back an open box item. Just a thought.

Are you also going to buy a HT projector as well?

Hope this helps.

 

[Gamegeek]

Thanks very much! That's another excellent idea! I've brought cash to BestBuy before but not that much and it took the approval of the regional manager (so my salesmen said) just to save 200 dollars.

I don't think I'll ever go with another projector again. The one I bought before was a POS and it was in the shop 75% of the time I used it. I even upgraded it hoping it would be better. After that, the unit caught on fire and they "misplaced" my warranty information. Only after I joined an Infocus forum and started warning everyone to stay clear did they "find" my information and offer to repair the projector. I was just so bitter I told the guy to pound himself and it's still down in the basement.

I'll probably never buy one again even though I got what I paid for.

 

[HiDefGuru]

it took the approval of the regional manager (so my salesmen said) just to save 200 dollars.

Seems about right, depending on the product. If it was a product like Vienna, MarLo, Sonus Faber or others they have a set amount of allowed wiggle room (usually 5%) and if a store packages or adjusts the price past that amount, without some higher authority giving the greenlight, the Distributors could potentially yank the ENTIRE LINE from the stores.

 

[20Glove]

Seems about right, depending on the product. If it was a product like Vienna, MarLo, Sonus Faber or others they have a set amount of allowed wiggle room (usually 5%) and if a store packages or adjusts the price past that amount, without some higher authority giving the greenlight, the Distributors could potentially yank the ENTIRE LINE from the stores.

Your right in fact, I heard that from my salesman when I was going to buy Martin Logan. They were clearing out the Clarity loudspeaker model which was discontinued by ML and Magnolia/Best Buy had no wiggle room what so ever. Those speakers are still there (yellow tage has never changed)... It has been about 6 and half months (they are the display models, maybe older).

Good insight.

 

[mph]

Wow!

WOW!!! I've learned more in one thread than I have in a weeks worth of searching the net! Speaker placement was probably the interesting.

I too am in the midst of upgrading from a 10+ year old system built purely out the Technics equipment. GX670 etc... It doesn't sound too bad coming out of the Cerwin Vegas, but when I head a set of Klipsch speakers, I knew it was time for an upgrade.

I've got about half the budget being discussed here, but am hearing great ideas and methodology for determining what to get for what you can afford.

I've already bought the Klipsch RF-82's for the front. Just waiting for them to come in. I had to order them because their the wood finish. I'm looking at the Denon 3808, which I'm glad to hear via this thread appears to be a good choice. Also thinking about Klipsch's RW-12D for the sub. The rears are a pair of '70s Sansui round speakers my brother got while he was in the Navy. Being omni directional, excellent bass, and sounding so good I just can't get rid of them. Besides, they hold a lamp really well too.

Thanks again for the excellent thread! I've only been a member a couple of days. So I know I've got a whole lot more reading to do!

 

[20Glove]

WOW!!! I've learned more in one thread than I have in a weeks worth of searching the net! Speaker placement was probably the interesting.

I too am in the midst of upgrading from a 10+ year old system built purely out the Technics equipment. GX670 etc... It doesn't sound too bad coming out of the Cerwin Vegas, but when I head a set of Klipsch speakers, I knew it was time for an upgrade.

I've got about half the budget being discussed here, but am hearing great ideas and methodology for determining what to get for what you can afford.

I've already bought the Klipsch RF-82's for the front. Just waiting for them to come in. I had to order them because their the wood finish. I'm looking at the Denon 3808, which I'm glad to hear via this thread appears to be a good choice. Also thinking about Klipsch's RW-12D for the sub. The rears are a pair of '70s Sansui round speakers my brother got while he was in the Navy. Being omni directional, excellent bass, and sounding so good I just can't get rid of them. Besides, they hold a lamp really well too.

Thanks again for the excellent thread! I've only been a member a couple of days. So I know I've got a whole lot more reading to do!

MPH, you will not go wrong with the Denon 3808. I love it and have compared it too the Onkyo 805/875 and even the older sibling the Denon 3805 and the 3808 is just a GREAT all around receiver.

You will not go wrong with Denon... the only drawback to Denon, is the long wait times for customer support- - - in 2006 - 2008 I have called 5 times, and the least amount of time I had waited was 11 minutes most was 33 minutes. So just an FYI... but to me, build quality, ease of use, and sound quality it is the best in its price range.

 

[mph]

20Glove,

MPH, you will not go wrong with the Denon 3808.

Thanks, it was a pain staking decision. It's definitely over my budget, but it seems to be the break point in "bang for the buck". I've never owned a Denon, and the only other negative thing beside your reference to customer service was "the remote sucks". But after more investigation, I found that it's more that it seems to be more complicated than sucks. It'll be about a month before it all comes together and I'm gettin' pretty anxious!

B.T.W. I know a little about their customer service. I told them I was putting the unit in an enclosure and I asked them how much heat in btu's/hr the unit generated to get an idea of how much cooling capacity I needed.

Their response was "I forwarded your question to the product developer, their response was, "We don't have that information". I thought that was a rather flippant answer. I was half tempted to respond with another question, "Are you sure you didn't pass that question to the person who fills your vending machines?" Anyway, to make a short story long... Thanks to others on this site. I was able to get a ball park figure and can work with it from there.

 

[Gamegeek]

Update

Well; I thought I'd let you all know that I will have to wait until next year to buy my system! (The highs and lows of paying for everything with cash.)

Might even have better prices then.....I learned a ton (still learning) and try to read up at least once a week! Thanks everyone!!!