bondmanp:
Great reply. Thank you.
I particularly like your point that what sounds clearer and cleaner in a showroom might be fatiguing in-home. I have always preferred some amount of electronics warmth to sound that is overly sterile, but was frankly shocked by the apparent resolution of the Bryston rig.
You mentioned in-home trials. Are these typically offered? My dealer has both brands, but I didn't get the feeling that in-home demos would be the sort of thing he'd be up for. I could be wrong.
I have some custom smaller monitors that are voiced similarly to the towers I built (same tweeter and similar tweeter-to-mid crossover). I wonder whether the dealer would allow me to bring those speakers into his store for the demo, if a demo of his equipment in my home is not an option.
Regarding salesman pressure, I'm wondering what kind of profits the dealers are able to extract out of a Bryston sale versus a McIntosh sale. The dealer unapologetically preferred Bryston. I don't remember the exact phrasing, but the pitch was something like "Bryston is a Ferrari without a badge, McIntosh is a Porsche SUV. It is nice to be in the Porsche club, but you're not driving a Ferrari." Thoughts on this analogy? Totally uncalled for? Just a thought, I wonder if down-selling (just talking about price now) to Bryston has actually been an effective sales tactic for this particular dealer during the past couple years and has now become a knee-jerk reaction. (I was ready to pull the trigger on the mc302 but decided to walk away after the demo and associated dealer comment).
Regarding the blue meters, all things being equal, my wife loves the look of McIntosh gear and I have surprising support for upgrading from the "ugly metal box" (the Parasound monster) to "such a beautiful retro look."
Anyway, the audio bug is here. I have been reacquainted with audiogon, 6moons, and the whole deal. Fun stuff. A guy needs a hobby.
Cheers,
Karl
|