Hey Guys,
New kid on this block. A little background to help answer my question. I have been in the custom installation/retail business for 15 years. Started as installer and worked my way up. I have owned my business for 6 years now. I am currently switching out 2 of my brands. The first being M&K, great product but lousy company (backorders for months). I am in the favorable position of being able to get most any brand (except B&W) but have it narrowed down to Boston or Paradigm. I have sold Boston many years ago and would be exclusive within 100 miles (exclusivity can be good and bad). Speakers are primarily home theater and in-walls. The other brand I’m replacing is Parasound, they went to high end and I have had reliability issues. If I need a high end brand I would sell Krell or similar. I need a mid-fi line with separates. Before Parasound I was an Adcom dealer and won’t do that again. I am really liking Rotel but maybe Anthem or …? Yes, I can get Rotel but not B&W, go figure! I am mainly custom but do have a retail showroom. Other brands I carry are Acoustic Innovations, Anthony Gallo, Crestron, Escient, SpeakerCraft, Stewart Filscreen, Runco, Toshiba, Yamaha. Like I said I’m mainly custom so I know people are buying me and the company more than the label on the box, but name recognition does count somewhat. Reliability and tech support are most important but so are the subtle things that I would like your opinions on. So the question is what would you guys do? Thanks in advance.

No doubt Boston's are quality speakers, and their specialty seakers can fill some applications, but Personally, I would go with Paradigm if the're available. Tight distribution, Great performance, They are definatly My favorite speaker line that my shop does not carry......

As for electronics...... Anthem is a perfect match for the Paradigm speakers, but I would probobly go with Rotel. Cant really go wrong either way....

More than likely, your Paradigm rep is also your Anthem rep, and Your Rotel rep is probobly your B&W rep as well..... How ARE your reps? That might sway my decision more than anything given the options your presented with.

We have been doing very well with JM Labs for speakers. It has taken us a year or so but the brand is garnering a lot of extremely favorable reviews and has everything from a 5.1 sub sat system to a $70,000.00 a pair Grande Utopia. They have a lot of factory specials which are great deals for clients (most recently an Electra series 5.1 setup that normally retails for 11,500.00 dropped to $7895.00 for a couple months). The local B&W exclusive dealer has even been sniffing around. if you are interested in contact info and checking it out you can e-mail me.

We've also really liked being Integra and Integra Research dealers. I hear different stories from different area but the line has been limited in distribution and well supported where I'm at. We like them better than Yamaha for bread and butter electronics and the Research stuff stacks up well against the B&Ks, Rotels, etc.

Paradigm is one of the best companies to deal with, rarely have back-orders (we do Paradigm and M&K...I fell your pain.) excellent quality, limited distribution, good margin (realizable), My rep's not that great on training, but his staff is awsome about timely order placement, updates, etc. They have almost every price point covered from $149/pr to $2200/pr. and soon they'll be releasing the signature line (about $6500/pr)

Brent

The rep is a good starting place for me. If he's willing to work for his dollar, I tend to support him. I have had excellent results from Tannoy, Wide product line $200 - $25000. They have straightened out their delivery problems (Eyris). Super to deal with. Paradigm was going to be my next choice if the Tannoy delivery thing didn't get squared away, but all is well. The Anthem looks good, I too did a handful of the Parasound and am looking for that middle area as well. The Parasound product treated me very well.

Love Rotel! It has the right products in the right price ranges. Customers love the sound and the styling of the product.

As far as speakers, it's a shame you cant get B&W. They are great. For a high end speaker I'm a big fan of Thiel, but Thiels are very component demanding. I'm not sure you have a component line that would complement them well (No offence intended)

JmLabs are a well constructed line. I find them harsh in the upper ranges. Not to my taste.

I would suggest PSB, or Totem. I really like PSB's sound and look. Totem is a smaller line of speakers but nice as well.

RBH is a line I like alot. Their MC line is great for a step up from your basic, and their Signature line is available with 30 different wood veneers.

RBH's Signature line is hard to get.. you have to do a certain amount of volume with them, and have a separate showroom for just their stuff... My distributor started his new company 2 years ago, and has just now gotten that line...

PSB makes some very nice stuff

With me it comes down to system control. You have Crestron so I would be sure to get only products with discreet or RS232.
Im a whore tho, I chose product on quality and profit.

Thanks to all

emdawgz1 - No offense taken. With Rotel what sells better, black or silver?

Obiwan - If quality and profit make you a whore then I am a whore too. So what brands do you use in the areas I'm looking.

rhm9 - Can I assume Integra all RS232? Video upconversion on pre/pro?

Thanks again

All but the lowest models have RS232... video upconversion to component on DTR7.4 receiver and above. Yes on Pre-pro DTC9.4/DTA9.4... to the best of my knowledge unless something has changed... no upconversion on Research stack (i'll check this though because now you have me curious. Definitely not on the DTR9.1U2... that model has been the top receiver for a long time and is software upgradeable but I know it will soon be replaced by what appears will be one of the best AV receivers out there. They are a well thought out line. Most impressive is the fact that they personally contact you and they have dealer forums where they wine and dine you to pick your brain for where improvements can be made. Another great story is that we had a DIY guy try every dealer in a tristate area for a break on an Integra Research stack (we found this by comparing notes at a dealer conference... not one dealer dropped trou for this guy... we all held the line and he bought his stuff somewhere in Georgia.

Have you looked at JM Labs at all?

Getting info on JM Labs in the mail. Went to site looks like nice stuff but don't know pricing yet. When is the new Integra receiver due out?