After trying to pick up a new line and having a rep strike out on me *a few* times [I will just abbreviate to MA :-) ], I need to go another direction.

Here is what I would like....

1. A complete line to include in-walls and in-ceilings, soundbars, and in-room speakers

2. Prices ranging from a couple hundred to a few thousand per speaker

3. An online portal, if possible, a la Sonos, various distys etc...

Overall, I would like predictability I can count on. Take Sonos for example. Login, order Monday, get if Friday. I can deal with that. If it takes a week - great, two weeks - fine, just so I have some idea and can take care of my clients. Is that too much to ask?

Thanks for the input,
Tom

Seems like you might want to check with Mike D or Tony L or Kevin K or any number of other reps in the territory....

Paradigm, Golden Ear, B&W, Triad...

Sonance, Triad........

RBH is always good

FOCAL

Based on my personal experiences, if I had my choice of only one speaker line to go with, I would pick B&W. One of the most complete lines out there. My second choice, based on experience no more recent than about 5 or 6 years ago, would be Paradigm. I may also take a closer look at Martin Logan (owned by the same parent company as Paradigm).

I would contact reps for several that you can get, get some demo speakers in and listen to them. Compare and contrast and make your own judgement. It is a lot easier to sell something once you have sold it to yourself.

Sounds like you need to sit your rep(tile) down and tell him what's what. He makes money from what you buy and if he has his head so far up that he can't breathe, he should be replaced. If he handed your application off so to someone else, it may be a different story and it may be time to talk to the firm's management.

Folks, the cruel reality may simply be that B & W isn't going to add another dealer in the Twin Cities area. Don't know, I don't have a pony in the race. What needs to happen is you need to visit with some of the reps cited earlier and determine what they have that makes sense for you, as well as for the speaker manufacturer that they represent. Simply asking for what speakers are good is interesting, but not likely to move you forward. What speakers that are available that meet your criteria is a much more relevant list.

What kind of dollar volume do you expect to be doing?

Are you new to the retail audio business?

What brands of electronics do you carry?

What lines are you currently direct with? B&W is quite stringent with who they sign on, (as are most better speaker companies--- i.e. KEF, Revel, Paradigm, PSB etc.).

You would sell all of their SKU's across the board, not offering other otions / choices from other speaker companies?

Do you have a nice showroom demo facility --- or is your shop a custom only operation?

Paradigm is great but they don't have an on-line portal :-(

They are and they do.
I have been using it for years

I love that KEF has an online store with free shipping and occaional deals! Sucks to be a dealer "showrooming " for them! I'm not now but I was... no sales tax and free shipping made it tough. We have 9.5% sales tax here.

Any Noble Audio dealers out there???

Tough spot, a lot of options, but you need to be able to support the line, and the line needs to be able to support you.

For example there is a great speaker company called To-/m, that was available through limited distribution in my area, they grew popular, and a big local dealer got all of the small distribution dealers shut down.

There are many that will suit your needs, but you need to be able to keep up. Psb, triad, paradigm, b&w, rbh, kef, monitor, focal, etc... All with many finish options and broad product offering. I sell a lot of definitive tech, but only one finish, black, so I supplement with others through distribution.

You need to find out who is available in your area and what is the right fit for you. Are you selling mainly $600 a pair speakers or $4000 a pair speakers? What type of volume are you doing a year? And mainly, what line can you be passionate about and what can you sell? I have triad golds in my theater, I would love to sell them as a mainstay, but haven't sold much vs other lines. Recently I've been doing larger jobs and haven't been doing as many speakers in volume like I was.

Good luck