The is no point in discussing anything with someone who has no idea what they are talking about.

Nice comment. You go on for several paragraphs stating pure opinion with conviction and then patronize the rest of us with this sentence.

If you are going to recommend M&K to someone be sure that they understand just how difficult it is to deal with a company that has a lot more skus than actual product to ship.

Until this current line of Harman Kardon I never found anything to be inferior to anything else on the market, except perhaps the reliability. Unfortunately the latest processing does indeed seem to have some problems. Which I don't understand as it seems to be modeled directly after the Lexicon product, which is definately not crap. Denon contiunues to sound like a bunch of shrieking birds to me. I don't like the sound or their remote.

"It's all the same sh*t" is probably the most accurate sentence in this thread. Yes there is a lot of garbage out there but most of it is at least functional and listenable. I believe the point was that if you get too hung up on what the "perfect" setup is you will never get anywhere.

Vincent, did you eat too much on Thanksgiving? You seem overly tense.

I suggest that it's the emotion behind product name that allows Bose to exist. Any thoughts on this concept?

My emotions are that there are alot of good products on the market, some truly great products, and fortunately some very poor products (I say fortunately because it is these products that allow us to show off the good and great products).

I come from the custom install field, and sometimes you have to choose one product over another because of how it interacts with others, and in the process you may have to give a little on sound quality or features; but the result is a system that is easy to operate and the client doesn't know the difference.

My own preference, if I wanted to buy a truly great speaker, I would buy Meridian. And for anyone who is getting really pissed reading this thread.......GOOSFRABAH!!!!!

Hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving.

Matt

Bose has mastered marketing and since most Americans, it seems, are suckers for media propoganda (ie: 2004 presidential election), hence, Bose flourishes.

Plus it helps for the tremendous margin.

Most of us don't sell it out of principle or is it because they won't give us the line? ...Nah, principle.

Think of another electronics manufacturer that continually advertises in all types of periodicals not gearing towards one particular demographic.

I wish the lines I carried had the kind of marketing Bose provides for its dealers.

(...thinking out loud a bit here)

If this is your opinion, then you should just carry Bose and move on. Since it is all just the same sh*t, why bother with anything else.

For those with half a brain stem, we can tell the difference in speakers, without needing an "audiophile ear". Plus companies who truly engineer and manufacture their own componets have a great story to tell and merit this in the sales aproach.

i apologise if i have insulted anyone but from my experence its not all the same shit..
and i suppose we were being asked for our unbiased opinions so if Doopid you truely feel its all the same i apologise. However RMK700RMK said his customer wants either Sim2 or Sony LCD projector. now if you think these are all the same then you must be on drugs.i have used both and there is no comparing them. That is like saying a toyota is the same as a lexus. sure they will both get you from point a to point b but they are hardly the same.its easy to see the detail put into a lexus. and the diference between a sim2 and a sony is equally as obvious.
as far as Harmon Kardon is concerned im not saying its terrible (i have an HK AVR receiver in one of my home systems) they lack the power and punch of many other systems and the reliability is a big factor. So given the choice of products he mentioned i would go with a Marantz.I agree that the lower end Denon products are too brite sounding but the high end stuff doesnt seem to be plagued by that. And the remote shouldnt be an issue as we all sell HTMs and Prontos with our systems dont we?
so maybe im misinterpreting what was said. Are you saying all dvd players are the same? Beacuse they are not. The dvd players Harmon Kardon offer are not much better then the $80 walmart players(i have both) and a high quality dvd player can make the diference between a good system and a great one.

in the end there is no rite or wrong answer.

I am sorry to say, while the lines you carry are good, they are not comparable to B&W and Paradigm. If your client is set on these choices, my suggestion to you is to partner with a B&W or Paradigm dealer in your area. By doing so you will keep the clients confidence that you want them to have the best system, that meets their wants and needs. Plus you can eliminate a competitor that the client is likely to visit anyway. This assumes you can build a solid relationship with a B&W or Paradigm dealer.

Otherwise you might want to develop some stronger relationships with vendors and move away from distributed product.

Now my thoughts on speakers,

B&W: Pricey, but nothing quite compares once you reach the 800 series. 600 Series is very tough to beat.

Paradigm: Nothing can touch it for the money. I have been in the business for over 15 years and have worked with almost every line out there. My first and only choice for my personal speakers.

Atlantic: Solid value and very dynamic for movies. Does not possess the musicality of many other lines.

M&K: Overpriced Atlantic Technology with loud but sloppy subs.

Polk: The classic "mass market sound" Boomy bass forward highs, decent imaging, and quickly outclassed by other comparably priced speakers.

I think everyone should have a pair of Bose in their store, makes it really easy to show off Paradigm, B&W, Atlantic Tech., and the list goes on and on :)

I agree that it is because of the marketing plan that most people initially buy Bose, what I was suggesting is that after they're suckered in they don't want to tell everybody (at least the everybody that told them not to buy Bose) that the speakers aren't what they thought they'd be. The emotion I was referring to is that of self preservation of ego, I just wasn't successful at explaining it.

My uncle did this very thing. I told him to buy a pair of Boston Acoustic speakers instead of the Bose, at a better price. He went ahead and got the Bose and now insists they are great. But when he comes into my store and listens to Bostons, or any other speaker, he can't believe how good they sound.

I worked at BB years ago. It took me about two days to realize that when someone came in and asked for Bose, you only asked two questions; what series and what color. If you even suggest another brand they would get really mad as if you were insulting their intelligence or something.

Trust me, I wish I had the money to market my store like Bose does theirs.

Perhaps you're missing the point...

Since when has any of the "elite" brands advertised in the local newspaper, coupon mailer, Sunday parade magazine, any, and I say ANY, TV commercial. The awareness factor is not nearly as much as Bose.

As for everyone else, please don't take it to heart about the "same shit" comment. There's nothing wrong with a little fuel for the fire. I'm relatively new to this forum as was having some fun with it.