Mail-From: local user A350MR40 at 5-Feb-83 09:36:45-EST
Date:  5 February 1983 0936-EST (Saturday)
From: Mitchell.Robinson at CMU-CS-A
To: Harry.Bovik at CMU-CS-A
Subject: shopping for stereo systems
Message-Id: <05Feb83 093640 MR40@CMU-CS-A>

This is what I have learned from my rather minimal experience shopping for
a stereo system in the PGH area.

I actually visited three stores, THE LISTENING POST in Shadyside, OPUS ONE
downtown on Smithfield St., and Audio Junction on West Liberty Avenue in the
Dormont section of PGH.  I shopped by phone to several other stores that were
listed in the Yellow Pages, but did not go further with them because they did
not have either name brands that I was interested in, or prices that were
competitive.

I started out by going to the LISTENING POST and to OPUS ONE.  The salepeople
at these stores were knowledgeable and informative, and were interested in
educating me on the way to selling me equipment.  They were patient with my
questions, and spent initial sessions of 45 minutes to an hour demonstrating
equipment and the "parameters of reproduced sound".  I actually went back to
OPUS ONE 5 or 6 more times for listening and questioning sessions, mostly
because I could compare equipment that both stores had in common only at that
store.  I would recommend that anyone doing serious shopping return to a store
or stores several times, if not for my experience that additional details about
equipment came out on each successive visit.  This was especially true at OPUS
ONE, where salepeople don't get commissions, so you can speak with several
different ones over successive visits.  For instance, I was interested in a
speaker that could be played at 4 or 8 ohms (nominal) impedence.  However, I
was not told until my third or fourth visit that of the two receivers I was
looking into, only one could drive the speakers at either impedence.  The other
was restricted to 8 ohms.

Another observation.  Go shopping with a healthy amount of skepticism, and be
familiar with the equipment that you are considering, at least by reading the
promotional blurb that the stores will give you concerning the systems' specs.
One store had only a low stock in a turntable that I was interested in, and the
salesperson told me that another model of the same company was just about the
same.  However reading the literature that the store gave me told me otherwise.
A not unrelated story was true of a pair of speakers that I was considering.
So the moral is: go into the stores as informed as you can get, and what you
don't know, find out by asking questions.  If the salesperson can't give you an
answer that you're satisfied with, find another store or person for the answer.

There were two other drawbacks to THE LISTENING POST and to OPUS ONE.  Both
stores were rather limited in the variety of equipment they carried and sold.
For instance, OPUS ONE carried a mid-priced model of one receiver, but not the
next models up or down.  This was frustrating when I wanted to move up one
model for extra wattage, but found that for the extra wattage I would have to
consider a much more expensive piece of equipment of another concern.  Second,
neither store sells at a discount.  Reading from an audio magazine that listed
and described over 500 components that were available in 1982 (and I suggest
obtaining such a reference material), I found that both stores were selling
their systems at the sum of the list prices of the individual components.

This brings me to the unfortunate close to my story.  AUDIO JUNCTION, where I
will eventually make my purchase, has a comparatively wide selection, both
within brands and between them.  They were offering between 20 and 25%
discounts with the purchase of a system, and at least some kind of discount on
the purchase of individual components (about 15% for a pair of $350-each
OHM WALSH2 speakers).  However, their sales help (a store manager in my case)
reminded me of a used car salesman, hard sell, not very informative or
educating, and condescending.  She didn't even answer some of my questions
correctly.  I should note, in addition, that I eventually purchased the
cartridge and speaker wire at OPUS ONE, because despite AUDIO JUNCTION'S
variety, OPUS ONE had better equipment in these categories.

So, the sad lessons to be learned from this story are that if you want to
listen to components before you buy them, and need some education, they best
buys might not be found at the same place where you can get the best education.

mitch robinson