boomac Posted August 9, 2003 Share Posted August 9, 2003 One of our high end stores, Flanner Audio of Brookfield WI, has always been a place I could go to see, listen to and sometimes purchase audio/video equiptment. Back in the early 70s, when I was a college student, the salesman took the time to show me Klipsch and McIntosh. He knew I couldn't afford that stuff but he introduced me to it and my desire to own Klipsch Speakers and McIntosh Gear has never faded. In over 30 years I have only dealt with three different salesman. The owner must realize how important long term employees can be. All have been knowledgable, concerned with my wants and never once did they try to over sell me. The current guy knows that I have recently bought two pair of Forte IIs and a Scott 299. "Great stuff", he said, "next you need to take a look at one of our Project Turntables. He also showed me a Sony CD player, on sale for like 2k. It was originally 5k. I was impressd but passsed. Oh yea, he allowed me to plop in one of my own CDs and listen through RF 7s. Gary, I bet your salesman was a short time guy with limited knowledge all around. It's hard to keep good help around these days. Especially in such a competitive business. I give these guys credit. I'm not sure how they can do it but they do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted August 9, 2003 Author Share Posted August 9, 2003 Boomac, Still waiting for that 299 review and yes I once again failed to get those cds in the mail. Hopefully Monday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skonopa Posted August 9, 2003 Share Posted August 9, 2003 ---------------- On 8/9/2003 4:02:36 PM garymd wrote: Let's see who else will join. ---------------- I am definitly interested in some kind of get-together. I was just about ready to start a thread similer to the WI folks (and to think that I am originally from WI - Beloit ). After all, I did send you an e-mail asking if I could visit you sometime . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomac Posted August 9, 2003 Share Posted August 9, 2003 Gary, The review will be ready tomorrow. I want to listen a wee bit more. No sweat on the CDs, although I am looking forward to them. I wonder, will they sound the same on my Forte IIs as my KG 2.5s? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted August 9, 2003 Author Share Posted August 9, 2003 ---------------- On 8/9/2003 10:22:42 PM skonopa wrote: ---------------- On 8/9/2003 4:02:36 PM garymd wrote: Let's see who else will join. ---------------- I am definitly interested in some kind of get-together. I was just about ready to start a thread similer to the WI folks (and to think that I am originally from WI - Beloit ). After all, I did send you an e-mail asking if I could visit you sometime . ---------------- I knew you'd join in Steven. Sorry for leaving you out of my original post but when I left tonight to go out I meant to email you later and let you know since we were going to get together anyway. Now we have 3 (not a crowd yet but we're making progress). I know there's more and next week I'll email everyone I know of from the area in case they didn't read this thread. I'm looking forward to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted August 10, 2003 Share Posted August 10, 2003 Hell, I'm only 12 hours away...a hop, skip, and a jump! Count me in (I wish). It'd be good to hear other McKlipsch systems! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prodj101 Posted August 11, 2003 Share Posted August 11, 2003 yup, I have had my gear bashed before, though if you know your stuff you can usually turn things around and make the salesmen feel stupid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodger Posted August 11, 2003 Share Posted August 11, 2003 ---------------- On 8/8/2003 9:53:54 PM garymd wrote: I did hear good things about the owner. Hi-end shops that sell klipsch always seem to act this way from my experience. They certainly weren't pushing klipsch products. Maybe the mark-up is lower or something. Maybe they're just snobs. Who knows. ---------------- Greetings: I hope the Moderator is keeping track of your experience. I have gone out of town and while away at times have stopped in to look at how Klipsch is displayed. Most high end (in the air) stores that have the Reference only seem to act the same. I think it has to do with changes in Marketing myself. As some Best Buy stores will bend over backwards to show you Klipsch, some of the Reference dealers seem very aggravated at loss of lines and one in another City said he was just waiting to have the Reference Line Yanked. Luckily, if you're in the Rochester, NY area go to Rowe Photo/Audio - I have NO affiliation with any at the store except the fact that I have known the Audio Manager and some of the other Staff for 20 - 30 years. Most of them came from other stores that sold Klipsch in the past. They have everything ready and they are Klipsch Fans. They do a good job demonstrating their other lines, but I can say they will not be snobbish about Klipsch. Win dodger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted August 11, 2003 Share Posted August 11, 2003 Jeez. After reading this, I have to wonder how my customers perceived my delivery as a salesperson at BB. I openly and with impunity trashed the Sony, Pioneer, Kenwood receivers I had on my shelves (all the while affirming that, indeed, Sony Elite and Pioneer Elite are good receivers), along with Sony, KLH, Yamaha, and Bose speakers. While we may all agree that this was the correct position to take, it certainly isn't a professional position. I can't lay into everything that is inferior to the Yammy receivers and Klipsch and JBL speakers. I have to give them credit for their high points and then build the good stuff up to the point where the prospective buyer finally acknowledges that they are making a major sacrifice in quality by going with the less expensive (or in the case of Bose, "prettier") stuff. Oh well, it'll be another 6-8 weeks before I go back (if all goes well) so I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted August 11, 2003 Author Share Posted August 11, 2003 Griff, Are you having surgery? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artto Posted August 11, 2003 Share Posted August 11, 2003 I dont know how many of you have had the opportunity to go to the Consumer Electronics Show (not open to the general public unless you know someone or can fake a related business ID). When the CES had a summer version, held in Chicago, I used to go every year. The high-end audio exhibits were usually held in a separate area, often at another hotel. The most enlightening thing about this event was the business side of things. Let me assure you that high-end audio has VERY high-end profit margins. Regardless what the marketing and advertising departments are pitching you with a spin, you can rest assured that your high-end audio purchase is making someone smile, all the way to the bank. Most of the general public is also not aware that many of the manufacturers pay dibs ($incentives$) from time to time, directly to the stores salespeople who sell their gear to promote their equipment. If you sell some predetermined amount, the dib increases. Even on mainline equipment like Onkyo or Sony, you could pick up an extra $25 or more (circa 1976) right from the manufacturer for selling their receiver verses their competitors. So yes, the audio sales people are motivated to sell you what they can make the most money on. If they can sell you speaker A for $3000 that costs them $1500, verses a different $3000 speaker B that cost them $2000, do you really think theyre going to push speaker B? And as the price goes up, it gets even worse. When I graduated college, it was hard to find work in my field, so I took a sales job at a local A/V store. Not high-end at all. But they did carry a few decent things like JBL & Altec. There were these little full-range (one-way) (LOL) column speakers made locally with five 5 drivers called the shotglass. They werent all that expensive per se, but these things had profit margins of 70%. Even better, 80%, were some totally conventional particle board vinyl clad boxes that sounded like 3 day old turkish coffee tastes & looks. Thick & muddy. One day a couple of stoners come walking in looking for a stereo. I mean these two guys were dumber than a bag of S*** on a ceiling fan! Ill give you one guess what I sold them. At FULL PRICE. Not only that, but I sold them a pair, for each side so they could go Quadraphonic later if they wanted to (LMFAO). And then, I also got a dib from Onkyo for the receiver. Now, this is what goes on at the low & mid end of things. Ill let you fantasize about what goes on at the high-end. Amazingly, many of these high-end salons still dont have a large enough volume in their local market to stay in business, even with these well padded margins. And as far as the tube thing being a fad, 30 years ago they said it was on it's way out. 20 years ago they said it was dead. 15 years ago they tried to kill it. Now theres probably 20x as much (new) tube gear available than there was 20 years ago. Tubes like 2A3 & 300B were virtually unobtainable. Now we have all kinds to choose from. And at respectable prices. Also, there are very few self-respecting electric guitar players (for instance) that will use a SS amp. The musical instrument amplifier manufacturers tried to shove the SS stuff down everyones throat a few decades ago. It didnt work then. Its not going to work now. And it wont work in the future unless they develop something that truly performs & sounds the same, at an equal or better price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted August 11, 2003 Share Posted August 11, 2003 ---------------- On 8/11/2003 2:42:53 PM garymd wrote: Griff, Are you having surgery? ---------------- Sort of. The procedure the doc wants to do (and I'm all for it) is called IDENT - basically he sticks a needle into my disc, feeds a coil around it and heats it up. The idea is that by 'cauterizing' the disc, it tightens up and provides better shock absorption, and at the same time the localized pain is reduced (in about 60% of the patients treated). If it works, I should be able to go back to work. If it doesn't, we're stuck at an impasse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted August 11, 2003 Author Share Posted August 11, 2003 Never heard of it. It must be new. Just hope it somehow separates the disk from the nerve to give you some relief. I know you must be suffering if its gone on this long. They're doing some amazing things these days. If it works it beats the hell out of full blown surgery. I know from experience. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted August 12, 2003 Share Posted August 12, 2003 ---------------- On 8/11/2003 9:17:20 PM garymd wrote: Never heard of it. It must be new. Just hope it somehow separates the disk from the nerve to give you some relief. I know you must be suffering if its gone on this long. They're doing some amazing things these days. If it works it beats the hell out of full blown surgery. I know from experience. Good luck. ---------------- Well, the procedure has been around about 15 years, but only recently gained mainstream acceptance (after double-blind clinical placebo trials) The tricky thing about this situation is that, while the extruded portion of the disc is near the nerves, I don't have the typical leg pain associated with nerve irritation - it's strictly localized pain. That was the tough part about diagnosing - I have a spondylosis, a ruptured disc, and a degenerated disc right in the same area - tough to figure out which is the source of the pain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBryan Posted August 12, 2003 Share Posted August 12, 2003 Gary - Please put me on your list. I'm in Baltimore and would like to get together with other audio heads. I also have a few friends that while not Klipsch enthusiasts, are into audio - especially tube equipment. Griffinator - Sorry to hear of your upcoming surgery. I have a friend who is dealing with back problems similar to yours. His doctor recommended surgery but he's trying everything else first. Exercise and diet seem to help but he still has flare ups occassionally and ends up bed-ridden and in pain for days. He knows he'll have the surgery eventually but like myself, is afraid of hospitals. Best wishes for a successful procedure and a quick recovery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted August 12, 2003 Author Share Posted August 12, 2003 ---------------- On 8/12/2003 9:31:48 AM JBryan wrote: Gary - Please put me on your list. I'm in Baltimore and would like to get together with other audio heads. I also have a few friends that while not Klipsch enthusiasts, are into audio - especially tube equipment. Griffinator - Sorry to hear of your upcoming surgery. I have a friend who is dealing with back problems similar to yours. His doctor recommended surgery but he's trying everything else first. Exercise and diet seem to help but he still has flare ups occassionally and ends up bed-ridden and in pain for days. He knows he'll have the surgery eventually but like myself, is afraid of hospitals. Best wishes for a successful procedure and a quick recovery. ---------------- Glad to hear you're in. We'll know more toward the beginning of September. I've had 3 back surgeries myself (one was my lower neck). If you have a ruptured disk, there's not much choice for long term relief. I feel pretty good now. I just can't do anything too stupid (like carrying a belle into my basement alone). I have great connections when it comes to neurosurgeons. Let me know if your friend needs a name. There's a guy at Johns Hopkins who's one of the best in the country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted August 12, 2003 Share Posted August 12, 2003 I may call you on the neurosurgeon references at some point in the future. The thing I'm having to face right now is that I'm probably not going to be able to work at BB very much longer, even if I do go back - it's just too much punishment on my lower back to be on my feet for 8 hours a day. I've already told my manager that I'm going to have to move to another department (where there are no heavy objects to load up for the customers) or at least we'll have to have a long talk with my sup and senior prod about what I can and cannot do in the HT department. My senior prod (a woman with back problems of her own and no respect for anyone else's problems) was half the reason I ended up out of work - she constantly badgered me to do all her lifting for her, despite my repeated protests. That just can't happen anymore - I don't need to be back on disability because she wants me to play pack animal for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skonopa Posted August 12, 2003 Share Posted August 12, 2003 ---------------- On 8/12/2003 9:43:43 AM garymd wrote: Glad to hear you're in. We'll know more toward the beginning of September. ---------------- Just to let you know - September 6th is definitly out for me (other plans - mainly going to be at Six Flags America all that day). Other than that one weekend (the first weekend in September), I should be free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted August 12, 2003 Author Share Posted August 12, 2003 ---------------- On 8/12/2003 8:38:34 PM skonopa wrote: ---------------- On 8/12/2003 9:43:43 AM garymd wrote: Glad to hear you're in. We'll know more toward the beginning of September. ---------------- Just to let you know - September 6th is definitly out for me (other plans - mainly going to be at Six Flags America all that day). Other than that one weekend (the first weekend in September), I should be free. ---------------- Later in September for me too. I'll post in a few weeks and see if we can all agree on a date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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