Any good stores on the way

[endover]

I'm taking a small trip next weekend going north(from Florida)....

I'll be passing thru Orlando, Atlanta and Greensboro, NC. I won't have a lot of time on my hands but are there any good HIFI shops on the way (that would be worth the trouble getting off the highway) where I might be able to demo a mid to higher end receiver or two? I'm looking to hear the Yamaha 2400, HK 7200 or something from the Pioneer Elite line (ideally hooked up to some good floor standing Klipsch's for comparison to what I have in my house)? I don't want a custom shop 'cause they usually want to fit something to my application. I just want to go listen to a couple of setups before I buy?

[gtDark]

I'm in Atlanta. I went to Georgia Home Theater last weekend and it was nice albeit small. They had a Rotel receiver, RSX-1067 maybe, there in a smallish room with RF-35s. They also had a full Ref. 7 series running on Rotel separates. That room was really cool, nice big projector playing Finding Nemo, 2 rows of 4 theater seats. They seemed very WAF friendly though, most of the rooms were set up like real living rooms complete with coffee tables, photographs, etc. That also seemed to be a hindrance though too, e.g. they had quite a bit of gear in enclosed cabinets (I thought they needed a bit more room to breathe), they also had a couple of bookshelf speakers a little too far back in a wall unit (early reflections), and I thought they could've gotten better sound out of their Ref. 7 series speakers by playing with the speaker placement (RSW-15 not in a corner, RF-7's not toed-in, RC-7 not angled up towards ears, RS-7 too high on the wall). Re. Pioneer gear, they had the top of the line Pioneer receiver (VSX-59TXi) and DVD player (DV59-AVi) hooked up via FireWire powering (unfortunately) some Def. Techs. I'll have to say though, this place isn't set up for A-B comparisons or gear swapping; they seem like the place where people come and buy the whole room.

There's another place that's pretty decent, Sound and Cinema. It's been a little while since I've been there, but they had a lot of stuff that's too expensive for me . They did have a Ref. 7 setup with an Aragon Stage One and 2007 amp if you were curious to hear that combo. I can't remember exactly how much lower priced stuff was there, but I might could go look and report back to you if you were really interested in going there. Their listening rooms were nice too, not nearly as WAF friendly, but had bass traps and other wall treatment.

Sorry for such a long response to a simple question!

[gtDark]

Wow, had a nice long informative post lost. Thanks BB software!

To continue...

There's another place that's pretty decent, Sound and Cinema. A lot of their stuff was pretty expensive, too expensive for me, but if you wanted to have your ears tickled they have a Ref. 7 setup with Aragon Stage One and 2007 amp (their "Recommended Systems" isn't quite up to date I guess). I don't remember exactly how much moderately-priced gear they had there, but if you were really interested you could give the guys a call, or I could run by there and report back to you. They have pretty nice listening rooms there too, not as WAF friendly but they have bass traps and wall treatments. Sorry for long reply to a simple question!!

[Tom Adams]

I'll preface this by saying I've not been to this place - yet.

I called Audio Alternatives to get some info about the NAD T163 pre/pro and wound up talking (to the owner) about all manners of audio. He seemed like a very genuine person and his store sounded like a great place to hang out and listen to a little bit of everything from tubes to solid state. They don't carry Klipsch, but the owner was keen about the fact that I owned some Klipsch heritage speakers. Anyhow...if the owner is any indication of what the store is like, I think it would be a cool stop. In case you're curious:

Audio Alternatives

895 Indian Trail Rd

Lilburn, GA

(770) 931-0606

They're located just north of Atlanta off of I-85 north.

Tom

[M6 Driver]

Several Sound Advice stores in and around Orlando.

Near Winter Park they have the Absolute Sound lots of high end stuff there.

[endover]

Yeah....I've hit Sound Advice in Orlando already but they don't like to come down on their prices very much.....

They have the quality range that I'm looking for though. They recommended the Yamaha over the Elite but they don't carry Harmon Kardon stuff. Brandsmart USA does down in West Palm but I haven't had a chance to make that 2 hour drive! Brandsmart has a HUGE selection!!!!!

[edster00]

I have done some business with Audio Alternatives. They have a pretty decent used equipment section with prices that rival Audio Classics...IOW a fairly good selection but no bargains. They are turning more and more toward HT. Oh, BTW when I was going there frequently, about 3-4 years ago, I offered to build them a website but they told me they already had a guy doing it. Here is a link to their site, it's come a long way in that time!

On one of my first trips there I was kind of looking at a VTL IT-85 stereo amp. They had a pair of Heresys in the used department that they hooked the amp up to so I could hear it on Klipsch speakers (at that time they didn't have much good to say about horn speakers). I was able to spend 45 mins to an hour alone, choosing music I wanted to listen to as loud as I wanted to listen to it! They did seem like really good guys.

Then they got me interested in a pair of VTL Tiny Triodes (second edition). The owner of the store had his personal pair on display in the store. One of the salesmen said I could take them home on a Sat. and return them on Tues. (they are closed Sun. and Mon.) to audition in my home. I made arrangements to go back the next Sat. to pick them up but the owner said "no way". They were his personal amps and he wasn't letting them out of the shop. Bummer. I eventually did buy a pair VTL TTs but I ended up selling them a few months later to raise $$ to buy my Moondogs. I really liked the EL-84 based TTs and every time I see a pair come up on AudiogoN I think about buying again.

If you want to go by Audio Alternatives, they are on the north east side of Atlanta, off I-85 (exit 101) @ Indian Trail Rd. turn right at the off ramp, they are ~3-4 miles down in a strip shopping center on the right. The salesman I like to deal with most there is the guy with long hair. IMHO the owner is a smart *ss in person. JMHO, YMMV!