Laundrew's post on; the type of music we listen to myth got me to thinking what has influenced my purchasing decisions over the last few decades. I have been most influenced by folks who seemed to have a true interest in helping improve my listening experience while providing an education along the way and I also think these are the ones that have long term success in the industry. Allowing me to audition gear at my home has also been a big factor in my purchasing decisions. For me price is an issue but the above factors are what really sway my decision. This goes back to my first buying experience in 1970.
About 15 years ago I started stopping into a local dealership that was a few blocks from my office. I would drop in there at lunch time and browse and listen to music. At some point I was really taken with the sound of a particular set up (Bryston/B&W) and I inquired about the gear. I had kids in college and as I added up the total cost I pretty much dismissed the idea.
I kept going back and eventually I took home a set of the speakers I had listened to. With the other gear I had at the time I didn’t notice all that much of a difference and I returned them to the main store because the location I borrowed them from was closed on Mondays. The person I spoke with asked me how I liked them and I mentioned I hadn’t notice much difference. He inquired about my gear and suggested I needed to replace my amp, not my speakers. I had also broken off a post trying to repackage them and when I told him I needed to know the cost of repair he told me not to worry about it
Time passes and I am once again at the main store and the fellow remembers my name and most of my gear – I was amazed because it had been a couple of years. We talk for awhile and listened to some music and he tells me I am looking at the purchase the wrong way. He says I should only replace one piece of gear at a time and listen to it for at least a few months before considering the next piece of gear to get. He says replace the weakest link and evaluate the purchase. Well I tuck that away and do not make any purchases.
More time and the surrounds on my woofers need to be replaced and the fellow who does the work tells me I would need to spend a lot of money to get a comparable set of speakers today. He asks about what I am pushing them with and tells me I need to have at least 250 watts per channel of quality power to push them. So he confirms what the high end store had told me. A year or so later I upgrade my amp and pre-amp but not with Bryston (cost).
I keep visiting the dealership near my office and I see a used Bryston amp and I inquire about it and they tell me it is fairly old technology (3B) but it is still a great piece of equipment and I learn it still has some warranty left. I noodle about this and decide to buy it but it is gone by the time I stop back in. More time passes and I am back near the main store and the salesperson asks if I have made any moves and I tell him about the lesser purchase of the amp/pre-amp. I ask if he would call me if they get in a used Bryston amp. He says he will call if something comes in but too keep checking their web site because the used Bryston gear goes quickly and he has a long list of folks looking.
I start keeping a loose eye on their used equipment list on the internet and keep going into the store near my office. I get to know the new store manager near my office and my son has asked about a pair of speakers and my turntable in the basement. Those speakers are damaged and I start visiting the store near my office and spy a set of used B&W book shelve speakers on the cheap. I purchase those and ask the local manager to keep an eye out for a used Bryston amp. He tells me about a used Bryston 2B for sale at the main store and an Audio Lab pre-amp. He suggests I consider those to push my son’s speakers and it will make a sweet system.
I am going to be visiting my son so I go down to the main store and the same salesperson is still working there. I purchase the amp and pre-amp and we walk through my gear again and he tells me the weak link is my pre-amp. I remind him of taking home the speakers so long ago and he says given my set up the speakers are the last thing to consider replacing. He again recommends replacing one piece at a time and listen to it for six months or so before picking up another piece of gear. He suggests that I keep the pre-amp and give my son the Carver pre-amp until we can find a Bryston pre-amp for my system.
I do this and I am shocked by the difference when I plug it in. More time and I see a Bryston BP25 on their website and I also discover the salesperson at the main store is the owner. I try and buy the pre-amp over the phone and he tells me to take it home for a couple of weeks and then see if I still want to buy it. A week passes and I am the owner of the pre-amp with a promise he will call me when he gets a 4Bst or sst. He further suggests to not replace my current amp with anything less than a 4Bst.
Over a year passes and I am watching their web site and I don’t see any used Bryston gear and one day he calls and says he has a 4Bsst and again insists I take it home and try it before purchasing it. I am out of town for several weeks so I purchase it and pick it up when I get home. When I pick it up he tells me if I don’t like it to return it. It makes a difference but not as much as changing the pre-amp did or that is my recollection. As time passes I notice a larger difference and some are more subtle.
More time passes and I pick up a new Bryston cd player and I get the itch for listening to new speakers. I audition four or five with Bryston gear at their shop and I bring home several pairs for a week or two. The local store manager suggests I will like the next model up and that he will bring a pair in from another location. He brings those in and I listen to a used pair of 803 S and the current 803 D2 for a couple of weeks and purchase the latter.
At some point I purchase one pair of balanced cables and I don’t notice much difference when I attach those. A couple of days ago I am in the local store and I see a pair of demo balanced cables for sale and I inquire about these and discover they are going out on audition. I forgot about them but was in the store two days ago and they had just come back in. I took them home not expecting much difference but when I plugged those in I was amazed at the improvement. The owner had told me when I purchased the first pair that the big difference would come when I bought the second pair but I was a little skeptical after not having noticed much difference.
I have always been skeptical about speaker wires, interconnects and power cords making a difference and I know it is hard to teach an old dog new tricks. However, after the interconnect experience I am going to keep an open mind.
