Hif shop dem rooms, waste of time?

icehockeyboy

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Down in Stratford upon Avon yesterday, and spotted a pair of PMC GB1's , thought id have a listen.

To say i was disappointed is an understatement, they were fed by matching Cyrus cdp and amp, and i can only describe the sound as boxy and nasal. Now i know that Cyrus tends to get slagged off here, and to be honest have only heard a couple of their items, but i was expecting better things of the GB1's, owning as i do their bigger bro's.

Which leads me to the header, was it all down to the shit dem room, if so is there any point in even doing in shop dems as the kit sounds so much different at home.

It is obvious , even to me, that i have too much time on my hands to write about such trivial crap !!!
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Hawk

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Depends on the type of dealer IMO. Some sell based on the strength of the brands they stock and their scores in WHF. Their dem rooms are of less importance and it shows.

If you want a proper demo you have to go to the specialists that really do go the extra mile.They tend todeliver a type of sound using what they believe to be the right products. What they stock tends to be more cherry picked rather than a complete range from brand A or brand B.

Think Noteworthy, Definitive, Coherant etc and you'll get the picture
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Papa Lazarou

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Hawk wrote:

Depends on the type of dealer IMO. Some sell based on the strength of the brands they stock and their scores in WHF. Their dem rooms are of less importance and it shows.If you want a proper demo you have to go to the specialists that really do go the extra mile.They tend todeliver a type of sound using what they believe to be the right products. What they stock tends to be more cherry picked rather than a complete range from brand A or brand B.

Think Noteworthy, Definitive, Coherant etc and you'll get the picture
wink.png
Good posting. IME there are few dealers who really know what makes a good system tick. Once you've tried the Coherents, Definitives of this world you'll understand what i mean.

 

opusover21

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Hmmm some of the tinkering that goes on in demo rooms i think is interesting..I'm not saying its wrong by any means I've had dem's in 15ft square boxes...with a curtain on the back wall..I was Intrigued by Coherents set-up..The demo room we used had acoustic panels..Townshend supports, Speaker cradles, mains conditioning, own brand high end cables, Stillpoints etc..
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to be fair I think as long as its consistent you can get an idea of what your after but then always finalise the decision with getting your selected item at home and see if you can live with it and it meets all your expectations....there's just so many variables....it just has to work where you need it to..:upgrade:which credit to Coherent etc they encourage you to do...then evaluate the bang per buck it gives you...

 

Biscuit

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the demo room is a good guide - and being able to hear kit strutting its stuff in optimal surroundings (ala Coherent Systems) could never be a bad thing.

Hearing how things work at home is probably even more important though, and I'd rather visit a shop with a poor demo room that loans kit for home-dem than one with super demo room but without the opportunity to get some experience at home before buying.

 

The Swedish Chef

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there seems to be two extremes here, one type of dealer who makes no effort and one that goes the extra mile, surely the one who shows off the true potential of the kit is more likely to impress and lead to a sale, or at least a home demo.

would you test drive a super car in london or on a track to realise its full potential?

 

Biscuit

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would depend where I was going to be driving the car - if I was going to use it 99% of the time on public roads my decision would be different to if I was going to mostly use it on a purpose built track.

Tenuous, but the same probably goes for hifi
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The Swedish Chef

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knowing the cars true potential is agruably safer in the real world as you are less likely to try and find those limits on a public road, but anyway...

i'd argue no, as surely knowing the true potential of a item of kit is of greater value to you in the long term as it will clearly what they are capable of. for example i know that my speakers are the limiting factor in my set up and once i save enough money for my next pair i will realise the potential of the rest of my kit. unfortunately this argument can go on forever, but still

 

dudywoxer

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add the audio room in hessle, and by all accounts cymbiosys in leicester to that list.

The Audio Room don't have the biggest choice, but what they have gells well into systems.

 

Testure

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Biscuit wrote:

the demo room is a good guide - and being able to hear kit strutting its stuff in optimal surroundings (ala Coherent Systems) could never be a bad thing.Hearing how things work at home is probably even more important though, and I'd rather visit a shop with a poor demo room that loans kit for home-dem than one with super demo room but without the opportunity to get some experience at home before buying.
Good point, but it's even better when you get both, like the 3 mentioned. Also it does inspire more confidenceif you go to a new dealer for the first time, and they have taken the time and effort to get the best possible setup in their own room.

 

Davewhityetagain

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icehockeyboy wrote:

Down in Stratford upon Avon yesterday, and spotted a pair of PMC GB1's , thought id have a listen.To say i was disappointed is an understatement, they were fed by matching Cyrus cdp and amp, and i can only describe the sound as boxy and nasal. Now i know that Cyrus tends to get slagged off here, and to be honest have only heard a couple of their items, but i was expecting better things of the GB1's, owning as i do their bigger bro's.

Which leads me to the header, was it all down to the shit dem room, if so is there any point in even doing in shop dems as the kit sounds so much different at home.

It is obvious , even to me, that i have too much time on my hands to write about such trivial crap !!!
biggrin.png
I don't think a shop dem is a waste of time, but it's only a starting point.

You really should have a home dem as its your room and your ears

 

Vic Mackey

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Apr 10, 2006
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Davewhityetagain wrote:

icehockeyboy wrote:
Down in Stratford upon Avon yesterday, and spotted a pair of PMC GB1's , thought id have a listen.To say i was disappointed is an understatement, they were fed by matching Cyrus cdp and amp, and i can only describe the sound as boxy and nasal. Now i know that Cyrus tends to get slagged off here, and to be honest have only heard a couple of their items, but i was expecting better things of the GB1's, owning as i do their bigger bro's.

Which leads me to the header, was it all down to the shit dem room, if so is there any point in even doing in shop dems as the kit sounds so much different at home.

It is obvious , even to me, that i have too much time on my hands to write about such trivial crap !!!
biggrin.png
I don't think a shop dem is a waste of time, but it's only a starting point.

You really should have a home dem as its your room and your ears
Just to add. One ismuch more relaxed at home.State of mindand afamiliar listeningenvironmentplays a huge part in evaluating a component and is essentialto cometo the right decision.

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A

Alex A

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Further North, Doug Brady is an excellent dealer of many years. Like some mentioned already though, while they do serve anyone, it's serious dem facilities are utilised mose effectively for high end kit. I also found Oxford Audio Consultants very good when I was down there. Even without spending a fortune I was taken seriously and care was taken to set up the equipment properly with my kit (or very similar kit to mine).

I've had very useful demos at both.

 

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