Local audio dealer absolutely essential

If you think you have it bad in your area, try Wichita KS
We have one so-called hi-end audio establishment, however upon visiting the store, I was told by the salesperson, you absolutely cannot run a tube preamp with a solid state amp. They mostly concentrate on home theatre, although you can order, McIntosh, or Velodyne products at retail only.

I agree 100% that a good dealer is essential and am sorry for those who do not have that luxury.

It's neat to see someone else having a great experience with a Denver dealer. I used Soundings, just South of Denver in Greenwood Village, just blocks from the site of the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest. Denver is a real audiophile hotbed.

I ordered my Vienna Acoustics Beethoven Baby Grands from soundings and then soon added a Pro-ject RM10/Sumiko Blackbird TT/cartridge combination. Not only did I get good, competitive pricing but my TT was set up perfectly.

Recently I borrowed a set of Analysis Plus cables to audition. That's the ONLY way to really learn about cables, by putting them into your system. I quickly realized that I needed a set and was offered a competive price again and I continued to borrow the demo set until mine came in.

The big payoff for me was the setup of my speakers in my room. Soundings uses the Sumiko Master Set method (see separate review) which raise the order of excellence of my whole system by several orders.

Dave