Would you trust a local dealer to help you put

Mr. Tennis:

I'm quite fond of ARC though I do not represent the line. ARC is not available to me in this market. But it's great stuff as is Nagra which I do represent.

If you had called me and said, "hey Burt, I've got this ARC amplifier that I absolutely love - what should I mate it to as far as a preamplifier?" You would have heard me respond, "ARC."

There is absolutely nothing wrong with sticking to a single brand of electronics in order to achieve great results if you are happy with the sound.

Best,
Burt

I mistakenly said Mr. Tennis but I meant to address my last few comments to Bifwynne.

The only thing I can say to Mr. Tennis is that you are severely limiting yourself and the potential of your system if you rely solely on manufacturers that allow consumer direct in-home auditions. It is more than just opinion that you'd be missing out on the majority of the best in hifi.

Burt, sadly I am not aware of a Burt/Seattlehifi shops in the Philly area. Nor do I have "friends in the business" with whom I can shoot the breeze in the off hours.

So I do what I can to cobble together a nice system, which has evolved over the years. The main reason I went with ARC is because it was the cutting-edge SOTA, or at least described as such, by the super hi-end store I hung out at as a kid back in the early 70s. Whether it really was SOTA back then is irrelevant. I thought it was.

My speaker choice, Paradigm Sig 8s (v2 w/ Be tweeter) was a pure chance decision. Nothing informed about it. As it turns out, by shear dumb luck, it is actually an incredible performer that compares with many other big name brands at multiples of its price point -- or at least so I've read.

As I said, too bad I'm not aware of a Burt/Seattlehifi store where I live. But again, even if there is (or was), I will not sit in the shop and shoot the breeze about audio while a paying customer is around ready and willing to dop major bucks on a system. That's just not right.

Thanks for the comments Burt. It sounds like you like what you do and have found a way to make it work for you. All the best.

hi seattlehifi:

you have not answered my question:

do you think you can configure a stereo system that i prefer, as opposed to a stereo system that i configured for myself ?

if you can't, the basic flaw in dealer effectiveness, is that the customer knows what he likes and he is a better judge of what that is than any dealer.

for those customers who have no idea what type of sound they like, a dealer can be of help.

this is true of food, film, wine and other aesthetic pursuits.

the more one becomes educated the less one is dependent upon opinions to gain satisfaction or enjoyment from some activity.

the more ignorant you are, the more you are likely to be swayed by the opinion of others.

Mr. Tennis: I think he acknowledged that only the buyer knows what sound he likes.
Funny, unlike you, the more educated and knowledgeable I have become over the years in any pursuit, whether it is law, cars, hi-fi or whatever, the more I realize how little i really know.
You seem determined to prove that you can assemble a great system without help from a dealer. Nobody is arguing that you can't. But I'm not sure that make anybody that uses a dealer an ignoramus....