Are Dealer Recommendations Useful or Useless?

If the dealer recommends speakers they carry and you purchase them, then the recommendation was certainly useful to at least one party in the transaction.

-IMO

A really good dealer will try to figure out your tastes, your likes and dislikes. And then, and only then, make recommendations accordingly. And yes, these are few and far between.

maybe it depends upon what they are recommending/selling

Seriously, Peter. Nobody is going to know your system's pros and cons like you do.

I believe any consumer should rightfully be suspect about any dealer's recommendation for a product they carry always has the potential to be subjective since they are in business to sell. Yes, I know there are some good dealers and bad dealers out there.

As a friend had said in a recent post, the best thing one can spend on their system is time. I'm convinced now that there is no substitute for time.

And I think the way you've been buying and/or borrowing power cables and in-line conditioners to demo in your own home is an excellent example to determine for your system, which works best for your system and your own preferences.

-IMO

Hi,

I find that the best dealers are those that run a smaller operation. They tend to carry fewer products but know EVERYTHING about them. They also take the additional time to make sure you are getting what you want. The trade off is that they charge closer to manufacturer's suggested retail price because they don't sell high numbers of products that have huge mark ups. You also feel guilty auditioning products and learning about them and then buying them on sites like audiogon! For this reason I make sure to buy from both!