Can’t believe anyone


Has anyone else had this experience? First I should say that like many people I have a busy schedule and I don’t have unlimited time to audition gear, so I try rely on dealers to steer me in he right direction to narrow down choices.

I am in the middle of trying to upgrade my system. When I went to a dealer in the Chicago area and told him what kind of gear I had, he immediately by system was "uneven "and I HAD TO upgrade my CD player (from Arcam 7se to 8se or 9). A few days ago I went to a different dealer. As before I mentioned my system, this time it was amp that needed to be upgraded. As for my CD player, he does not feel that the move form the 7se to the 9 is really an upgrade.

So, whom do I believe? Yes, I know—listen for myself and then decide, but then what the hell good are dealers for?

By the way, my current system is:

Integrated Amp: Arcam alpha 10
CDP: Arcam 7se
Speakers: Dynaudio 1.3 Mk II
Interconnects: Nordost Blue Heaven
Speaker wire: MIT T2
xmore
Hi X. What do you feel your system is lacking in the first place as far as performance goes? I believe you really want to put as little responsibility on the salesman to help you decide which component should be upgraded next. I think the best thing to help you decide will be (in a rhyming fashion) "your ears and your gear". Unless you have something that really needs to be upgraded because of it's obvious performance shortcomings, I would really let my ears decide what piece I want to upgrade and then have the dealer help me by showing me different models of what I'm looking for. Your goal as a consumer is to educate yourself to the point that you basically turn the salesman into a showman. As you already know, there are tons of forums that will educate you and people who'll give you opinions on the net so your dealer is but one opinion who may or maynot have a stake in your sale but on line is where you'll find numerous but for the most part, honest opinions on gear. So tonight, listen to your gear. Is it really a cable change that's driving you to want to upgrade instead of that intergrated or CD player? How about some room treatment? Speaker placement maybe? Trust your ears and your gear!!

Good Luck
Unfortunately in this business you can't trust many.You really have to do your homework. Everyone is out to line there pockets at your expense.If you are going to buy new demand a home demo or move on to someone who will allow it. There are stil good people left in this business but they are much harder to find do to the direction this business is going. Good luck!
Maybe someone in the Chicago area could recommend a trustworthy dealer? (is that an oxymoron?)