Buying equipment


Ok, I've been looking online to put together a system and man is it frustraring. I live in rural wyoming and cannot go to a stereo store. So I will need to buy online.

None of the companies sell their components online, they only refer me to a dealer. Then even on the dealer's sites there are very few photos and again no prices. I did find 6moons' site, but it is tedious clicking through reviews to get to the bottom and find out its $45,000.

Amazon doesn't have much that is interesting- I want something unique and all that I would have access to is Sonos, Focal, 'Bird', marantz, and yamaha. Fleawatt is done building for the year and that seems to be it.

I'm looking for a tight little system that will fill the living room of a one bedroom apartment with hardwood floors.

I want something that will play standard CD's and one that I can eventually hook up a Pro-ject turntable to.

Any help of how to find a system to buy?

Thanks,
S.
swarthy
The one thing that I can't stress enough, is the need to listen to equipment before you buy it. Its extremely difficult going by reviews, especially if you don't have much experience with audio. That said, you're not as bad off as you may think. There's a really good dealer in Ft. Collins Colorado, of all places. The Name of the store is Audio Alternative. Its not the kind of place that you have to go to because you live in the middle of nowhere. Its the kind of place you want to go to. If I was in a city like Denver, that has a few high end shops, I would still go there. I don't know how far away the store is from you, but its probably no more than a day trip. He's great at putting together systems that sound great and don't cost a fortune.

Another excellent choice is a place called The Cable Company (www.fatwyre.com). They're not close to you, so shipping will be your only option with them. But what makes them unique is that they lend out audio components that they have demo units of, so you can try things in your system before you make a commitment to buy it. I've been dealing with them for many years and they've always have been extremely reputable.

So, between those 2 dealers, you'll have more quality choices than you'll know what to do with. You just can't go wrong with either one.

Also what is your room dimensions and type of music you like. Also what "type" of sound are you looking to achieve. As others have said listening to gear is really the only way. Howver if you state some parameters atleast members on here might be able to give you a list of brands and components to be on the lookout for.