My stories are mild in comparison to some I have read here. I say mild because it didn’t cost me anything. There is a Paradigm dealer in my State that has a pair of Paradigm 9H’s on the floor. I had read a lot about this speaker and wanted to hear them. I called in advance to let them know I was coming and they were very accommodating. When I arrived, I was told that it was the "audio" guy’s day off (they sell other products) but they could allow me to hear them. After much fooling around with equipment and trying to figure out the software on their store system, I was able to listen to a download of a live concert. The quality of the feed was obviously not up to the task of demonstrating these speakers. My system would have blown theirs away and I paid $3000.00 for my speakers.....used!
As I recall, in the past they had a pair of Revel Salon II’s connected to the same system. I remember thinking after the listening session that I really appreciated my system. Obviously the house system they are using is not capable of demonstrating the quality of any speaker. If I were Paradigm I would pull the line from them. No one would pay the asking price of those speakers based on how they were presented. Thankfully as I stated, it didn’t cost me any money.
My other experience was with a dealer who represented a line of amplifiers. The "problem" is, the amplifiers are not inexpensive and the owner ran his store more as a hobby than a business. He did not have any of this manufacturers amps in stock so it was impossible to listen to them. He would be happy to order one for me based on his verbal description of its performance however. Needless to say I declined. I contacted the factory Rep. and was allowed to purchase product from an out of state dealer who was very helpful and had product in stock. I didn’t get to listen to it but was assured I could return it if I wasn’t happy. I would love to support a brick-and-mortar local dealer if I could listen to the product I’m interested in AND it was presented in a manner that the product deserves.
