Brian B

[Thatch_Ear]

You are more than welcome to make any comparisions that you wish, just not in a review. Just start another thread and compare away, even for goods that you sell as long as it isn't blatant advertizing. After I put that bit in about the hockey pucks I realized that the review was about Mpingos only and I was only distracting from the reviews. Since I do want to encourage serious reviews I think it is only right to protect the reviewer's opinion on what ever the review is about. Comparisions and differences of opinion also belong in this forum, just not in the same thread as a review that someone has given serious thought and effort to bring to us.
Personally I would love to read a comparision of different isolation devises.
:bigok:

[BrianB]

Hi Thatch,

Well, this policy makes sense to me, too. However, I probably shouldn't say too much about how other commercial isolation bearings perform in comparison to the Darumas - after all, is there anything more irritating than a manufacturer or distributor going on and on about how his or her products stack up against those from other manufacturers?

I will say this, though: Of all the audiophile roller-bearings being made today, the DARUMA-3ii remains the least expensive - and it was also on the market well before any of the competition, having gone into production two or three years before either Aurios or Symposium even applied for patents for their versions... :p:

Cheers,
Brian

[Thatch_Ear]

While I agree that going on and on could be irritating, the fact remains that the people that make a living selling the products have more access and experience with them than the typical consumer. Everyone realises that you can't help but to have some kind of stake in things, but if you have more info than we do, then I don't mind you sharing it?
The rest of you please comment on this. Is no info better or worse than info from someone that might profit from sharing it.
Besides that Brian, I kind of doubt that your sales to AK members has set you up to retire to your own island in the Caribbean.

[reyneman]

I've always enjoyed BrianB's inputs. You can always make allowances for certain biases, but he doesn't diss other equipment, states his personal stake in an item he talks about, and seems to give good reasons why he choose to carry X rather than Y.

IMHO, a dealer/distributor is in the best position to have experience with a line of new equipment that you may be interested in. Yes, they may be spreading the manure, but sometimes that's good fertilizer;)

I also like Thatch's input on reviews- gets irritating on some boards when you try to review (or read a review about) an item and people jump the thread with the 'you need to use Util equipment. It's the best'. Or the imfamous 'you obviously are an ignoramous, everyone knows this is the best' BS.Keeps many from posting their findings, good bad or indifferent, so I find this monitoring relevant (unless, of course, it's one of MY inputs! Then you have NO business editing it)

JM2c.

[gonefishin]

Brian...thatch...This forum is called opinions and reviews. As long as an opinion doesn't intrude on someone's review...I'd love to hear it! Sure, you may be a dealer...but I'd love to hear the experiences and opinions you have. Heck...some of the items you carry may be directly related to how you feel they perform. What great stuff, eh?

[omer]

I have to agree with all these ideas. As I have found on other boards, dealers are unfailrly discriminated against because their opinions are missinterpreted as shameless plugs for product they sell.

The thing that drew me to AK, is that everyone seems to appreciate the fact that dealers such as BrianB and myslef talk about and sell certain products because we TRULY beleive in them. That emotion comes through in the discussions. As assumed, neither of us will retire off the profit that comes from selling products we believe in. However, if we know that the customer will be satisfied because he/she was sold the RIGHT product fro the application, then that (for me anyway) means that the job has been done properly.

And, of course, gathering opinions is the first step in making an informed buying decision. The final step before a purchase is made is an audition, of course. I hate it when people buy something based strictly on a press review. But that's just my 2 cents.

;)

[Billfort]

I personally have no problem with reviews & opinions from guys like BrianB and Omer – actually, they CAN have a lot of credibility as these guys are into audio at a whole different level than someone who dabbles in this as a hobby like most of us. I’m sure for decent retailers, deciding to sell and stand behind a product involves a lot of evaluation including lots of listening (at least for real audio) and they have probably spent more hours critically listening to more gear than I ever will.

That being said, I am a hugely skeptical individual and “buyer beware” is permanently burned into my brain, especially on the internet and ALWAYS with individuals with a financial stake in an opinion. For all the years I’ve been messing with audio, I found only 2 dealers I trusted further than I could throw their Mercedes, but I am getting the feeling that these 2 guys might bring my count up to 4.

Opinions are great, especially from individuals you trust and even more important from people who share your views on music and what works to reproduce it, but they are just that – someone else’s opinion. A positive review or opinion might start me in a certain direction but for me, it all comes down to what I hear with my OWN ears.

Billfort

[omer]

Billfort, you hit the nail on the head when you said:

I found only 2 dealers I trusted .....

That's been my advice to all for while now. Find a dealer you trust, and you'll never have to worry about the rest of the slime that is out there.;)

[spkrman57]

Just my 2 cents worth here.

1. You can't expect a dealer to give a bad review to something he sells. He has to feed a family in most cases. I would not hold it against them if they just did not comment poorly on something they sold as some manufacturers have quotas(at least I am guessing) to where you like some of their products, but they require you to sell their entire line of goods.

2. As long as a reviewer declares themselves a dealer, there should be no reason that their opinions can't be valid for purposes of comparing to the consumer. Only time I dislike those in the business from voicing their opinion, is when they don't inform the readers of their (business) status.

3. I also would like to thank BrianB for providing me with a quick opinion of the ASL Si15 amp I purchased. He was truthfull and honest. Lets face it, a single-ended pentode will never steal the stage from the SET's, I don't expect it, but i still can use opinions when compared to SET's as they provide useful insight.

4. I will give a initial review on the amp when it arrives, and I will post a follow-up after 150 hours of burn-in. The initial is just for folks to know when it arrives, what setup is required, and what info is necessary to know to run it.

Time to take my long-winded self and get back to work here!!!
Thanks for listening, Ron

[BrianB]

Hi Ron,

Nice post! But I would like to comment on your first point:

You can't expect a dealer to give a bad review to something he sells. He has to feed a family in most cases. I would not hold it against them if they just did not comment poorly on something they sold as some manufacturers have quotas(at least I am guessing) to where you like some of their products, but they require you to sell their entire line of goods.
Obviously, I am not speaking for every dealer out there, but I try to avoid at all costs manufacturers and distributors who have sales quotas, or who require their dealers to stock and promote every single item in their product lines regardless of performance. Otherwise, I would be at risk of putting myself in some awkward sales positions from time to time.

And I strive to be 100% honest with my customers, which oftentimes leads me to recommend a component or system less expensive than the one that the person had intended to purchase. Most of the time, my customers are pleasantly surprised by such recommendations. And while I may have made less money on the sale, chances are I've gained a customer for life.

Every now and then, though, I encounter one of those price=prestige=everything sorts of customers, who actually seem offended when I suggest that they can get better sound without spending the kind of money they were prepared to spend! Not surprisingly, these tend to be the very same customers who trust the opinions of magazine reviewers more than they do their own ears. To each their own, I suppose...

Happy listening!
Brian

[spkrman57]

Brian,
That would make us the lucky ones then. I have known dealers in the past who have had to keep a inventory of a companies entire line of product in order to sell a item which was desirable to the customer. Each company is different out there and you never know until you deal with them. I know several audio stores in Columbus here that will feed you a line of bull and try and sell you the most expensive item they think they can get along with. Of course they stay in business because of doctors and lawyers, etc who want bragging rights in their stereo, not because they actually care.

So, we are lucky to have you on our side!!!

Ron