What to do when a supplier doesn't stock all of the components you are considering

[MarginWalker]

I am plannning my new system and have a number of different amps, speakers and streamers that i want to try out but i can't find a dealer that stocks all of them. How does everyone else deal with this when auditioning new components?

[Manicatel]

You end up going to several dealers to get to see all the options on your list, or you go to a dealer you trust & accept a smaller list of options.
It is simply unrealistic to expect dealers to have every possible option available. A decent dealer will have confidence & knowledge of their chosen products, whilst acknowledging that there are other brands available.
Realistically, trying to listen to more than maybe 3 competitors in a session is not a great idea. You can’t chop & change between eg 5 different amps, or speakers or streamers at a time, it’s just too much to remain objective about.

[MarginWalker]

It is more being able to listen to an amp with a particular pair of speakers that i am interested in. One of the amps (Peachtree Nova 150) i am considering only seems to be held by one dealer in the UK.

[struth]

It is more being able to listen to an amp with a particular pair of speakers that i am interested in. One of the amps (Peachtree Nova 150) i am considering only seems to be held by one dealer in the UK.

you could see if they do home trials of both products, so you can try them. no easy matter when they are different companies alas.
Inclined personally to get a set of speakers you can live with then trial different amps til you strike lucky.

[Manicatel]

Yea, in that case, as Grant says maybe a ‘sale or return’ type home dem may be the way to go, if the dealer agrees to that way of doing things.
Pay up front, take home the dealers demo unit, give it a whirl over a couple of days & if it floats your boat, return the dem unit for a bnib one or a refund if it doesn’t work for you.

[Jazid]

you could see if they do home trials of both products, so you can try them. no easy matter when they are different companies alas.
Inclined personally to get a set of speakers you can live with then trial different amps til you strike lucky.

Wise words indeed. It's much easier to work this way because the speakers and room are the biggest variables and if they don't work together to satisfy you no amp is going to turn that around.

Change one component at a time - Wish I'd paid more attention to those words many years ago!

I strongly suggest a cheap class D amp as the starting point for amp comparisons. You can't lose much when you find better, and many are now far more than just 'decent for a cheap amp'.

Sent from my BLA-L09 using Tapatalk

[Pigmy Pony]

See if you can have the peachtree for a 'home trial' for a week or so, and drag it round all the dealers selling the speakers you're interested in.

[Frazeur1]

It would be worth seeing if both dealers would allow a home demo of said components at the same time. If a dealer has confidence in their own product and they typically allow a home demo, shouldn’t be an issue, although timing could be tough at times? That way you know how the “system” works in your space, critical in my opinion, versus dealer show room. FWIW....

[alphaGT]

I’ve picked an amp that was most like the one I owned. It’s not a perfect plan, but I got an idea of how these speakers sounded with a 150 watt A/B amp in the $800 range. When I got the speakers home and connected to my amp, yes it was different! But, not worlds different. I was lucky and it was even better! But, with a return policy you can have a reasonable level of confidence. But, as I said, it wasn’t worlds apart, both amps sounded damn good, I could have lived with either.

So if the store with the speakers has an amp like the Peachtree, which may be more difficult to find than an old A/B, but he may surprise you. And if they have such an amp, and the speakers sound good on that amp, then there is a super strong chance it will sound good with your amp. If not? Change amps.

Russell

[YNWaN]

I’ve been at the ‘front end’ of the business and understand the pressure a dealer experiences. I’m also an enthusiast and understand those desires - and how the two differ. I would explain your needs/thoughts honestly to each dealer. If they are sympathetic I would then go for a shop demo. After I had all my shop demos of all the gear that was I was interested in I would seek a loan, or demo with my own gear of the two, or (at most) three components that most impressed me. Note, if a dealer can’t produce a good ‘in shop’ demo of a component I wouldn’t personally take it any further.