I bought my pre amp and speakers online (the speakers are admittedly second hand) this was after reading up on said products and forming a general picture of what they can do and if it fitted with where i wanted to go.So far has worked a treat for me!!

On the other side of the coin,i went to my local audio t in reading (after vowing never to go back,after been looked at like a piece of scum,thankfully,it was being run by different people) to get some records cleaned after i discovered they had a keith monks machine.
They were friendly,showed me how they cleaned your records,told me alot of things about how records are pressed and we had a good old discussion about various subjects.
It was the kind of service,which makes you want to support your local shops.

When i lived in hereford,english audio allways provided a great service,letting me take things home to evaluate,as they knew shop demo's only tell part of the story.

So either way can and has worked for me.

p.s. After hearing what a rcm can do,I NEED TO NOW BUY ONE