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New high end audio store..Best Buy??
Well this is something. Our local Best Buy recently renovated to a whole new layout. It had a Magnolia Home Theater in it which was removed and I had heard they were still going to carry some high end stuff. Well I stumbled in there for the first time since the reno the other day..
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Have not been impressed with Mac gear. Heard some great vocals through a kef/jolida setup.
What, no Minions ???
I feel like if I even glance at that equipment some salesman is going to try to sell me a speaker cable or interconnect.
Never would have guessed you would see some of these brands in a Best Buy. I think they are trying anything to claw their way out of the hole Amazon dug for them. I wish them luck.
I’ve never disliked anything ive heard with Mac gear in it. Not saying it’s worth the price but it’s kinda cool to look at and at least holds its value for those who can afford it.
I think that was the crazy thing is I freely roamed and touched as much as I wanted, even turned up the $60k blade and monoblock setup, sat down for a while, and never once did anyone bother me so much as to say hello. Most places with six figures worth of gear in the room watch closely and handle the controls.
I asked a sales guy if they are at least specially trained (I worked at Best Buy in college and was well aware that it didn’t matter if all a person knew was appliances, if home Audio needed staffing that’s where they were put). He said there are four of them that are. However..I had gone in for a quick cheap hdmi cable and had him direct me to them and I grabbed the cheapest one and he said that it will work if I like fuzzy sound. I kindly advised it would work and left..
I love fuzzy sound!
I imagine the "special training" would be to lead you towards the most expensive option, and tell you it'll sound like crap without these high profit margin cables. Also get the geek squad extra warranty, it's very important.
McIntosh gear has iconic good looks and is solidly built. They used to have outstanding customer service, but I have no idea at this point since they were bought out.
Interesting that Mac appointed a new Chief Marketing Officer in Feb and then was acquired by a private investment firm out of Dallas in June. I hope it goes well, but I'm not holding my breath. Techs say their products are a pleasure to work, partially due to ongoing support of their older/vintage products. You can even buy new parts (faceplates) for some vintage gear - just a simple phone call to the company. Once they have enough orders, they'll tool up and crank out a batch. Even Conrad Johnson, as pleasurable as they are on the phone, can't supply simple aluminum knobs for older preamps.
Best Buy - Seems there are only a handful of employees who have decent knowledge about audio products or cameras at our store. All the younger ones seem to know phones pretty well....
I'm surprised and happy to see better equipment there. I'm just hoping that people will start to drop the mentality of "my Kenwood receiver sounds just as good as your Mark Levinson amplifier or the all electronics sound the same as long as they measure alright.
Boy, I hope they put one of these high end dept's at a BB in my area too (SE Wisconsin). I'd be in there all the time, cranking up big Mac amps on a pair of blades. 158 lbs each! 1.2kW. I checked the user manual and this amp appears to have multiple xformer primaries for 100, 110, 120, 220, 230, and 240 volt AC input.
I'd like to be there when they clearance that stuff out...demo unit, half off sounds about right.
Bill- It likely also has Autoformer output taps for driving several different impedance loads. This Autoformer output is what makes McIntosh what it is.
InDIYana Event Website
Wolfy's Photobucket
Yeah, they are a treat for the eyes, and I suppose good looks are part of the listening experience and yes, they do hold value relatively well, as far as electronics are concerned, but I have never been impressed with their sonic performance.
Are those Marin Logans? I've been a long time fanboy of the Apogee planars and would, one day, like to listen to some Logans, and maggys.
Yeah, my BestBuy in Atlanta had Martin Logans in their Magnolia Room.
I found a pair of MG2's at an estate sale for $200, repaired the input terminals and built some oak frames to hold them steady. The "you are there" sound was amazing, but a very, very small sweet spot. Sold them to a fanatic for $500.
Lock your head in a vise sweet spot of the Apogees?
Maggies with a little support from a sub +++ (set sub as to be noticed in absence)
Depending on room, I found placing tweeters to outside with a bit of toe-in created quite the presentation
I've heard that this is a problem with all of the large planar speakers.
The bulk of the width (maggies) is a base panel- 2 and 3 ways with ‘tweeter’ width narrower than a std tweeter. The most ‘head in a vice’ speaker I’ve auditioned was the ML neolith - and at a price that could cover the hotel, and transportation, for yrs of MAC/ DIY get togethers.
I bought a pair of the little Magnepan SMGs years ago. I don't remember the head in a vise so much with those. But I can't even remember what year I bought them. 1985...91? It's all a blur.
That would be pretty cool. Employee price was 5% above cost, at least back then. Usually equates to about half off on speakers. Sometimes employees had access to manufacturer direct accommodations. I remember a Wharfdale accommodation when I was there. Can’t remember what sister brand we carried that allowed that.
I have a pair of Wharfdale opel20. The tweeters can be aimed. Their sound is laid back and smooth but the box is built like any other cheap cone n dome speaker.
I went searching for high end Magnolia rooms at Best Buy's in the Milwaukee area, but came up empty. Two of the four local BB's (Mayfair and Brookfield) have smaller type "mini" Magnolia rooms, but they only carry moderately priced KEF speakers and cheap AVR's. No 60k blades, 25k Mac Monoblocks or classic Mac tube gear. No Mark Levinson separates either. BB sales rep told me that if I wanted to hear the good stuff, I'd have to travel 80 miles west to Madison. He said that the BB located on the western beltline is currently the only one in Wisconsin with a "high end" type Magnolia room. Bummer.
I'll meet you over there for a listening session Bill. That's only about an hour from me. Probably about the same for you?
Interesting he said that was the only one with the high end Magnolia room. Although it makes sense since this BB store is no longer branded as magnolia. This gear was at the Appleton store, so a little over equidistant north instead of west from Milwaukee; although I’d be very interested to see what a high end Magnolia store carried compared to this new concept store.
OK, so that means that there are two high end Magnolia room Best Buy's in Wisconsin. He was probably not aware of the Appleton store (or I may have misunderstood what he was saying). I'll probably wait a couple months before making the trek to Madison or Appleton to scope this out (warmer weather). Thanks for the info.
Let me check out the Appleton store to see what they have. I'll do the 'recon and if it's good we can make an event out of it!
I’d guess it’s the same. I live in Maryland and my local Best Buy has the same products and even the same placement as in the pics. Down to the LS50 Metas and LS60s weirdly sitting outside the room on the main floor. Those LS60s are even tinier in person