"mark" wrote in message
ups.com...
Thanks for all the replies, appreciated.

Doesn't make sense to me - you want a pile of 'expensive names' and yet
you
want to be able to brag 'I got it cheap'....?

Firstly being a tightwad is nothing to brag about! But I do agree with
you to an extent. Its not the cost per se I object to, though it is a
lot of money for me. Its the "retail" price that bothers me. I don't
really want "dealer service" and I don't want to pay for it.

Of course £150 off £1500 isn't much compared to the savings of just
buying a £600 cheaper system. But it might well bug me for the next 10
years. Of course £150 over 10 years is even more inconsequential, but
I'd still rather keep it in my pocket.

Regarding auditioning...this is also a dilemma and does largely
undermine my thinking. I do know someone with the speakers I want, but
yes, I am largely relying on other people's opinions and reviews
regarding the Arcam stuff. (Ok, I admit I like the appearance of it too
and I am suckered in by their clever branding, but that's a thread in
itself.)

Maybe I should just grow up, go and have the salesman set up an
audition of some different brands and pay the full whack...




I think I understand your dilemma - you have more or less decided on a stack
of gear and you want to say to the dealer 'I know what I want, just wheel
out the boxes, cut me a 'speedy spender' deal and I'll be gone in 60
seconds!' or somesuch? No?

If so, just say it!! Be *brave*!! :-)

Better by phone (non-confrontational) and do it any time now (post Christmas
drop-off) or leave it 'til high summer when the dealers are quiet. Phone on
a Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon when they have probably had an empty shop
and you'll be home pulling all that squeaky polystyrene off by teatime!!
You'll be happy as a dog with two dicks for about 6 months - until they
bring out the *new model* with the next number up and which purports to
'address all the issues' in the one you have just bought! ;-)

(Me? Assuming you're talking SS/digital - Amp, CD and DAB say, I'd pull the
thousand pounds off the front of that proposed spend for a start.....!! ;-)

Or......

See this stack?

This stack he

http://www.apah69.dsl.pipex.com/show/stack.JPG

It'll cost you about 210 (total) from Argos and you'll get 3 identical
remotes which will operate everything. Grab one and get a Dymo tape machine
to make some fancy labels to stick on each piece (I leave it up to you to
choose a sutable name) and then grab a pair of Living Voice Auditoriums

http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~va...ivingVoice.htm

http://www.livingvoice.co.uk/auditorium.htm


and hook it all up.

Give it a week to settle in and then invite your mates round (the ones with
the ****ty mid-fi 'names') and see what they say....

(Then you can save up for your *killer stack* at your leisure - I suspect
you will be in no rush and the speakers will do you for life!! ;-)