B&W to be offered at Best Buy Magnolia

[btf1980]

I find it ironic how people complain that BB will cheapen the brand with their discounting but repeatedly by the same posters in a later post continue to brag about local dealers give better pricing and discounts.

The bigger irony is how some of the people complaining about this move, are the ones who never want to pay close to retail for speakers in the first place. They get upset if the dealer doesn't give them an extra sweet deal, like it's an obligation. 5-10% off isn't good enough for them. The primary reason B&W is in this predicament is because these guys don't buy or support their dealers in the first place. Some of the posters upset about it in this thread are people who assembled their entire system from Audiogon, then they wonder why dealers are losing out. Another (won't call you out, you know who you are) personally sent me messages when I was selling a few CM speakers because he didn't want to spend the money to buy new. Amazingly, they see no correlation with their purchasing habits or lack thereof and the recent turn of events, which is less than ideal from a "prestige" POV. I have no problem with people buying used, it's a great way to score deals. However, you can't be indignant about this if you don't even or rarely support your local dealers. Sorry, you are a big part of the problem.

[wettou]

I happened to stop by Best Buy Magnolia's new design center in Roseville just east of Sacramento and was blown away with their incredible set up......they had two new piano black 802di's driven by McIintosh mono blocks and high end Mc processor in an acoustically treated showroom plus 803 and 805di's perfectly set up on the opposite side of the room. Plus, Sonus Fabor Cremoras along the side wall perfectly arranged all around a central listening area.

The salesman was very knowledgeable and friendly........the experience was fantastic. He told me this was only one of four design centers planned for California.....the other Magnolias will not be as high end. So, I feel very lucky to live nearby this one.

Lucky you, here we only have cheese best buy that anyone who knows anything about good sound hates.....

[jpbas1]

It's funny... our Best Buy here in my north eastern town is anything but as sweet as that set up. I have always liked the brand. Period. If you like something passionately- you'll protect how its *imaged* to others... I know there are far more esoteric brands and speaker makes in the audio world; so friends of mine 'scoffed' at the fact that B&W was now being sold in a large "box retailer."

I went into a local BB several weeks ago just to look at the new CM-8. The representative was stating the obvious company line... but also noted that a pair of CM-9's had been returned given two poked in tweeters. Looking behind the CM-8; I noticed they had wired the speaker to the LF terminals and omitted the use of the "jumper cables."

My concern with the transition to BB was just that- a lack of knowledge; set-up skills; and the rapport (or lack thereof) that I had with my local dealer. In this economy- I don't see a lot of 800 Series level speakers moving much; and leaving that exclusivity to dealers only- I think further worsens their sustainability.

Call me crazy...