No Discounts on 1098 :-(

[epiney]

Dealers in my area are not offering any discounts on the 1098. In fact they were playing the, we can't get enough in game and you should pre order.

So I ventured to the dark side and purchased a B&K Ref 50 from an authorized dealer with warranty for $2000. I don't know if I made the right decision, but the $3K was just too much and I thought the B&K would be better than the 1066 for $1500. The B&K dealer also offered me a money back guarantee. Should I send it back and wait for deals on 1098s? I find it so hard to demo preamps at stores since the have them connnected to all kinds of gear and speakers I don't have.

At least I've still got my Rotel amp.

P.S. I know this is O/T, but has anyone tried ACI Panorama speakers. I'm considering buying them sight unseen or ear unheard I should say.

[Andrew Pratt]

Tough choice For the speakers post a thread asking about them in the HT area since I believe at least one other member has some ACI's.

For the Rotel is there no other dealer within driving distance that you could try?

[Danbry39]

I've heard many good things about the B&K, but haven't auditioned them myself. So, try it out. See if it fits your desires and make a decision after your audition period.

As for ACI's, my bedroom is filled with them. I have 25th edition Sapphires for my fronts, the Essence for a center channel, and two on-wall Emeralds for my surrounds. I've owned many a speaker in my lifetime, all of which satisfied my needs, but the ACI's are in a league of their own for me personally. For the first time in my life, I have absolutely no temptation toward any other speaker. I haven't heard the Panorama's, but have read that that they're pretty amazing. The owner of ACI, Mike, is absolutely the best person I've ever dealt with regard to companies I've bought from.

Two posters here are relatively familiar with ACI's. Although a moderator on another board, Curtis Chang does occasionally post in the new forum section of HTGuide in the online dealer thread. He heard the Panoramas in the last week or so and was solidly impressed. I will say that a lot of Curtis's time is spent getting together with other enthusiasts in the L.A./Manhattan Beach area and comparing speakers. He's well aware of ACI's reputation, but this was the first time for him actually listening to them. As a matter of fact, Curtis and I have emailed each other back and forth several times today about ACI. If I recall, the system included five Panoramas and, perhaps, an ACI sub as well. I don't think George King has heard the ACI's himself, but is well aware of online companies and very familiar with ACI's reputation.

I do hope you give them a listen. You only risk the return shipment for the thirty day audition, as Mike will usually throw in free shipping if you ask nicely. I will also say that Mike emailed me himself this morning just to do me a favor and not even to do with my ACI speakers.

You might want to go to audioreview.com and check out the reviews on the Sapphires. I don't think there's a Panorama review thread. Check out what they're saying about ACI's and especially note what speakers they've compared them to and what they replaced with the Sapphires. You might find some extremely respected speakers that, in their reviews and opinions, the ACI's beat out. If I recall, only one reviewer gave it less than the highest rating offered and that person had bought a kit which he couldn't put together right. Keep in mind, the Sapphires being reviewed there are last generation Sapphires and people who have heard the current version say the 25th Anniversary edition is a very nice step up from that.

Although the least in-depth review there, my favorite still is the short, but very telling, one that said:

When I first got these speakers my wife said, "Wow, I really love the sound of them...they are so beautiful...they just make me feel so good...they make me want to do it."

I bought a second pair for the kitchen!

Sorry for being so long winded, but I really love my ACI's.




Keith

[epiney]

Andrew,

Unfortunately, I have a regional dealer that has stores in a 40 mile radius of me and the only other one is a small family shop that is very high end (i.e. no discounts). When I asked him to demo speakers he did so on a complete Linn set-up. When I asked him to switch it to Rotel since it more closely will match the set-up I have, he said "I believe you should audition speakers in a way that shows off what they are capable of" :x

Danbry39, Thanks for the great post on ACIs (Have you ordered a pair for your kitchen yet!!!!) As a matter of fact, I did speak to Mike this morning and he was a great guy. I'm this close to ordering them and taking a chance. I know speakers are very subjective, but I do get a feel for what you guys like based on your posts and the ACIs have very good feedback. I asked Mike how many had been sent back during the 30 day trial period and he said 1-2% over 25 years. I think that's pretty amazing.

Thanks for the very helpful posts. I'm going to drive myself crazy over the B&K/Rotal conundrum for a while.

Cheers

[spacey]

epiney,

I bought my Rotel gear from the "family" store in Chantilly/Manassas you mentioned. It was about 7 months ago. I got a small discount on a 1066/1075. I found Tom, the owner, to be very friendly and respectful. If you haven't talked to him, you might give them another try. Good luck. However, the B&K unit is nice too.

[Mark_C.]

The B&K Ref 50 is nothing to sneeze at. It's a very respected, high quality product.
As far as Rotel dealers go, I have customer relationships with two Rotel dealers in my area. One dealer is about 40 miles away, the other 30 miles away. I developed relationships with each by going in, looking and talking with salesmen. Pulling out my checkbook from time to time helped. The sales people came to realize I wasn't just a lookiloo, and that I knew what I wanted. Once you develop that type of relationship, prices start magically coming down off of list.
I suggest you look for another Rotel dealer that's not in your immediate area. Take a drive. Play a little dumb, and see if you find a dealer more eager to actually deal.

[epiney]

I want to thank everyone for their suggestions. I tried a few more dealers (out of state) and even tried to bundle an amp with it. The best I got was $200 off the 1098 and $100 off the 1095 amp. What a bummer.

Rotel's really got a lock around here. I ended up not taking the B&K Ref 50. Instead, I bougt an Anthem AVM-20 for about $2400 based on the posts in here talking about the Anthem.

Now to find a Rotel amp....maybe used.

Thanks.

P.S. Keith, I bought the ACI Panoramas and Essence Center.

[epiney]

I want to thank everyone for their suggestions. I tried a few more dealers (out of state) and even tried to bundle an amp with it. The best I got was $200 off the 1098 and $100 off the 1095 amp. What a bummer.

Rotel's really got a lock around here. I ended up not taking the B&K Ref 50. Instead, I bought an Anthem AVM-20 for about $2400 based on the posts in here talking about the Anthem.

Now to find a Rotel amp....maybe used.

Thanks.

P.S. Keith, I bought the ACI Panoramas and Essence Center.

[Eiffel]

In the NoVA/DC area, you might want to try the Laurel, MD dealer... they offered me a good deal on a RSX-1055