A thermometer and a scale will tell you which is the best receiver. (1 Viewer)

[EdNichols]

I was in an electronics store a few weeks back and I was looking for a new receiver and the "knowledgeable" salesman was trying to sell me on one brand vs another. I don't know how long he had worked there but if it was more than a few hours I would have been surprised. His method of comparison of one receiver over another was to have me pick them up and "feel" the difference. (When I did that they felt the same to me.) Next he said "if you really want to know how much better one is over the other, feel the top of this one, now feel the top of that one. See how much cooler it is?" (Felt the same to me.) I realize that weight does matter concerning the quality of components, but these were lower end receivers, and yes some of the better receivers might run a little cooler but I thought I was buying what sounded the best and had the features I was looking for. Guess I was wrong.


I can't believe I've wasted all this time and energy comparing and listening and researching to find the best receiver when I could just go, check the weight and temperature and all my questions would be answered!!!

Has anyone else had an "expert" salesmen who was this good? What is your story?

 

[John Garcia]

How exactly will temperature tell you anything? H/Ks tend to run hot, but they weigh a lot. Does that mean they aren't good?

To me weight usually means a nice big power supply, so I'll buy that one, but this alone doesn't somehow make it a better receiver in all cases.

Dude's a crack head. What's next? Smell?

 

[Erik*R]

no no no.. Taste.

be sure to taste ALL the connections and all buttons on the front.

Better tasting = better performance i say (sarcasm sarcasm)

BTW if you get one that tastes like Vanilla and cherries.. grab that bad boy and RUN to the door.

 

[ChadLB]

Ed,
That is why I really don't like stores like CC/BB/ etc because they don't know much.
Actually this months Hometheater Magazine had some of there staff I believe go into 3 stores(CC/BB/Ultimate Electronics) to see what they knew.
They basically went in there asking questions like what is the difference between 720P and 1080i, what tv produces the best picture, is there an advantage to a progressive scan dvd player, and other things.....it was interesting is all I can say on the answers these people had....

 

[Rob Grim]

I can only imagine the answers Home Theater Magazine received. I used to work at BB part-time, (sshhhh, don't tell anyone) and if I had a nickel for everytime one of the salesman lied to a customer to make a sale, I'd be retired. Probally the best thing about working for BB was the employee discount. Most people have no idea how high the mark up is on some of the things BB sells. Other than my cables and speaker wire, not one thing in my H/T was purchased at BB. I've turned buying electronics into a game. I like finding a salesman and asking him a question like, what are the benefits of using composite cables over component cables just to see if he catches me. You'd be shocked as to how many miss it. When I go into BB now, some of my old co-workers like me to test the N.F.K. just to see if he knows what he is talking about.

 

[Andrew Pratt]

I wonder what he'd think of a pure class A amp

 

[JohnSmith]

Rubbish? A digital amp is superior to a Krell or tube amp because it runs cool.

Unbelievable that these idiots are allowed to talk out of their "other" hole.

 

[John Garcia]

Hahaha, maybe Sony could install some lead (enclosed of course) into their DE line and increase sales because they are heavy (though distribution costs would go up...).

 

[Chester II]

Dudes,

Come to think of it....my Rotel 1055 does run warm with hints of bark and cocoa. Hmmmmmm

Dudes,

Chester

 

[EdNichols]

You know come to think of it, that guy couldn't be right, because the last time I looked at a Bose lifestyle system I remember it being cool but it was too small to be heavy. And every one knows that Bose is the best in world.

 

[Dah-Dee]

Was I not supposed to be licking the Yamahas at my local Best Buy? :frowning:

 

[Bill Will]

John, I think Best Buy's policy is, If you lick it you bought it or is that where all the open box items come from? So now I'll have to ask how many licks does it have on it because you don't want too many licks on it because it might be getting too close to the center & when you test lick them is that with the power "ON" (Yikes) or "OFF" or do you unplug them first?

 

[MikeTz]

A lot of "audiophiles" poke fun at the sales people at big box chains like BB/CC for their lack of knowledge and credibility. Much of it justified. But for real humor you just gotta love it when those same guys buy a $15,000 pair of speakers without auditioning them just because Stereophile or Absolute Sound put them on their recommended components list. These people can be identified easily. They're the ones who write the venomous letters to those same magazines when their beloved speakers are removed from the A list.

MT

 

[Lewis Besze]

While everyone pick on the heat issue,nobody "touches" the weight. Is that good indicator of quality?

 

[Kwang Suh]

I use the shine test. The shinier the component, the better it is!

 

[CurtisC]

I got a good laugh out of that.

 

[DarrylM]

Assuming your receiver isn't using a digital switching amplifier, weight is one indication of quality. (And, since I don't particularly care for digital amps, I would still say that weight is a factor even in that case.) The heavier components in a receiver include the power supply, heat sinks, capacitors, and so on. A receiver with a beefy power supply, solid heatsinks, and large capacitors will generally weigh more than a comparable receiver with smaller or inferior components. The materials used for the construction of the chassis will also play a role.

Pick up your basic Sony DE series receiver and then your comparable NAD or Rotel receiver, and you'll notice a significant difference. Look through the grilles on top and you'll see why.

 

[Chu Gai]

Odyssey has (had?) a blurb about weight on their website as an indicator of quality but then so does Rosie Odonnell.

 

[TimMc]

Sure hope I'm not to blame for all this...

This is true - StG. Quite a while ago I cruised through the local MegaCity during a clearout sale. I was looking for a very specific box for tunes @ the office & had a < 1/2 price opportunity as long as I could survive the stroll. I had to ask the energetic young salesdude just one question but then got peppered with a gazillion questions in return. Bottom line is that, to get the deal done sooner and me outta there, I told him I'd made my choice by feeling the top to see which was cooler - that obviously was the best-made amp section. He never blinked, got me my box, and I ran away. Went back for CDs some time later and happened to see the same guy talking to prospects & putting hand on top of receivers. Guess he never bothered to figure out that the coolest receiver would be the one that wasn't even plugged in. And I'm sure glad I never thought of the line on licking faceplates...

Next thing you know some jacka$$ will say that sniffing the headphone jack is the way to tell which has the cleanest sound. Hey! Who put that mirror over there, and why is there a donkey staring back at Moi?

 

[JasonMA]

I tried the licking thing, but found many models at different price points to taste similar. One sure fire way to tell which is built the best, is to remove it from the shelf, get to the middle of the aisle and swing that bad boy in circles by the power cord. When the cord detaches and the receiver goes crashing into pieces, count how many individual pieces it actually broke into. Whichever of the receivers has the least pieces is the best built. Tried this at BB when I bought my Yamaha receiver. It was $400 on the shelf, but after trashing 5 other receivers to find the best, I ended up paying $2,400 for it