Dust at Best Buy & Circuit City (1 Viewer)

[robertLP]

Hi guys, I'm pretty new as a member of this forum even though I've been following some threads off and on for the last few months. I've been pretty excited at the prospects of SACD and DVD-Audio, but more so on DVD-A, simply because I prefer open formats as well as the range of options it provides.

But a recent trip to my local Best Buy & Circuit City (NE side of Indianapolis) has me a little blue about the future of these formats:

At CC, SACD had a specialty display that had a player out with speakers attached so you could sample the tunes, but only provided a 2-speaker setup. The level of knowledge of the sales people (3 different ones) ranged from "some Sony thing" to "um, have no clue, sorry". One guy thought he knew what DVD-A was, but said that only BB sold them.

At BB, the DVD-A's were in the normal DVD section, but all were lowest shelf in a narrow isle - you know, the area where they put products that don't sell. You had to crutch way down or have a midget help you pick out titles. As far as their SACD display, I think I remember it to be stereo-setup also. It was back in a very low-traffic corner and I *SWEAR TO G-D* it had dust on the player. One salesperson did seem to have an above-average amount of education on SACD, but he gave the impression it was only for people who bought $5000 stereos. He just laughed at my "what's with the dust?" comment.

Anyone else have similiar experiences? Or did I just happen to hit two 'bad' stores?

Rob

 

[Paul D Young]

You had to crutch way down or have a midget help you pick out titles.

Future DVD Audio sales slogan:

DVD Audio;
the preferred High Resolution Format of Little People

 

[Greg_Y]

Does that mean we'll be seeing some Randy Newman on DVD-A soon?

 

[Karl_Luph]

LOL!! I agree with you Robert. The Best Buy near me had the same kind of setup stuck off in a blind corner in the back of the store on the opposite wall of the tv dept. Same schlocky little 2 channel setup and a cheesy little selection of discs. I've seen this kind of weak kneed candyass promotion of a new product (like MFSL records) done before back in the 70's at some discount audio outlets. Needless to say, this is probably better left up to being promoted at your high end audiophile stores where the salespeople are actually educated enough about the product that they can market it.

 

[Rachael B]

Rob, it's pretty typical...sorry to say.

 

[LanceJ]

There IS a Randy Newman dvd-audio available (for about 6 months now. Includes a 192kHz stereo track): http://www.dvdangle.com/dvd_audio/qu...ittleCriminals
LJ

 

[Greg_Y]

Lance, I was being facetious, i.e. I was making a joke.
Randy Newman had a hit in the '70s with "Short People."

 

[KeithH]

Robert, what you observed is pretty typical of every Best Buy and Circuit City I have been to, I'm afraid. Best Buy's DVD-Audio selection is actually pretty decent, but their SACD selection is variable from store to store and when you go there. For a long time last year, Best Buy stores were getting no new SACD titles. Then they started getting in two copies of each new Sony title. Unfortunately, once they have sold those two copies, they don't seen to replenish their stock. So, I only see new stock of Sony SACDs when new titles come out. On the plus side, Best Buy recently got in some of the new Universal SACDs. For the most part, I have been happy with Best Buy lately. They could be doing a lot worse. Segue...
...Circuit City is a disaster for DVD-Audio and SACD in my opinion. For a few months early last year, Circuit City was stocking new Sony SACD titles. However, that practically stopped completely around last May or June. I remember Circuit City getting in the Mary Chapin Carpenter time*sex*love SACD when it came out last spring, but it was among the last titles they got in for a long time. In the past six or seven months, the only new Sony SACD they have stocked is the Bruce Springsteen two-disc live set. The SACD kiosks have the same old Sony titles, most of which are in the cardboard slipcases, not the plastic ones. That's a dead giveaway to the age of the title. Finally, Circuit City has not gotten in any of the Universal SACDs. :frowning:
Circuit City only set up DVD-Audio kiosks within the past two or three months. They have a paltry selection. I have not seen Circuit City adding any DVD-Audio discs to the kiosks.
While Best Buy is far from ideal for SACD and DVD-Audio, they are much, much better than Circuit City. In the end, just go to either store, buy your discs, and get out. I certainly wouldn't advise anyone to ask employees of either store for information on either format. You're wasting your time if you do.

 

[Iver]

Paul D,

I like your slogan and the words you chose to refer to people who do NOT have to CRUTCH down to reach the SACD's.

-- Iver

 

[DennisK]

I see the same thing at my local Best Buy and Circuit City. What's odd about Circuit is that they have a great selection of both SACD and DVD-A on their web site. I've gotten several titles there and they're usually cheaper (and had free shipping when I ordered).

 

[KeithH]

Dennis, agreed with regards to circuitcity.com. In some cases, an SACD is a dollar or two cheaper than the corresponding CD. At least the web site has good stock.