Anybody done business with or toured any of these HT stores? They seem to have made a recent thrust into the Bay area in the last year. They are also owned by Best Buy. BruceD
I just spent a few hours walking around in my local Magnolia Hi-Fi. I live in the Seattle area and they are one of the better A/V stores for browsing. I was approached a few times but the salespeople were never pushy. They sell a fairly wide range of equipment from Denon/Yamaha to Theta/Krell. I had a lot of fun listening to some SACDs on a pair of Martin Logan Prodigy towers in their new high end stereo room. Very nice. A few of my friends have had positive experiences purchasing gear from Magnolia but I stick mainly to online retailers if I have the choice. I don't mind the inconvenience of Internet dealers if I can save a bunch of money. - Jeff ------------------ My Homepage
I buy all of my A/V equipment at Magnolia in Oregon. The staff is very good and they will always try to work with to earn your businees.
Magnolia Hi-Fi started as a chain in the Pacific northwest. Their unique contribution to the buying experience is to bridge the very large gap between the pimple minded cookie cutter salesdroid stores and the boutique we don't want you here unless you are talking six figures shops. Magnolia somehow manages to carry a very broad range of equipment from the low end up to the high end. They do custom installation and give a fair price on an entry level DVD player. The sales staff in the stores I have visted have consistently been far more knowledgable (and I mean real info instead of sales parrotting) than other stores. The environment is conducive to a relaxed shopping experience. It's one of the few places where it is easy to strike up a long term relationship with a salesman. Customer service has been excellent. No, you can't expect them to always undercut the super discount center, but they can and do offer a good deal. I hope their California representation is similar to their standards in the Northwest. Recommended. ------------------ Guy Kuo Ovation Software, The Calibration Tool Source
I've also had a very good experience at Magnolia Hi Fi in Oregon. I've bought nearly all of my HT gear there. No pressure salespeople, are few of whom are quite knowledgeable, very good selection, and a decent price matchining competitiveness. The list prices are often MSRP or just hair below, but the salesfolks are almost always willing to deal, especially if you come in with a legit low bid from another B&M store.
