New Ultimate Electronics store...what to expect? (1 Viewer)

[RichardM]

There is a new store called Ultimate Electronics opening soon. These are new to the St.Louis area and I am wondering what they will be like. What lines of stereo equipment and speakers do they stock? I am shopping for a simple system for my mother-in-law, the local hi-fi store has their yearly sale on Paradigm/Denon this Sat, but I am curious what the new store may offer.
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[Chuck Kent]

I haven't purchased anything from them but I looked thru the Las Vegas store about 2 months ago and I was pretty impressed. They were very friendly and even gave my friends and I bottled water as we window-shopped (the temp. was about 100 degrees!) My 1/2 hour visit made me wish there was a UE near me.
Here's a link
http://www.ultimateelectronics.com/

 

[Mike Witt]

Richard, where is this store going to be located. I don't live in St. Louis, but get there from time to time. I live in MO and have relatives that live in St. Louis.
I've been to a couple of Ultimate Electronics stores and have come away pretty impressed. They carry some pretty high end gear along with the mass market stuff. I've seen Krell and Martin Logan gear there for example. I believe they also carry Denon, Yamaha, Sony, Pioneer, Panasonic, Infinity and most of the other mass market stuff. I don't remember what other speakers they carry other than ML and Infinity - there were several others though.
They do seem to have pretty good customer service as well. When I've been at these stores it has been on a out-of-town business trip and I was up front with them that I wasn't from the area and was just looking. They still spent time with me, showed me an SACD and DVD Audio setup - even gave me a free soda. I believe "Soundtracks" electronics stores are the same company.

 

[Mike Witt]

Oops, never mind the question about location - just follow the link provided by Chuck to find out...

 

[Mark_R]

Ultimate has been in Oklahoma for a while. Originally they were Soundtrak. How/When they changed, I don't remember. I have never bought anything from them personally. A co-worker of mine bought a 32" widescreen Vega. It had problems and had to be replaced. He had a few hassles, but in the end, he wound up with a new 36" at no additional charge. I believe the general feeling around here (imho) is if you have to deal with customer service its a royal pain, but in the end they'll do whats right. Keep in mind I don't have any personal experience. I am interested in others comments, as one day I hope to get a RPTV, and they are one of the places I'll be looking.
They have the largest selection of RPTVs in store. Like all other B&Ms, I don't think the RPTVs were setup appropriately. They also have LCD panels, speakers, & receivers. I even saw a few projectors set up in one of their audtion rooms. The store in Tulsa had about 4 audition rooms, each with different selections of audio equipment.

 

[Mike_T_]

We have one in Cedar Rapids, IA. They have a great selection of merchandise. The staff is somewhat aware of what they're talking about, more than Best Buy that's for sure. They also have great specials like 10% off and 15 month 0% financing.

 

[KeithH]

Richard, I find it interesting that Ultimate Electronics is coming to St. Louis. They are a chain out in the western US. When visiting a friend from college last year who was living in Utah at the time, I went into an Ultimate Electronics store. Like Chuck and Mike, I was very impressed with the store. They have equipment for all budgets, and the store I was in was very large and well laid out.
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My:
HT Pics ; Equipment List ; DVD Collection ; LD Collection
KeithH: Saving the Home Theater World Before Bedtime

 

[David Judah]

They are Soundtrack in Colorado, Audio King in Minnesota, and Ultimate Electronics everywhere else--they are all the same company.
They carry a wide mix from simple Home Theater in a box to Krell, Martin Logan, and Sunfire. They are a 40+ store chain that incredibly accounts for close to 10% of nationwide HDTV sales. Video-wise they carry everything from 9" TVs to Plasmas and Front projectors(LCD&DLP).
They also carry Boston Acoustics and Definitive Technology speakers in addition to the ones that were mentioned by Mike.