I understand completely what you’re saying and you’re right.  The service industry has taken a massive nose dive right into the parking lot of Best Buy.  My generation thought they were smart by getting all the quality products cheap and proclaiming that the internet could tell them all they needed to know about their product.  OOPS!!!

So, where does the newbie go?  I mentioned in my second post that Crutchfield has one of the finest selections of audio components......except for speakers IMO.  When you buy from Crutchfield, you get lifetime over the phone support on that product.  They are a legit tech support operation that aids you not only in buying the product, but hooking it up as well if you need it.  Granted, there is no pro in your house listening and tweaking your system for you, but at the very least they will educate the customer on the fundamentals.  I’ve only bought a car amp from them, but I have used them before in another car installation and they’re on the ball.  Crutchfield is more to help a newbee that wants to learn, but that’s a ton more than you can expect from BB or CC.  They do not price match with Best Buy or Circuit City for this very reason.  They are a service oriented and more interested in happy customers and less into selling the customer anything and as much as they can.  They are all super nice to speak to as an added bonus.

Good points, but I got to vent on this one! We are a community of “I want everything and I want it cheap”. This is how the Big Box stores became so popular because everyone one is driven mostly on price. But in all of this, they have settled for less ultimately. We all complain that we have to outsource more and more of our nations manufacturing to Asia, but then we are not willing to pay more for what we buy to keep it local. There is this “good enough” attitude as well with a lot of things we do. But then people will pay thousands of dollars to watch a sports team play, but quibble over $400.00 to have their $8000.00 60” Plasma hung correctly and set up tp give peak performance.

Respective to your Denon, this is a good example of “you better know what you are doing to set it up” scenario. I have a Denon AVR887 in my kids backroom with some Klipsch RSX4’s, RCX4 and an RW8..great sounding system...took soem tweaking to get it to sound clean. The Denon receiver had the “auto tune” feature but even after thatit still lacked a lot. I had to balance the system by ear to get all the channels to balance and to get the sub to not be muddy or over emphasized. Of course every source selection had to be configures and then there is Zone 2 which has its own level of confusion :-)

I know that I have freinds who buy this stuff and when they unbox it and set it up, they rarely get it all correct. To do it right, you really need to understand the basics or you simply will not get what you should get out of it. I am not trying to be a snob, but this stuff is not plug and play..it is not rocket science...but it is not plug and play (unless it is bose..then it is plug and pray).

SO abck to the original discussion, what does the “newbie” do, were does he go, to get solid advice on a new speaker system? Is the advice Plug and pray, or is it to contact professionals in the industry and get experienced advice?

I don’t think you can totally phase out the big box stores.  Around where I live, big box is king and have put over 50% of the real deal places out of business.  No, I didn’t get Paradigms from BB or CC, and neither did I get my Denon receiver from them.  I bought my Denon at the real store that was moving out of BB and CC’s back yard to get more business and then went out of business.  The place I bought my Paradigms is like one of only three stores left of it’s kind around here.  They’re still in business because they sell Paradigm almost exclusively. 

So what’s my point?  Maybe not in your part of town, but in mine I now have slim pickins’ of professional places that carry anything different from BB, UE, CC, or American.  Is all their stuff crap?  No.  Denon is still the same at the big box places as it is at the HT pro’s.  Speakers on the other hand, BB, CC and UE has nothing to offer me but Def Tech and low end Polk.  American does however carry Energy speakers that are pretty nice sounding, but alittle pricey.  This seasoned audio guy has a hard time offering the people he knows a wide variety of component options.  However like you said , a great HT system is not made from components alone, but placement, calibration, acoustics of the room, and the right type and size of components.  Even with having fewer choices of quality components, my friends not only ask me what they should get, but want me to set it up for them as well.  That is where BB and CC stop.  They’ll sell you the stuff but how you gonna get it set up properly?  Firedog, Magnolia, Geek Squad?  Ok, you have sound and picture, see ya later sir....oh and thanks for the money too.  I think Mr. Audio sounds a lot better and cheaper.

So back to the point, what do us “seasoned” audio people tell the “newbie”? My advise is to set a budget and then go see a couple of professional home theater companys and see what they can get for their money. The internet, Best buy or the Bose store is not the best place to start. There are plenty of brands in all levels of cost that sound good, look good and their is usually a speaker line that fits a need or environment.

I’m not saying Bose is good at all and would never advise anyone of my friends to buy Bose.  Think about this though.  Bose is small, easy to set up with 2 year old controls to operate it so that any ADULT can operate it.  Most people are more impressed with speakers that are small and sound like they’re large....or may seem that they are comparable.  It’s the “MAGIC” factor that sells people Bose junk.  Now, Bose advertises a ton and wants everyone to think that when you think small speakers, think Bose.  Plus, due to the marketing genius, they are a high-end name to non-audio enthused listeners.  Ebay tells the story well.  Look at how much Bose junk goes for on ebay.  Semi-casual listeners have never heard of Paradigm, Energy, Warfdale, B&W;....you get the idea, and they don’t wanna know because they already think that Bose is the best you can buy.  Where all the audiophiles that stick their noses up in the air lost sight of and don’t wanna see is that listening is a matter of personal preference.  Yes, Bose is overpriced, under-built, and overrated, but it’s what most people know and want.  I’ve had friends and family ask me how they can get a system that sounds like mine, and I tell them just the cost of my main speakers alone which was only 680 bucks and they look at me like I’m out of my mind.  680 BUCKS!!! And even after I add the cost of the other speakers and receiver, it was still less money than a Bose gay alternative Lifestyle Acousti-### system, but they would rather buy Bose than Paradigm monitor 9s even after hearing them.  To them it sounds the same, and since they think it sounds the same they would rather have something they can’t see hardly than have those horrible BIG and BULKY SPEAKERS everywhere.  To each their own.  It’s not my money.