What are some of the best "Direct" Audio companies to buy from? It seems that you get good quality at a much cheaper price (no middleman)-any recommendations?
I guess Outlaw Audio would be one, correct?
Anonymous
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I've heard outlaw audio has great cables but they are locking and you may never get them off your components once you put them on-according to some comments on outlawaudio.com-but if you don't need to switch cables often as I do that might be ok.Anyway you don't need to buy from a direct company to get a great deal.Search yahoo shopping for specific products or try these links-hipposaudiovideo.com,bestpriceaudiovideo.com,saturdayaudio.com.Also try this website and pricegrabber.com.try to buy from an authorized dealer-often you will have to call for the best price.
Outlaw Audio is good for amps, preamps, etc. and will soon be coming out with a new model stereo receiver and eventually a replacement AV surround receiver for their old model.
Outlaw Audio designs, with their own engineers (and sometimes the help of others), and has OEM manufacturers build the product. Case in point for a collaboration is their new subwoofer, with was built in collaboration with Dr. Hsu, of Hsu subwoofers. And it is a great deal and looks good too.
Outlaw Audio doesn't make their own cables, just as most cable companies, who by them from cable and wire manufacturers and have them jacketted with their own logo'd plastic or other material.
I'm sure their cables are excellent anyway, as Outlaw Audio is more of an engineering and science-based company, rather than a tweako company. I've never seen Outlaw Audio make BS and dumb statements regarding their products. They strike me as honest and straightforward and give you excellent "bang" for the buck.
Ascend, Axiom, and Aperion are all very good speaker manufacturers that sell direct, like Dell is to computers. The $330/pr Ascends are certainly an amazing small bookshelf speaker at the price. They need a subwoofer for full-range listening, but there are so few speakers at any price level that can match them in accuracy and flat-line frequency response. That said, I wouldn't use them in a room that is too large.
Some of my fave online or phone dealers with good equipment are Kief's and The Sound Seller (in Marinette, WI). They both sell NAD and other quality products. They are authorized dealers, but you can get up to 20% off--and sometimes more. You can find good pricing at OneCall.com on certain products too.
Now there are places that are un-authorized dealers (no warranty, but often you can purchase warranties) that are even cheaper. To me that is fine on certain products, particularly those that aren't upgradeable. You might have a very difficult time getting a software or other upgrade from the manufacturer or the dealer.
My professional opinion is that you only buy mail order if you know what your buying. By that I mean, you better have a very good understanding of audio, and not just knowing a few specs. You need to know if the amp your buying will drive your speakers properly; you need to know if the speakers your buying will work in your listening room, with your related equipment; you need to know if the speakers your buying are too revealing for the components preceding it(this is a HUGE mistake many make) and so forth. If you feel comfortable making these decisions, go for it. One thing to keep in mind: you won't have a salesperson to "fix" anything YOU mess up.