ML at Future Shop? Really?
I visited a FS store near me last night to listen to some ML's that they had in stock. I have had a pair of CLS II's for quite a few years and just love 'em but want to move them downstairs to a room I'm building so a pair of Vistas would be perfect for the upstairs room. I've been a loyal customer of the local dealer for years but decided to give FS a shot.
To say I was disappointed is a significant understatment. The salesman knew little of the brand and even less of the effects of room, amplification and set-up have on speakers. They couldn't be as bad as they sounded. Even moving them to a more suitable location didn't help much but it was difficult to tell since there isn't a room in which to listen, just an open area - open to the couple arguing over the price of the massage chair situated in the prime listening spot, or the other couple discussing the fridge about ten feet away. The kicker was the suggestion from the salesman that it was the source of the music that was the problem - a Telarc recording. Must of been! It couldn't have been the "high end" Yamaha receiver driving them, or the $hitty little no name wire connecting them, or the cheap Sony cd player, or the room, the other speakers in the room, the placement, the ambient noise... 'nuff said.
Hey ML! If you want to keep the brand's name as good as (most) of your speakers then either train the people selling your product or keep your product in stores where the people actually know what they're talking about. Just my two cents but whoever made the decision to allow ML product to be sold in these stores should get a kick in the dangly bits. It seems like a case of market share grab to increase share return at the cost of long term company viability. Might need a rethink...
