I made my first visit to a high end audio store this weekend. I initially was just going to replace my broken receiver at Best Buy but only saw alot of home theater equiment and couldn't find a sales man (not that I would trust them) and gave up.

I then went to a store that I know used to carry higher end stuff. Well even though the sales man said that they carry the high end audio stuff, for some reason he never really showed me. I may have confused him when he asked my budget and didn't really have an answer. Even though I said I was looking for audio the guy demoed a home theater system that you, can " punch this button and its now a stereo". It was an $800 Yamaha and was run through some $800 Polk floor speakers ( sorry, I didnt remember the models #'s) Well my first impression was that it sounded very good to me, much better than my 25 year old Technics (and other similar gear) cheap stereo. I probably would be ok with this setup but it still seemed I was paying for things I didn't really want.

I discovered this site and decided to at least look into a real audio store. I noticed alot of good comments on Paradigm Studio 20's v.3 here so I went to Audio Concepts here in Dallas. The salesman payed alot of attention to me when i described my goals. He seemed to ask all the right questions, like what size room and what not. He hooked me up with a Nad integrated amplifier (a new one with reciever built in) and a room very similar to the one I will be using, at least size wise. I was very impressed. This is the first time I have ever listened to a good system. I could immediatly hear alot of things on some familiar cd's that i had never heard before.

But, I was concerened by the over all brightness of the sound. I described the sound to him as direct and in my face for lack of the terminology. He suggested " to much presence" and I guess that could describe what I was hearing. He came back with Paradigm Atom speakers. These speakers did not have the in your face directness as the Studio 20's but all the nice stuff was gone too. He hooked up another pair, ( I think it was the monitor , another paradigm.) and it was kind of a compromise. Some of the detail was back and also some of the directness, but i was now missing the good things about the Studio 20's and he hooked these back up for me.

I listened for a bit and asked would it be silly to maybe turn the treble down. I really liked his answer here. "If you have to mess with the controls then this is not the right sound for you. The amplifier is supposed to work with the speakers and any tone control input is a compromise". I at this point have alot of trust in this guy. I knew going in from hearing their advertising that they sell sytems and are really serious about getting people what they want and need.

He then hooked me up with a Linn system, I didn't ask the model number (or price) but I thought this system had a really "punchy" bass sound that I didn't like at all. About this time I had to leave to meet some friends, the sales man said that is good since you really shouldn't demo speakers for more than 45 minutes or so anyway. I am going to head back next weekend. He said he had some ideas to try on me.

Well after a pretty long introduction, I am going to finally get to to my questions. The salesman said the system I was listening was fairly well balanced for the price range and was surprised by my reaction to the presence, and brightness. Is it because this better audio equipment is the first time I have heard this high frequency detail? I remember it took me quite awhile to get used to cd's over records. Is this another similar leap, where I have to attune my ears to hearing all the detail before I can enjoy the music.

I talked to a friend who said I would need a Sub. I am reluctant because I usually don't like alot of bass in my music ( my friend is a bass player hehe ). Also I live in an apartment and do not really want to emphasis the bass. I have read that the Studio 20's are not a full range speaker and are a bit bright sounding. I really liked the detail though and have only heard good things about them. I don't really have a budget set, I told the salesman if he could make me happy for $1000 that would be nice. If it costs twice that or more then I can be convinced. Well the Nad/ Studio 20 system with connects is probably at 2k and that is fine. I need some advice on other speakers to try, Audio Concepts carries several other lines of all price ranges. Is a floor speaker going to make a difference over a stand mount small box ( i'm sure the answer is yes a difference but what difference).

Another question is what other high end audio stores are there in Dallas in case I don't find what I need at Audio Concepts. I have been looking around on the web and on the yellow pages but its hard to find who carries the good stuff. I was really impressed with the salesman I had and hope I can buy from him, but would like to have alternatives.

I have learned alot in the couple days I have been reading up on this web site. I have never payed much attention to Hi-Fi equipment before but as an amatuer musician feel I have a pretty good ear. I have done some recording and mixing and I think I can learn about sound and can pay attention to detail. Any advice that you hardcore audiophiles can provide will be appeciated.

I guess my plans of buying a cheap replacement receiver are out the window. I can afford a much better system than what I have, and don't know why I really never thought about upgrading before. I don't want to go the trial and error method and buy something that I won't be happy with long term. If it is getting used to hearing the detail that is bothering me then I am willing to take the chance that I will learn to like it. It sounds like I just need to listen to alot more stuff before I make my decision.