Think you can get it cheaper? Maybe. But you might pay for it. 05/15/2009
With the global reach of the Internet, consumers are able to find pretty much anything they can think of somewhere in the world. Some items are very rare and therefore very expensive; some are only made overseas; and some are semi-legal knockoffs of original items with questionable origin and wildly varying quality.
When it comes to home theater and home audio components, it’s true that the individual pieces can be purchased from overseas companies for considerably less than you’d pay from your professional integrator. EBay has no end of middlemen in the U.S. who will get you what you need shipped from who knows where, and make a profit from the transaction. One of the oldest sayings is the most applicable here – you get what you pay for.
Generally speaking, any speakers, receivers, Blu-ray disc players, TVs, or surround sound systems purchased from these types of dealers come with built-in headaches. They don’t come with instruction manuals, or if they do, they’re in a foreign language or haphazardly translated into something resembling English. They have no warranties, guarantees, or refunds. They’re often incompatible with one another. And don’t think you’re done purchasing just yet – odds are that you’ll be buying cables and adapters you’ve never even heard of just to plug everything in. If something goes wrong, who can you going to call? The dealer from who-knows-where washes their hands of the deal as soon the boxes are shipped.
It’s true you can save some money buying equipment www.cheapblahblahblah.com, but really, if you’re looking to set up the best home theater, home audio system, or home automation system, then it’s worth it to invest the money and get certified components with plenty of accurate documentation, protection, customer support, and the recognition factor. Purchasing equipment without these can end up costing you more in the long run.
Seriously – are your friends going to be at all impressed with your Zony system?
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