So, I've posted here before regarding my reservations about the BS5.  It's not that I think it's a bad piece of hardware, it just isn't my preferred choice, especially in comparison to other systems out there.  For some folks, it will suit them just fine.

That being said, I still find myself drawn to the design.  The sleek lines are certainly attractive and the satisfying way the wheel spins is its own cool little effect.  So, while near my local B&O shop today, I popped in for a few minutes just to check it out once again.  

The salesperson was someone I had seen before, but had not worked with.  We chatted for a few minutes about the BS5 and I came away with a negative impression having nothing to do with the unit, but everything to do with the salesman's approach.  I told him up front that while I thought it was cool, I preferred a touchscreen interface.  From there, it was clear he was on the defensive and argued in favor of the BS5 from that stance on several different design aspects.  I've been a tech guy for years and have rarely encountered this type of attitude.  Sure, I've come across the snooty thing that some salespeople are prone to (especially in specific high end HT shops I have visited) and it's not uncommon for salespeople to defend their products, but this was clearly beyond that.

Hey, maybe he was having a bad day or maybe he had heard some knocks on B&O stuff one too many times lately (though I definitely was not bad mouthing the BS5, just saying I preferred another design style).  That being said, I don't think you can afford to do that, certainly not in this economy.  Even if you feel that the chance of making a sale is small, you're certainly not going to close the deal by defending the product emotionally.  Rather, suggesting that I spend some more time with it, showing off some features that you think I may not be aware of, etc would all have been better routes to take.  

As an example, I have a local B&W dealer whom I have bought various non-B&W products from over the last few years.  While I evaluated various models over the years, I never found one that sounded right to me.  However, because of how great the dealer was, every time I was in the market for a speaker purchase I would pay them a visit and include them as part of my consideration.  It finally paid off as I found a pairing I loved at their shop recently and happily bought them (pair of 803Ds and an MC252 amp).  

Anyways, I just thought I would post about this.  I won't say that this has soured me on the BS5 completely, but it certainly doesn't make me want to buy anything from that guy....

Sounds familiar. About 8 months ago I decided to give the BS5 a look, after seeing it on several shop floors. I did know a little from the then published spec sheet, but figured it was so good looking, I might be tempted if I gave it whirl - even if only on the shop floor.

I asked him if he give me a little "tour" of the thingy while I was asking questions. "But of course," he said (not really, he was a dane, so he went "Jo, selvfølgelig" instead ,ha ha).

My first question was "How much storage does that thing have, to test the waters at first with him.

Of course he went for the, well, idiotic sales pitch that this was "the future", and cd's are dead and so on. I decided then and there to stop him. I asked him facetiously where I could download 16bit/44.1kHz albums, and that I already have quite a few cd's and quite a lot of audio. He continued undaunted. Only when I asked him, if it was connected to a sort of iTunes store, since cd's were "dead". No, of course it isn't, he said, but you have a computer for that. Sigh, yes, of course I have ..

I asked him how high resolution it supported, and he decided that that was the cue to talk about the "superior" audio card in the BM5. Of course that was of no interest to me, because at the time I was contemplating the BL5s (I'm waiting for the wife to accept still), and considering how poorly the BS5/BL9s sounded in the shop (extremely bass heavy and all around muddy sound with practically no high end), I really don't think he could sell me on the audio quality (I work with audio for a living, btw).

He continued to talk "MP3s", and then and there I figured I'd tell him that "I don't listen to lossy music at all. All my tracks, be it music or my own recordings (not music) are either in lossless or uncompressed pcm - i.e. wav-files".

He looked at me as if I was an alien that had just landed my ship in his backyard and replied "But MP3s are lossless too," and after it was my turn to look like I was surprised by an alien on the porch, he added "If you want the best audio quality from your Mp3s, this has the best audio card."

I seriously didn't feel like talking to the bloke anymore, but decided to ask if it could subscribe to podcasts, since it "was the future". "No, it can't. People don't want to listen to podcasts on their music system. And this is what this is: A music system".

Seldomly do I enter a shop where a sales person listens so little, have so little grasp on what "people" want, and an arrogant attitude to seal the deal.

I'd still like a BS5, even with (some of) its shortcomings, but it took me a while to shake that experience. Fortunately I live in DK, where there are (were? It seems Fona/Fredgaard has swapped all the B&O for Samsung ...), giving me a choice of which dealer I'm going to buy from.

I don't want to look at whatever I end up with and think of a bad experience. I'm only going to buy from someone who a) knows what he's doing, b)Listens, c)has left the attitude at home. Oh, and of course can give me a good price, although, I'm willing to pay full price, if the other things are top notch.