yamapro Posted January 30, 2008 Posted January 30, 2008 (edited) I know why i try not to shop at JB... EVERY time i have been there (marion SA) in the last 18months there are too many customers, not enough sales people and not enough cashiers. On top of that they like to change the entire layout of the store around on a regular basis so you can never find anything without getting into a 10 person brawl for the attention of the 'nearest' sales person. Once you do find a sales person it becomes quickly apparent that they haven't got a damned clue about anything they are trying to sell (with exactly TWO exceptions in the last 18 months) and are actually out of stock of that one CD that you originally came in to get (before being distracted by the lovely 50" display that someone has set to a SD broadcast of lawnbowls) and just in case you wanted an Amp or some speakers or a new DVD player you can't actually listen or demo any of the gear. Except the speakers, which are poorly setup and running off a $300 AVR fed by a nasty Chinese DVD player, they also happen to be positioned on a shelf - 6 feet above your ear height, in the loud and busy main shop floor...right next to a poor consumer trying to concentrate real hard and get his head around the difference between an interlaced and non interlaced signal, not to mention resolution and how exactly HD DVD and BD differ from each other as well as regular DVD - And how this will work with his 42" SD LG plasma he bought from them a year ago because it had a HD tuner that he was told was excellent. So he isn't too happy when the sales droid puts on some crazy techno track at full volume as the cheap receiver clips horrendously while trying to drive some Jensen speakers that weren't what you wanted to hear anyway. Of course as your head aches and your ears bleed he grins, shows you the thumbs up and writes down his best price if you buy the speakers you didn't want today...of course he is only writing as you can no longer hear anything thanks to the 184db fog horn blast in the middle of the aforementioned track... Now if you just want to buy a simple box and already know what you want then it may be worth going thru the rig moral of getting a droid to get you what you want and then lining up for 11 hours to pay for the damn thing, before having a security guard stop you for a random check at the exit. Personally i would rather go to a specialist with comfy surrounds, proper demo facilities and someone to set things up, offer advice and both greet and leave you with a smile. Especially when, having decided what you now wish to purchase you can negotiate a fair price to within a whisker of what JB or HN would have eventually let you out of the store with. For me I can't understand why anyone DOES shop at JB... I mean if you already know what you want the best price can be had with a mouse click or two from the comfort of your own home... but hey if people like the JB/Walmart experience then good luck to 'em Edited January 30, 2008 by yamapro
lazydesi Posted January 30, 2008 Posted January 30, 2008 michael_c said: Hi Everybody,The Toshiba website lists Adelaide company HiFi Acoustics as a Toshiba reseller, but the phone number listed is disconnected and I can't find any reference to HiFi Acoustics in www.whitepages.com.au. Have they closed/shut up shop? Michael. I think the one at Hind marsh Square is closed
Mining Man Posted January 30, 2008 Posted January 30, 2008 desi said: I think the one at Hind marsh Square is closed Is that the place that became Grenfell HiFi, near Sony Central? I know the HiFi place in Prospect (Challenge?) was still stocking the Toshiba J35 (HD PVR) when I was there last year (albeit in May), so maybe worth giving them a call.
Starcat Posted January 30, 2008 Posted January 30, 2008 Update: Got a call from Retravision @ 3:30pm today. new XE1 player had arrived and in stock and ready for pickup. (dont know what all the excuses about before) Just opened it up - The Bourne Supremacy bundled inside. Now for setup on TW1000!
yamapro Posted January 30, 2008 Posted January 30, 2008 Mining Man said: Is that the place that became Grenfell HiFi, near Sony Central?I know the HiFi place in Prospect (Challenge?) was still stocking the Toshiba J35 (HD PVR) when I was there last year (albeit in May), so maybe worth giving them a call. Nah HiFi Acoustics were in Hindmarsh square - near the Cinema. They had been around forever... but sadly the older HiFi stores seem to be Dinosaurs of the industry and nearly extinct other than Challenge at prospect and Blackwood HiFi (and Jim Tate Stereo on goodwood rd which caters mostly to the 'boutique' end of the market) the only other true 'specialist' type shops are probably A2V and SVS who both have 'sprung up' in the last couple of years (albeit with some familiar faces) and of course Grenfell HiFi who have been around forever (i remember going into their original store in the late 80's with my old man) who seem to completely reinvent themselves and their product lines every couple of years... All in all, apart from a couple of excellent places which are well and truly spread out the HiFi HT scene in Adelaide is pretty bleak from a retail point of view... and the few decent stores have most of the brands carved up between them with each store having their own exclusives and so not much competition
Battler009 Posted January 30, 2008 Posted January 30, 2008 Chesty said: Seriously you dont need a receipt. Just go into your local Jb and say you want one and only are willing to pay $530. You will have no trouble. It really depresses me when people are all excited at buying one of these and are trying to save $60 extra when many of us here paid 1000 or more on them, good luck to you if you can get it at these great prices, but i don't see the need to stress as they are already good value
abk_in_bris Posted January 30, 2008 Posted January 30, 2008 Clive Peeters in Aspley had about 6 of them when I stopped by on Monday to do other shopping. I'm sure they haven't sold them all. Give 'em a call. abk
Starscream Posted January 30, 2008 Posted January 30, 2008 Okay. I took the "defective" XE-1 back to the shop. Told them the problem. Freezing, shuddering, locking up, etc. They wanted to make sure that it was defective and wanted to test it. I said no problems and I even brought the two DVDs in question.(Cinderella Man and Little Miss Sunshine. Both brand new and fresh out of their heatshrink wrap). They connnected it up and as per the settings I had at home (HDMI output, up to 1080p, etc) Put the DVD in, played fine for a while, then froze up and locked up (in less than two minutes). They blamed the DVDs and because it was due to the resolution they were recorded at. (I wanted to say WTF? Are you crazy?) I said no it's not. It's the player. They are both brand new DVDs (no scratches). Go test them on another Toshiba HD-DVD player. They tested on the next Toshiba HD-DVD player, the next model down from the XE-1 (the EP-1 I think?) Played for about 3 minutes (with the settings at 1080p, etc). No problems. They then wanted to test the DVDs on their display XE-1. I said, "Go for it". Guess what? It locked up their display model as well! I wasn't game to upgrade the firmware to 2.51 as they did end up testing my XE-1 against their display XE-1 and if there were different settings (1080p 24 hz) they could say I was to blame for it being broken. I was offered another XE-1, but I had the option of a refund. Took the refund. Bad Toshiba batch? Who knows. I'm in the market for a Pioneer LX-60D now.....
hddvduser Posted January 30, 2008 Posted January 30, 2008 Starscream said: Okay.I took the "defective" XE-1 back to the shop. Told them the problem. Freezing, shuddering, locking up, etc. They wanted to make sure that it was defective and wanted to test it. I said no problems and I even brought the two DVDs in question.(Cinderella Man and Little Miss Sunshine. Both brand new and fresh out of their heatshrink wrap). They connnected it up and as per the settings I had at home (HDMI output, up to 1080p, etc) Put the DVD in, played fine for a while, then froze up and locked up (in less than two minutes). They blamed the DVDs and because it was due to the resolution they were recorded at. (I wanted to say WTF? Are you crazy?) I said no it's not. It's the player. They are both brand new DVDs (no scratches). Go test them on another Toshiba HD-DVD player. They tested on the next Toshiba HD-DVD player, the next model down from the XE-1 (the EP-1 I think?) Played for about 3 minutes (with the settings at 1080p, etc). No problems. They then wanted to test the DVDs on their display XE-1. I said, "Go for it". Guess what? It locked up their display model as well! I wasn't game to upgrade the firmware to 2.51 as they did end up testing my XE-1 against their display XE-1 and if there were different settings (1080p 24 hz) they could say I was to blame for it being broken. I was offered another XE-1, but I had the option of a refund. Took the refund. Bad Toshiba batch? Who knows. I'm in the market for a Pioneer LX-60D now..... mate i still think it is related to the firmware that was in the player
Starscream Posted January 30, 2008 Posted January 30, 2008 (edited) hddvduser said: mate i still think it is related to the firmware that was in the player I agree, but I wasn't game to upgrade the firmware in the event there was a fault with the player. Edited January 30, 2008 by Starscream
hddvduser Posted January 30, 2008 Posted January 30, 2008 Starscream said: I agree, but I wasn't game to upgrade the firmware in the event there was a fault with the player. mate that is normal , if something went wrong you would have to give you your money back any way or swap for a different player, if the sales people where smart they would have did the firmware update........ so you getting another player
The D-Train Posted January 30, 2008 Posted January 30, 2008 Starscream said: I'm in the market for a Pioneer LX-60D now..... Im a big fan of Pio as you can probably see by my gear but why go backwards in video/audio quality and away from HDM?
Starscream Posted January 30, 2008 Posted January 30, 2008 (edited) hddvduser said: mate that is normal , if something went wrong you would have to give you your money back any way or swap for a different player, if the sales people where smart they would have did the firmware update............ There in lies the problem. hddvduser said: so you getting another player We'll see how it goes..... but I'm bringing the same DVDs when I go shopping for another XE-1 though! Edited January 30, 2008 by Starscream
hddvduser Posted January 30, 2008 Posted January 30, 2008 mate my hdxe1 player every disc perfect , doesnt miss a beat.... 200 hddvd titles plus 3500 normal
Tweet Posted January 30, 2008 Posted January 30, 2008 hddvduser said: mate i still think it is related to the firmware that was in the player I'll agree with that too. When I upgraded the firmware from Version 2.0 to 2.5 my XE1 began to develop handshaking problems with my Z4 projector, this was cured when I upgraded to Version 2.7. My XE1 simply works flawlessly with this upgrade version. I would suppose the firmware of the 'defective' player was 2.5 and only needed an upgrade (to 2.5.1 and then) to 2.7 for perfect results. C.M
petetherock Posted January 30, 2008 Posted January 30, 2008 Collecting my XE1 next week, anyone knows where to get the 2.7 firmware? Seems 2.8 isn't all its cut out to be...
Mining Man Posted January 30, 2008 Posted January 30, 2008 yamapro said: Nah HiFi Acoustics were in Hindmarsh square - near the Cinema.They had been around forever... but sadly the older HiFi stores seem to be Dinosaurs of the industry and nearly extinct other than Challenge at prospect and Blackwood HiFi (and Jim Tate Stereo on goodwood rd which caters mostly to the 'boutique' end of the market) the only other true 'specialist' type shops are probably A2V and SVS who both have 'sprung up' in the last couple of years (albeit with some familiar faces) and of course Grenfell HiFi who have been around forever (i remember going into their original store in the late 80's with my old man) who seem to completely reinvent themselves and their product lines every couple of years... All in all, apart from a couple of excellent places which are well and truly spread out the HiFi HT scene in Adelaide is pretty bleak from a retail point of view... and the few decent stores have most of the brands carved up between them with each store having their own exclusives and so not much competition I remember going into HiFi Acoustics a few years back, but I hadn't ever noticed Grenfell HiFi. I thought they had sprung up about the same time HiFi Acoustics disappeared so assumed they had simply moved and renamed. Perhaps they went through a reinvention around the same time, and that is what alerted me to them. I bought my current AVR (Harman Kardon) from Revolver in Hyde Park, and was keen to establish a bit of a sales relationship with them. They closed about 6 months later. There's also the place on Magill Rd in Stepney, can't think of the name right now. Something AV??? Anyway, they're the place for HK now (and B&W), but no Toshiba I'm pretty sure. You're dead right - the scene in Adelaide is pretty bleak. How about Truscott's for HD DVD?
AndrewW Posted January 30, 2008 Posted January 30, 2008 Starscream said: I agree, but I wasn't game to upgrade the firmware in the event there was a fault with the player. They can't refuse warranty service/exchange on the player because you've upgraded the firmware. There's a big flyer in the box and in most discs cases telling you that you "may need to upgrade the firmware".
SDL Posted January 30, 2008 Posted January 30, 2008 AndrewW said: They can't refuse warranty service/exchange on the player because you've upgraded the firmware.There's a big flyer in the box and in most discs cases telling you that you "may need to upgrade the firmware". Correct, Firmware updates cannot void any warranties or responsibilities the seller has.
STiScott Posted January 31, 2008 Posted January 31, 2008 SDL said: Correct, Firmware updates cannot void any warranties or responsibilities the seller has. This is a good point actually, atleast for future reference. BUT is there a way they can tell if WE upgraded the F/W in way we wernt supposed, say maybe via disc and not the ethernet. I know the salesperson wont know this but maybe a tech will when they take it back. Any ideas on that?
AndrewW Posted January 31, 2008 Posted January 31, 2008 STiScott said: This is a good point actually, atleast for future reference. BUT is there a way they can tell if WE upgraded the F/W in way we wernt supposed, say maybe via disc and not the ethernet. I know the salesperson wont know this but maybe a tech will when they take it back. Any ideas on that? There is nothing wrong with firmware updates via disc. If you register with Toshiba they will send you the updates on CD (eventually ...).
STiScott Posted January 31, 2008 Posted January 31, 2008 AndrewW said: There is nothing wrong with firmware updates via disc.If you register with Toshiba they will send you the updates on CD (eventually ...). Thanks for that AndrewW. So register with Toshiba and get them to send out the discs even though SOME of us already have obtained the latest F/W versions, if a problem hits you go "I used the Toshiba Disc" . Thanks again.
tonyjg Posted January 31, 2008 Posted January 31, 2008 (edited) yamapro said: I know why i try not to shop at JB...EVERY time i have been there (marion SA) in the last 18months there are too many customers, not enough sales people and not enough cashiers. On top of that they like to change the entire layout of the store around on a regular basis so you can never find anything without getting into a 10 person brawl for the attention of the 'nearest' sales person. Once you do find a sales person it becomes quickly apparent that they haven't got a damned clue about anything they are trying to sell (with exactly TWO exceptions in the last 18 months) and are actually out of stock of that one CD that you originally came in to get (before being distracted by the lovely 50" display that someone has set to a SD broadcast of lawnbowls) and just in case you wanted an Amp or some speakers or a new DVD player you can't actually listen or demo any of the gear. Except the speakers, which are poorly setup and running off a $300 AVR fed by a nasty Chinese DVD player, they also happen to be positioned on a shelf - 6 feet above your ear height, in the loud and busy main shop floor...right next to a poor consumer trying to concentrate real hard and get his head around the difference between an interlaced and non interlaced signal, not to mention resolution and how exactly HD DVD and BD differ from each other as well as regular DVD - And how this will work with his 42" SD LG plasma he bought from them a year ago because it had a HD tuner that he was told was excellent. So he isn't too happy when the sales droid puts on some crazy techno track at full volume as the cheap receiver clips horrendously while trying to drive some Jensen speakers that weren't what you wanted to hear anyway. Of course as your head aches and your ears bleed he grins, shows you the thumbs up and writes down his best price if you buy the speakers you didn't want today...of course he is only writing as you can no longer hear anything thanks to the 184db fog horn blast in the middle of the aforementioned track... Now if you just want to buy a simple box and already know what you want then it may be worth going thru the rig moral of getting a droid to get you what you want and then lining up for 11 hours to pay for the damn thing, before having a security guard stop you for a random check at the exit. Personally i would rather go to a specialist with comfy surrounds, proper demo facilities and someone to set things up, offer advice and both greet and leave you with a smile. Especially when, having decided what you now wish to purchase you can negotiate a fair price to within a whisker of what JB or HN would have eventually let you out of the store with. For me I can't understand why anyone DOES shop at JB... I mean if you already know what you want the best price can be had with a mouse click or two from the comfort of your own home... but hey if people like the JB/Walmart experience then good luck to 'em HILARIOUS - BUT ACCURATE Quote Update: Got a call from Retravision @ 3:30pm today. new XE1 player had arrived and in stock and ready for pickup. (dont know what all the excuses about before)Just opened it up - The Bourne Supremacy bundled inside. You are tempting me MORE now..... (know its potluck - but I don't want to get Apollo 13 !!!) Edited January 31, 2008 by tonyjg
Volunteer Kazz Posted January 31, 2008 Volunteer Posted January 31, 2008 tonyjg said: (know its potluck - but I don't want to get Apollo 13 !!!) I don't know what everyone has against Apollo 13 it's a great movie.
tonyjg Posted January 31, 2008 Posted January 31, 2008 Kazz said: I don't know what everyone has against Apollo 13 it's a great movie. its a Tom Hanks and Ron Howard thingy.......
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