I am looking at surround speakers and was wondering sonically how similar the HTR7000 was to the MPX. I know they can both be mounted in-wall if desired. No dealer in the area has them for demo and one of them has even said they are thinking of dropping Golden Ear altogether; clearly as most of the speakers they carry in their store cost more and are soically no better than the Golden Ear.

Any suggestions?

These are voiced for very similar performance, but they are not both in-walls. The HTR 7000 is an in-ceiling only speaker, and although the MPX could be used in the ceiling, it is really an in-wall speaker.

Regarding your dealer, seriously? Perhaps you could let us know who it is so we can put them out of their misery. We hate being associated with stupid.

I own the HTR 7000 which I upgraded from the Invisa 650. The 7000 are in ceiling and I am absolutely in love with them. Took some flack for the in ceiling solution but the look on my friends and families faces when they hear them is priceless. I love them! I haven't listened to the MPX because I could not mount them in the wall.

Moderator wrote: These are voiced for very similar performance, but they are not both in-walls. The HTR 7000 is an in-ceiling only speaker, and although the MPX could be used in the ceiling, it is really an in-wall speaker.

Regarding your dealer, seriously? Perhaps you could let us know who it is so we can put them out of their misery. We hate being associated with stupid.

Thanks for the input. Hard to believe. I own numerous B&W speakers in both the dedicated home theater room and for distributed audio throughout the house (most of which I had purchased from this dealer). When the theater was finished, I realized I needed to have a second center channel. Naturally, I picked up a pair of B&W to timbre match what was already there. I had also heard the Golden Ear in their store at their annual HT/Audio expo, so they agreed for me to audition a Super Center. For someone who owns Mark Levinson, Classe, B&W, etc I chose the Golden Ear. It just sounded better for its' application and could be blended nicely with what was there. So when I needed another pair for the surrounds, I went back. They were happy to push the B&W again, but now they have no Golden Ear to demo. I finally got them to cough up the MPX spec sheet. I then asked if I could at least demo them again? No install, just wire them up and put them on boxes to see how they would sound against the B&W. No dice. "...in fact, we are thinking of not carrying them anymore." This from the floor manager. Personally I think this is just a bunch of BS, as he does not speak for the owner and they are one of the most recognizable names in the business.

I think I will have to stick with the MPX (if I choose Golden Ear again), but I hate to buy something from them WITH NO RETURN POLICY!

Some dealers get "stuck" on one brand and are not willing to change with the times or embrace new opportunities. Which is unfortunate because the whole idea of a specialty a/v dealer is to press the limits of performance, for their customers' benefit. If specialty a/v dealers don't constantly investigate new products, and bring the best of those to their customers, who will? If your local specialty a/v dealer doesn't LISTEN to the stuff and make valid recommendations, who will? Certainly not Amazon or the big-box retailers. Its really quite pathetic. Probably also means the salesman is lining his pockets with "spiffs" from that brand. As long as we're on that theme, IMO, its totally backwards that big-box stores are first with new technology (that they don't understand and can't sell).

Sorry, I digress. No return policy on in-wall speakers is pretty much going to be the case anywhere - besides, once you cut the holes in the wall, what else are you going to do? I'm sure the B&W in-walls are very nice. The Invisa MPX are marvelous and immensely affordable. (The spec sheet is on our website, of course.) My suggestion, call the next closest GoldenEar dealer and order the speakers. They can ship them to you if you are too far away to pick them up. Don't reward the bad dealer.

Also, please use the new Personal Message (PM) feature to send me a note regarding the name of the dealer and the name of the salesman you were speaking with so we can prevent this from going on with other consumers. (The sales team tells me they know who it is and are prepared to take appropriate action, but it would be nice to confirm with you).

Thanks, sorry for the hassles, no excuse for that today.