gofar99 Messages: 1949 Registered: May 2010 Location: Southern Arizona
Illuminati (5th Degree)
I agree as well. Lots of junk parading as quality equipment. My thoughts tend toward...if you can get it a big box store it will not be high end regardless of price. I have run into a few exceptions. On occasion Fry's Electronics has some decent stuff. I haven't seen anything at Best Buy for years that I would consider taking home. Do not be fooled by vintage brand names on new equipment either...most are now owned by companies that have nothing to do with the original companies.
All that said you can get some really fine equipment without going broke. Check out the various forums incl this one for ideas. There is a lot of vintage gear available that can run circles around new stuff at several times the cost. Still beware that not all sellers are up and up and just because something is "old or vintage" does not guarantee it will be great.