Sound Advice: Street prices change frequently

Q I went to the store to see the Magellan RoadMate 1470 GPS you recommended recently. It was selling for $250, much more than the "street price" you mentioned. What is the "street price," and how do I get it?

RON ZABILKA, PINE CITY, MINN.

A The term "street price" means the typical going rate for the product. There are often huge swings between the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) and the prices at which you can actually buy the product.

Some products, such as those from Apple and Bose, always sell at or close to MSRP because of contractual agreements. Even if you buy them online, the best discount you will usually see is free shipping or a similar perk.

An example of a product where there can be dramatic differences is headphones. I have been researching high-quality audiophile headphones. Two of the most highly regarded models are the Audio-Technica ATH-AD700 and the AKG K702. The ATH-AD700 headphones have an MSRP of $250 but sell for $92 online. The AKG K702 headphones have an MSRP of $539 but sell for $277.

The street price of the Magellan RoadMate 1470 has seen a lot of shifting lately. When I wrote the column, Amazon.com was selling it for $158 and Best Buy for $179, hence the $160 to $180 street price range. When I received your e-mail, Best Buy had it for $249 and Amazon for $189. The week of Thanksgiving, Best Buy had it for $149 and Amazon had it for $138. Earlier this week, Best Buy had it for $170 and Amazon for $145. At $145, the RoadMate 1470 rates as an impulse buy, not only for its inherent goodness but for how much better it is than a typical GPS unit at that price.

Hearing difficulties Q We recently bought an HDTV -- a 42-inch Toshiba with a new HDTV cable box from Comcast. I am hearing-impaired, so I use the closed captioning on the cable networks but cannot get it to work. Do you have any advice?

RUSSELL L.

A Check your cable box. There should be a setting in the configuration menus that turns closed captions on and off. I've even seen a Comcast box where you can change the closed captions' text color, font shape and font size.

In my experience, this menu is not easily found and sometimes requires pressing several buttons at once to access it. Check the cable box manual, or contact your cable provider to learn more.

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