I think it will be great for all of us to share our experiences with great guys in this industry, helping others to make easier decisions the next time they need to buy equipment.
My recomendations:
Tyler Lashbrook, from Tyler Acoustics Mark O´Brien, from Rogue Audio Vincent Chen, from Emotiva Clint Hartman, from Wyred 4 Sound Brian Ding and Enrico Castagnetti, from Rythmik Audio David at www.littledot.net
John Iconomou of Audio Salon in Coral Gables, FL. John is extremely knowledgeable and easy to deal with. His enthusiasm is contagious and he carries some of the finest product lines out there.
Another vote for Lou at Daedalus Audio. Is this a competition by the way, if so, Lou is winning?
nowones mentioned Fritz at Fritz speakers, nothings too much trouble and Herbie at Herbies Audiolab.
Any coincidence that these are all one man and his dog outfits, where you get to speak to the head honcho, instead of the senior vice president for customer relations, or whatever?
-Gordon Rankin of Wavelength Audio. Gordon emailed me back within 30 minutes regarding amplifiers that he knew were purchased second-hand and offered his phone # if I needed any more assistance. -Larry of Paragon Sight And Sound. Larry help me with a Doshi Alaap preamplifier that he knew was purchased second-hand. He then phoned me back with the pin information on a cable that he realized was being constructed by someone else. (XLR to RCA) -Joe Levy of Tempo Electric. Constructed the above mentioned cable and speaker cables. Excellent phone conversations with him! -Jerry Ramsey of Audio Magic. I purchased his Oracle, used and not from him. He gaev his time freely, I did purchase from him 2 Clairvoyant Liquid Air PCs and same 1 IC with nice pricing. I am Interested in buying a couple more from him soon. Extremely nice phone conversation with a very interesting guy! Fully positive experiences all around! They all gave great SOUND advice!!!
Jeffrey is amazingly different. Sold me on speakers he does not sell since I could not afford the ones he sold! Always open to talk music. He's in the business cause he loves music. His extensive knowledge and his willingness to share it shows that. And it really doesn't hurt that the brands he represents are great too!
@Jameswei I know. It is pretty rare these days to get that kind of service. I am lucky enough to live in the San Francisco, which is not too long of a drive.
"Ray Leung of Von Gaylord audio. Ray went above and beyond when I bought my equipment from him.
"He came over, tuned and installed everything to perfection. He then came by a couple weeks later to make sure that everything was to my expectations."
Wow! That is real caring personalized service. I would have been so pleased if any of the designers of my stuff had visited with me and helped me with my set-up. Ah well.
I have not had a poor experience with any one I know. There are standouts: Nelson Pass, Siegfried Linkwitz, Luke Manley, Steve Deckert, Ed Stewart,... And these guys have their own reasons for it; Pass for the sheer fun while experiencing unforgettable audio, Linkwitz for patience, guidance, and thoroughness, Manley for stepping up and delivering customer service above expectation, Deckert for promise and the guarantee of it, and Ed Stewart for good, fun, off-the-beaton-path products, and stories. The fact that all provided me with the greatest audio experiences of my life is grand.
A great guy for repairs of gear in NY is Scott Gramlich of SG Custom Sound. Scott has fixed speakers, turntables and tube amps for me. He has always been honest and sincere with advice.
I can't speak highly enough of the service given by Wyred 4 Sound. I have spoke to Clint a couple of times and to EJ once. They not only have an excellent product, they have customer skills second to none!
John Baloff @ Theta Digital The folks at Martin Logan Larry Zurowski at Magnum Dynalab Jeff Poor at Balanced Audio Technology Paul McGowan at P.S.Audio
As for down-to-earth dealers who try hard to understand the needs of it's customers. Fred Kat of Katli Audio in Chino Hills, California is one of the nicest, most sincere individuals I've ever encountered.
Too many snobbish, arrogant jerks in high-end audio in my opinion. Been to C.E.S. in Las Vegas for the last 15 years in a row. Many nice manufacturers and dealers, but entirely too many assholes and condescending nimrods who claim to be the know-it-alls and put down other companies wares. Same is true in the Los Angeles area. Been to a few too many audio stores full of jerks. IMHO.
there are so many wonderful folks in the industry - here are just a few that quickly come to my mind:
Ralph Karsten (Atma-Sphere) EJ / Clint (Wyred4Sound) Kevin Hayes (VAC) Roy Johnson (Green Mountain Audio) Mike Elliot (CounterPoint) Pretty much anybody at Pass Labs, Wilson Audio, Zu Audio
Another shout out for Lou Hinkley of Daedalus Audio. I'd also add Keith Herron, Karl Schuster (Empirical Design) and Dan Wright to the list. These guys are world class human beings who happen to make great audio equipment. They have spent countless hours supporting me in this craziness.
Ralph Karsten -- Atma-Sphere Roger Modjeski -- Music Reference Bobby Palkovic -- Merlin Jim Smith -- former AvantGarde importer Frank Betz -- Soundex (RIP)
Vinnie Rossi of Red Wine Audio. Steve Deckert of Decware and his speaker builders, Bob & Mike Ziegler. Paul Grzybek of Tube Audio Design. Pierre Sprey of Mapleshade. The team at Burson Audio will always get back to you with answers as well as Funjoe at Clones Audio, The guys at Oppo, and a few others I can't remember at the moment.
And although I haven't had occasion to deal with the following gentlemen, based on their contributions to these forums and on customer comments I have seen I have no doubt that the following should be included:
Ralph Karsten of Atma-Sphere Duke LeJeune of AudioKinesis
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