High end vs internet

Geeesh....this topic again, and the same valid points from several viewpoints.

I feel obligated to buy the equipment I want and can afford. If I can find it cheaper online, then that's the way I go.

However, I do have an audio dealer from whom I buy equipment and who accepts trade-ins. Whenever I go to his store, even if I was there primarily to browse and audition, I ALWAYS make it a point to buy something, even if it's a couple of CDs, stylus cleaner, cones, or even something I don't really need just as a "thank you" for his time and electricity.

It seems real clear that the market is changing with the advent of home theater and all the associated stuff that goes with it. I just bought a new piece of audio gear (FM tuner) from my local high-end dealer. When I ordered this piece, I was shocked to see that out of seven listening rooms in the store, four were dedicated to home theater/plasma TV's. The main entrance room was also chock full of video stuff. They are evening selling home theater furniture (leather sofas and loveseats) along with light diming switches to control room lighting. Gone is the wall of high-end accesories (cables, recording cleaning items, etc., etc.). Gone are the big two channel setups that folks like us depend upon for learning about and auditioning new equipment. How is one supposed to audition new gear and make intelligent purchasing decisions when the majority of items offered for sale relate to video and watching movies? You can't audition audio equipemnt on the internet.

You can't blame dealers for going this route - they are in business to make money. The market is changing and they need to keep abreast of it to stay alive. However, where does that leave those of us who still value two channel? It makes one wonder how long some of the top high-end manufacturers can stay in business.

No doubt. Last week I was speaking with a prominent LA area dealer/storeowner by phone about a well-known and -regarded 2-channel topline preamp from a leading manufacturer, and he regretted to say that in in 5 years of carrying this model, he's sold maybe 6 units so far. In contrast, an even more expensive pre/processor from the same company, that's only been in existence maybe half as long, he reckons he's sold over 40 of. You do the math...

No, the high end is in the process of killing the high
end. The internet is not the problem.