High end dealers in Frankfurt

Drubin, your welcome. I only gave you the best addresses, so you won't waste time on disappointments.
Kelly, Glasgow and Edinburgh have not yet been shopped by me. My wife could not put up with me anymore after what happened in London, so I laid low in Scotland. You should have no problem finding the hi end stores: expect Linn, Audio Note, Naim to be the main brands. The addresses are well publicized in the U.K. audio magazines.

slawney: thank you, JAY, for your thoughts. fortunately, the good folks at vantageaudio gave me some leads. BTW, their email server is acting up if anyone's tried to reach them. last time i was in london, i visited a few record shops, hoping to find that rare jewel; they were there, alright, but the prices were outrageous. -kelly

Kelly, was that CD or LP prices -- I remember London being reasonable for CDs (by European -- expensive -- standards, that is). BTW, Paris is even worse on CD prices -- but not bad on LPs, though.

Greg

greg: i was speaking of lp's. they're much more affordable on ebay or at our local indie shops. in my experience, cd's in london are generally about 1.5-2 times the price charged in the usa (at current exchange rates). last time i was in london, my wife and i stayed on picadilly, close by tower records; it was fun watching the young worldly customers in the latest styles of dress and attitude, but i didn't buy a thing. -kelly

About five years ago, I found London was the most expensive European city (for LP, and most everything else), nowadays Paris, Rome, even Vienna, and Zurich are more expensive than London. All of France is extremely expensive for CDs, and the LP prices in and near Paris can be astronomical--although I know Parisian dealers who are inconsistent on pricing, and/or who will discount on large orders or "for friends" (you must speak French, though, and charm them). Prague, and Budapest have the best CD prices, followed by Germany (much better than France on CD). --The problem with London is that, yes, for DECCA, London, Lyrita collectors, the city is a goldmine. I have also found some extremely sought-for (by me, anyhow) 1960/70s free jazz in Camden. What got out of control in London, however, was my visiting the high end stores in London.