Latest Absolute Sound

^^^ Taters ...

I've found that most dealers will give a substantial discount in order to get the cash flow moving. So many of the high-end products have a markup of 40 to 50% ... so a dealer that still has old stock when a new model is coming out, or a dealer who needs to make the rent/payroll/light bill at the end of the month would look favorably toward an offer that still makes him/her a profit. Especially for a good repeat customer.

Also, I agree with you about high end audio equipment in multi-million dollar homes. My business has taken me into a lot of those homes over the years. As you said, other than dedicated theater rooms, you just don't see what we're interested in here. Conversely, about six months ago, I was in a moderately priced home that a middle class family was selling ... and lo and behold ... a pair of Martin Logans driven by Krell amps. No turntable .. all digital. 

Just another comment on the high-end homes ... its not unusual to see a nice sized flat screen TV in every bedroom with DVR's and gaming equipment at the ready. Also common in these homes are full-house sound systems pumping  background music through wall speakers. 

Final observation: Over the past 38 years because of my business I have been inside of thousands and thousands of homes. Over this time it has been amazing to me that the large percentage of homes that I go into have no books and no music. None. Go figure. 

Take care ...

I found it so odd that no character in the Seinfeld sitcom was ever listening to music or reading a book. The only system I saw was Jerry's, and it was just as you would expect.

Oregonpapa,

i will never forget going to look at a basis TT that had the vacumn hold down clamp. I don't remember what model it was but I remember it being expensive. It was being sold in the classified section of the Los Angeles times. This must of been around 15 years ago. The guy lived in a dump in Hollywood. But he had really high-end equipment and thousands of records. I remember the TT having layers of dust on it and it really turned me off. I didn't even bother listening to it.

The balk majority of products that pass thru TAS and Stereophile  I will never own, but I do enjoy reading about such products and get a kick out of the way the reviewer go to great lengths to describe the sound. As already said take it with a large grain of salt, and enjoy the glossy pictures.

No books, no music. Just refrigerator, TV and guns.