I hate to say but the snobbery part of this hobby goes back along time. I remember when I went Into my first audio store at 15 years old and they would not give me the time of day.
Flashback 20 years later and it was about the same thing. I put most of my current system together on Audiogon buying mostly used. The few new pieces I have bought were from dealers that didn't have an attitude. There are times I want to audition a new piece of gear but I just don't want to hassle with the stores. I do enjoy going to the audio shows and I find them a lot less snobby.
Unfortunately the the snobbery part of this hobby will never go away. I just guess it's part of the territory. I can tell you Audiogon is a lot less elitist than some of the other sites.
Flashback 20 years later and it was about the same thing. I put most of my current system together on Audiogon buying mostly used. The few new pieces I have bought were from dealers that didn't have an attitude. There are times I want to audition a new piece of gear but I just don't want to hassle with the stores. I do enjoy going to the audio shows and I find them a lot less snobby.
Unfortunately the the snobbery part of this hobby will never go away. I just guess it's part of the territory. I can tell you Audiogon is a lot less elitist than some of the other sites.