what is it in audio that you dislike most?

Being talked down to by my local HiFi store and a story to go with it.

So, I’ve got my “buddy” who works at my only local HiFi store, who I go and talk with and listen to gear when I can, so that’s what I did. I told him about my recent purchase of my Tekton Pendragons only to hear, “Dude! Why didn’t ya call me or come see me first?! You know I studied speaker design”. What the last part of that meant, I don’t know and don’t care. I just simply told him “Because you guys don’t carry Tekton. No one does except for Tekton”.  I told him how I loved the speakers and that they worked perfectly in my system. He just said ok, accepted it and we moved on. Then about 15-20 min go by and he said something like “You know you don’t need a million tweeters to sound good.” Then I was starting to get irritated. I said I know that and what’s that got to do with anything? My speakers don’t have “a million tweeters. Some Tektons do, but I’m sure there’s a well thought out reason for it”.

We then went to the front of the store where the computer is, cuz he wanted to look em up. Then the owner came over, looked at the screen, and said, “Oh, Tekton, the new Bose of this year”. 

I was obviously not only very irritated at this point but just thinking. What? You’ve gotta be kidding me. Really?! I asked him if he’d ever heard a pair, and he said “No”. Than how can you say that about them? “I just know speakers” he says. 

I just laughed and called him an ignorant a&&hole, and that he’d just lost a long time customer, and that the only reason he didn’t like Tekton is because he wasn’t able to carry the line, and that the only room I ever look at in your store is the one with the used stuff in it. 

skyscraper
Fortunately I don’t have small children to starve to afford further upgrades.

blindjim>
so.... we're supposed to feed children?

. Well, that sorts out a few things but its gonna destroy the current food budget .

no sale, or walks, as they are called by the dealership/salesmen are lost revenue. plain and simple. gone money.

Dealers can't sit on the notion the 'wild and wooly web' is killing them all by itself. The web is just another competitor, not THE assassin.


larry
Most dealers operate on a shoe string. They don’t have inventory to demo and if they do, they assume you will not buy the higher end lines.

blindjim>
Definitely understood.

I know for a fact its tuff to have upper range inventory at all times. I know as well upper end pieces can be brought in so a demo can be arranged and then offers on it/them, considered if or when a buyer is serious and that goes back to qualifying. the dealer's relationship with the manufacturer, or other dealers carrying the same or similar brands.

In fact if some sort of 'rent an in home audition' affair can be agreed on, and I were serious about moving up or into some higher end device, I'd be willing to pay for it. within reason, of course.

surely enough to over come shipping and add in some value for the good faith aspect.

I mean, there are those folks in audioland who are getting pieces in their homes for indiscreminate periods of time so they can review it/them without any preconception the piece will be purchased once the article is drawn.

what happens to those pieces after their interview?
same thing for show ponies, er, pieces. do these just go back in the box and await another packing and shipping maneuver?

I've little problem with buying a demo piece if it is sold with the same asurances a new piece would come with albeit at a lower price of course.


markcdaniel
My personal rules -
1) Always be respectful
2) Never poo poo other people’s gear
3) Listen to other’s questions without bias
4) Answer with your knowledge, not your sales quota or personal agenda
5) My Mom always taught me that if you don’t anything nice to say, don’t say anything

blindjim>
Mine were enjoying eating and living under my own roof, so I would do within reason, everything possible to close a sale and often that merely meant being knowledgable about the products on hand, its competition, considerate, thoughtful, and able to meet the needs/desires of the buyer.

I never wanted anyone I could not sell to feel they should never come back for something else later on. that is purely bad business, and unforgivable to display abismal public relations.


keegiam
The extreme expense and added complications of reproducing the bottom octave.

blindjim>
you are preaching to the choir. well said.

sibilance is a pet peeve of mine too.


sleepwalker
are as meaningless and awkward as an elephant riding a unicycle on a high wire.

blindjim>
LOL
not everyone is a wordsmith but product knowledge does seem to be pretty important when one is asking for large wads of frog skins from strangers.


audioguy
The high and mighty snobs that berate those that can’t afford $10k Magico speakers...and then private message them to continue to make said person feel like a loser....

blindjim>
ouch.
I've run into one or two of those myself.
with one such seller I had to call the cops to get him to cease and desist as the situation descended well below civilized correspondence and well into ridiculous threats. of bodily injury.



unison
easy to buy to hard to sell...

blindjim>
Been there. Done that. I call those items my 'trickle down pieces, or antique collecting in advance.


bdp24
1- Not currently having a music room big enough for my Magneplanar Tympani T-IVa loudspeakers.

blindjim>
a former statesman once said, "tare down that Wall!
but then, you're probably not in Berlin are you? lol


technick
Then the owner came over, looked at the screen, and said, “Oh, Tekton, the new Bose of this year

blindjim>
I would have replied, Only this year?

an audio salesman once asked what would I have if I could have anything in terms of powewr train (line stage and amps) for a stereo rig.

I said VAC, VTL, BAT, or Thor,. He looked at me like I was speaking Mandarin so I asked, Haven't you heard of these?

he shook his head, No.

Ayre lynn, and Krell were his Gods at the time, nothing else existed apparently, nor was he predisposed to research the true scope of his career and the major players therein.

as for sonic annomolies I hate,, it has to be bright, etched top ends...

OK, and sibilence.

and yes... poorly resolved, flabby, and or weak bass.

alright... you've dragged it out of me, too polite a presentation.
a reproduction which is so easy to listen to you fall asleep in the doing.

Great topic. I wish Hifi audio was more diverse in its followers. I'd like to see more young people and people from different walks of life in this hobby. We all listen to such a diverse amount of music but the typical audiophile profile doesn't fit that. I also detest the snobbery---there are so many audiophiles out there that will never be able to afford a Macintosh or Audio Research amp. So what? They have a nice Yamaha integrated amp. OK. They're still audiophiles. 
I miss having good Hifi stores in my city----there's 1 (at best) where there used to be many back in the 80s-90s.
And I wish I had more audiophile friends. I'm trying to get them into the hobby by showing them how good music can sound.

Would be nice if more people were interested.

The Loudness Wars, i.e., heavily limited (compressed) recordings. It just pisses me off to put on a CD that sounds like it was probably a nice recording but I have to turn down the volume to "2" because they smashed it all to hell and it just blares out of the speakers. Particularly egregious is "Remastered" versions of old classics where they obliterate all of the original dynamics and pretend that they've released a better version. I've been spending a lot of my music exploration time seeking out mid 70's through early 90's recordings because that is before this horrible trend. There is a huge reservoir of great music that I previously never stumbled upon, much of it recorded to tape, that sounds so much better than 90% of modern releases. This is also the reason I kept my vinyl and turntable. Those old records sound way better than many of the same titles on CD.