PS Audio Revises Marketing to a Direct Sales Only Model

Lots of speculation, above.  Why not wait and see, what shape the PS Audio Direct Sales model takes, before scuttling the ship?   Far as hearing before buying; many that sell direct, offer a 30 day/no questions, return policy.   McGowan has never stuck me as any kind of dummy(quite the contrary).

This is a quote from someone above: " Back to PS audio. There is absolutely nothing special about PS audio. "  I absolutely DISAGREE. I have owned multitudes of audio gear since 1976 and now my system (with the exception of my Thiel 3.7 speakers) is totally PS.  They make fantastic gear and i think their gear is very price competitive when you consider the build quality,  great customer service,  long warranties which are often honored even after the exp.  date,  and most important the sound quality.  The only piece that seems to give people problems is the DMP transport,  and that is now discontinued.  The day may come when i own a piece by another company,  but one thing i will NEVER EVER do without is their Power plant.  The P15 and P20 are units that will improve your system and no one else makes anything close.   I for one wish them all the best and hope they "live long and prosper" and that Paul can indeed buy a yacht if he so chooses.

 I would be surprised if they change their real pricing. I didn’t look today, but they had been offering at least 25% off retail if you traded in a decent piece. Underwood is offering the BHK Pre for $3888 without a trade and has for months.  PS Audio has a listening studio/sales space at their factory here in Boulder. I tried to find out what they did with their trade-ins but they wouldn’t tell me. I’m guessing they go to The Music Room, in our area also. 
 What is confounding me most is that everyone says you must listen first before you make your purchase. PS will let you take a piece home for a while, but that means you have to put up all the money to buy it just to listen. Pretty counterintuitive to me

Got a bit weary reading the repetitive responses so forgive me if this was said.

I think we’d all agree PS Audio has moved upscale with their product line. And they are expanding, into speakers. All of this puts them in direct competition with other high end companies and their dealers who sell Magico, AR, D’Ag, Wilson, McIntosh, etc. When PSA is in those dealers they don’t get a fair shake. Those guys want and need to sell the big names and will discourage PS Audio purchases. "it’s okay if that’s all you can afford. The product doesn’t really compare to dCS". They really believe this or need to... the price points are so different.

PSA and Paul in particular are good marketers and don’t need their dealers working against him. PSA is now getting decent reviews and is certainly recognized as a player at the top levels. They have developed a market niche in the quality audio market, offer good service and should do very well with direct distribution. It’s time. Good luck PSA.

maybe its time for someone to set up a "demo dealer" someone that is not there to sell to you but to allow you to listen, feel and spend time with an item. maybe the manufacturers can pay them or you pay for the services maybe both. I'd love to go into a spot listen and look at new stuff and if I like something buy it online directly. I don't know if it's is a financial model that would work but interesting anyway.

An interesting idea but you're right it's not a workable financial model.  It's hard enough to make a profit as a dealer based on the sale of new and used gear.  How could anyone manage the overhead without sales revenue?  Based on my experience, I doubt that many (any) audiophiles would be willing to pay for this; at least enough to offset actual operating expenses and a modest profit.  And who goes into business, working his/her arse off with the idea of limiting themselves to a modest profit?

Home demo (purchase with right of return or clean demo) is a better way to go.  I wish more manufacturers supported and promoted this method.