Thiel Owners

Simon Zreczny, the owner of Audio Consultants, had a 52 year run, having opened in 1967.  Of note to this group is that they started with Thiel in 1981 and were for all intents and purposes the hub of the Thiel community in the Chicago area. They were a class act and will be missed.

jazzman - thank you for the news; sad but grounded in the facts of our times. Simon, and by extension the whole Audio Consultants organization, was a dream come true. I believe that if the marketplace were filled with retailers of his caliber, our marketplace would be far healthier and maybe even vibrant.

It may interest this group that when New Thiel assembled its first team including National Sales Manager Steve DeFuria, among his first moves was to re-enlist some core, respected retailers to re-focus Thiel in the marketplace. Audio Consultants was his first approach and acceptance, and they would have been a king-pin if New Thiel had stayed on its stated course of being true to Jim's vision. I don't have any figures, but I suspect that Audio Consultants may have been Thiel's top-selling dealer of all time. 

andy2

IMO, the driving factor is the cost involved to reach the top of a two-channel system.

My five grandchildren  have excellent two-channel systems, and all have chosen to avoid streaming of classical music. Their main objections to upgrading from "excellent' to "superlative" are (to them) the exorbitant costs.  All five spin Redbook CDs on Bryston players and electronics and have speakers ranging from B&Ws to Bryston Mini Ts.  (I'm trying to persuade them to go for some 2.3s or 2.4s; however , they're contented with what they have.  All had "splurged" on their systems,
 and disposable income is now being socked away for their children's college funds.

Just a thought.

Sad to hear audio consultants is closing all my gear including my 3.6s were bought there.I cant say enough good things about my dealings with them!

The state of high end audio as far as local stores is really sad.  Not only have the number of dealers declined, but to me it seems that the ones that are not all that great and are still in business stick out more.  Many have also gone to cheaper rents in industrial parks with a policy of appointments vs. regular business hours.  Some of those are in quarters which don't have the capacity for as many listening rooms (and many also do more custom audio and home theater installations vs. deal in strictly equipment) as what many are accustomed to.  There seems to be more vendors that sell consumer direct and regional audio shows have increased to allow consumers to hear things they would otherwise not have an opportunity to do.  Some of those venues make it a bit more difficult to get a good audition (unless one stays at the venue and arranges an after hours session).  It's just the way it is.