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Keeping Audiophilia And The Love Of Music Alive & Well!

This is a little something I just posted in Stereophile that I thought I should also post here for what I think are obvious reasons.

How many times have we read or heard how difficult it is for some folks to audition equipment they're interested in because there simply aren't enough or any quality audio shops within a reasonable distance? I would wager we've all noticed a steady decline in the number of audio shops just about everywhere, even in large cities and metropolitan areas.  As a lover of music and audiophile, I think this is kind of sad.  There once were, at least, 2 or 3 shops within a half hour drive from where I presently live.  Now, there are none.  They've all gone out of business.  With the exception of one shop with a reasonably good inventory about 45 minutes away, I have to trek 2 hours or more to shops with a good inventory and selection.  I avoid buying stuff from on-line sellers, as much as possible, to support my local shops, even if it means paying a little more. With this in mind, I offer this for what it's worth.

I know some audio shops occasionally host demonstrations of various products for groups of their patrons and/or interested audiophiles, in general. From the little I've seen & read about these conclaves, it looks like this is mostly done by large or relatively large shops. Obviously, they probably tend to have large enough sound or demonstration rooms to accommodate this sort of thing. I'm further assuming there is probably some sort of advertising involved to promote such events (e.g. mailing lists; newspaper ads; website notices; etc.) and admission, understandably, needs to be limited. What I don't know is if the larger shops who do this sort of thing charge some sort of cover-charge or admission fee or just write it off as a business expense in the hopes of generating increased sales. Free admission to open houses like this sounds like something much more easily accommodated by larger shops, versus smaller operations. Regardless, I wonder if it might not benefit smaller shops to consider doing this sort of thing and actually charging admission because it would, necessarily, involve a smaller crowd of patrons and/or interested audiophiles. For that matter, in order to circumvent the seating capacity issue, maybe an alternative acoustically appropriate venue could be considered?

A fellow audiophile friend and I often wax philosophical about components we wish we could responsibly afford but, unfortunately, will likely always remain in the unobtainium sphere for us unless we win the lottery or walk into an audio shop in an altered state of mind. Really! What audiophiles don't wax philosophical about stuff like this? In fifty years, I've never met one!

In addition to our willingness to pay a reasonable admission fee to hear top shelf gear, we would be even more interested in hearing fair A/B shoot-outs between or amongst, as the case may be, audio toys that captivate our interest.

I'm wondering what you audiophiles out there in the great ether think about this idea.

oldaudiophile
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
The sad fact of the matter, a glass half empty kind of guy will always see the world as half empty. The CW was and still is that auditions are essential, and preferably in-home auditions.

Back in the 90’s this made a lot of sense. Or so it seemed. In reality we soon discovered even all the stores up and down the I5 corridor from Portland to north of Seattle, none of them could touch the one dealer who helped me the most. Or maybe better to say all of them together had nowhere near as much worth buying as this one. Who worked out of his home. By appointment only.

All the big box stores have one very big in fact insurmountable problem in that they must generate massive profits in order to cover their massive overhead. This is why they are driven to one of two extremes: either they are Best Buy moving volume, or Definitive selling Wilson and other famous dreck to their unsuspecting but loaded customers.

If you want to keep audio alive and flourishing oldaudiophile, which you should and I applaud, then you should focus your efforts where they will do some good. The big box stores are never gonna be the place. They will for the reasons above never be the place. Ignore them. Treat them the way they treat me when I go in there: ignore.

Put all your time and energy into supporting the quality manufacturers selling direct. Tekton, Decware, Raven, Herron, and others here in the USA, but also Townshend, Origin Live, Audio Hungary and the like overseas.

Doing this is a two-fer. Direct sales eliminates huge dealer markups, puts you directly in touch with the maker who has a direct stake in your satisfaction, and more directly supports those who are really doing the work that advances the hobby. Oops- make that a three-fer!

Forget your audition requirement. I haven’t auditioned a single thing in more than a dozen years, and I have done just fine. https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/8367 This system is to die for. Not one thing there was heard in any store. Not one thing there is even carried in any store, not within a days drive anyway. Yet it is all fantastic stuff. Not a single disappointment. In a dozen years. If I can do it, anyone can. 

So learn to read reviews. Search the interwebs for user comments. DYODD. Support direct sales. And when you find your gem, share your impressions. Write your own reviews. That’s how you will help keep audiophilia and the love of music alive and well.
oldhvymec
5,101 posts
 
I’m not paying showroom prices. I’m way past other peoples speakers.

I like what I like.

I have what I like and have made.. I’m pretty lucky..

I sure couldn’t afford to buy what I use to make for someone else.

The commercial speaker I liked went out of business, VMPS
I use to buy his cabinet and modify the front baffle. (FF3, I think) Over 250 pounds for bass columns and about 200 for the Monitors with Strathearns and BGs for the highs or EMIT drivers

Maybe one more final set of Strathearns after "The Elixir" project is finished..

I like going to CES or shows.. But showrooms.. No thanks.. Last one was Texas for me because of the SNOB in CA. I flew to Texas and spent 30k cash 25-30 years ago. No speakers involved. Different story.. Mac dealers.. Fine folks in Texas.. Not so fine (at the time) in CA..

Regards
stuartk
2,875 posts
 
@millercarbon:

First of all, I don't buy from big box sellers. 

More to the point, I'm not an engineer by profession, sensibility or inclination-- I'm an artistic sort who has little interest in why/how a given component works. What I do care about is how it sounds. . . to me. . . in my system. . . in my room.  The most reliable strategy I've found for such research is to hear it at home. If demoing gear in this manner disqualifies me from membership in the elite echelons of audiophilia, I really don't care. 
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
oldaudiophile, this is what audio shows are for now. Even in the old days the speakers I like would rarely if ever be on display. After 50 years of doing this I know what I want in terms of speakers and electronics. The only risk taking is with cartridges which are inexpensive enough so that if I make a mistake it is not too painful. Speakers are the hard part where auditioning is important if you have not learned what you like and why. I now have Sound Labs speakers which I chose purely on the analysis of the design. I never heard them before I set up mine. But, I have been a diehard ESL person for decades. I got exactly what I was expecting and looking for.
Even if a store is not in your neighborhood you can still have an excellent relationship with it. I have two shops on opposite ends of the country I deal with on a first name basis and both take care of me when I order equipment. 
Another interesting point is that from a tonal perspective you can make a speaker sound any way you want with Digital Signal Processing. You might even be able to make them image. Some will never image by design. 
edcyn
1,876 posts
 
I truly enjoyed haunting audio stores when I lived in a large metropolitan area. And if I was truly impressed with what I heard and I had the lucre, I'd bring the stuff home, too, for at least an overnight. The same went (even more so) when it came to musical instruments. The thing is, high-end retailers have always been a rare breed. And I got to say it, the rise of mail order and the web have democratized the landscape and have made it so any itchy-fingered wannabe audiophile can enter the game. 
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