Hi-end audio is a big zero

Years ago I was deciding between Focal speakers and B+W speakers of equivalent price.  A dealer in Monterey CA had both plus the identical McIntosh integrated amp that I owned.  Made an appointment and drove from San Jose to Monterey.  When I got there, his feet were on his desk and he hadn’t set anything up. After he did, I was allowed to listen to my “test CD” on both speakers for a little while and then after 45 minutes, he stopped the demo and wanted me to make a purchase decision.  I asked if I could purchase the Focals on approval. He refused.  I had fully intended to pay the (then) full retail price of $8,000 rather than buy online for less. He was a jerk so I bought the Focals online for $5,000 from Canada.

Recently I called a high-end dealer and asked if the $8,000 Raidho XT-1’s were on demo. They weren’t and he would not bother to set up a demonstration for me.  He expected me to make a purchase decision for an $8,000 pair of bookshelf speakers “sound-unheard”. No sale there either.  Good, reputable dealers are a vanishing species.

@audioguy85 I’d by Tanny’s too but as for the rest some pain mixed in (but mostly fun and a learning process) for the gain. So msny of us don’t think as the room as equipment. Granted that’s not always possible. Buy lottery tickets

+1 @ acoustically treated room.

Finished building mine end of 2019. My music experience has evolved 10 fold ever since. However it is a tough sale for a lot of audiophiles, specially married ones, since they have to be worried about messing up the looks of their rooms to do so.

Hence the never ending equipment upgrades. And that's great for the audio business, room treatment, not so much. With about 50k in gear total, I have come to the realization that it is already well above any expectations I ever had about sound quality. It is a blessing to be at peace with sound in only 3 years and I would never have achieved that in a lifetime without building the house of stereo, even so it obviously came at a high cost. I always thought the systems I had in various homes through the years were excellent. I could not have been more wrong. A properly built and treated room is essential if you are serious about sound.

On the other end, if you are strictly a music lover, a boom box will do, I have one.

I've been on both sides of this discussion, and they're both difficult. As a B&M business owner you have to worry about margins, revenue per ft2, and gross profit per hour. Even if your sales staff is not commission, you still have to make the math work, on top of inventory, you have to cover rent, utilities, taxes, wages & benefits.

As a customer you want service and time without obligation. A good sales person needs to generate about $250 per hour in gross profit to make about $50k a year. Given overall margins (Video is as low as 10 points, Speakers up to 50 points; cables typically even higher) you can do the math and see that stores can only afford so much time for demos. 

Time isn't just money, time is rent, groceries and the light bill. Respect their time and you'll get good service. Waste their time and , well, don't expect much in return for your .... Nothing. 

@cdc 

Out of curiosity, what speakers and transports were you interested in and what do you have now?