Walking Into A Brick & Mortar High End Audio Store

Catama

Just had a bad experience in Berkeley. I was interested in a $1200 phono stage. Wouldn't demo it, just kept saying I should buy it's the last one in stock. Left without hearing the phono stage or anything else. This was on my birthday and a weekend vacation no less. I have yet to have a good B & M Experience.

Many/most B&M stores left are run by trustfund ego-trip types who are not all that worried whether you buy it or not.

I have not had access to a dealer in almost 40 years. The nearest one is a hundred miles away and I'm not certain they are still in business. In the 1960s I had three dealers in a community of one fourth the size of my present community.

The internet has all but killed local audio dealers. It is a very hard task to be one now days. Audio shows have somewhat replaced dealer and most repairs entail FedEx shipping.

I suspect that the future will see all local dealers of everything other than groceries and restaurants will vanish and chain stores for everything will replace them.

You sure fooled me that you were happy read your own words... Glad you found it JohnnyR
"""02-17-11: Ticten
I own a Primare I21 married to a pair of Proac Reference 8 Signatures. I can tell you with full conviction that the amp is a fantastic product with exceptional resolution, transparency and tonal quality. I am so happy to find this amp as I stopped searching and just enjoying my music collection. It is also amazing to realize that whether you listen to Alice in Chains or Patricia Barber or Mozart, the listening experience is always rewarding and revealing. I think a lot of people point out that the sound is on the polite side but I actually associate the politeness with a sound stage that is not thrown on your face like a cheap amp would do. Imagine a sound which is very transparent, airy and resonating, with lots of depth and deep base when it is called for. That is Primare.
It is in fact not surprising that BOTH Primare and Proac are not easy to find on Audiogon.
Ticten (Threads | Answers | This Thread)"""

Indeed. That's first time I hear bad things about Primere amps.