We are hobbyists who actively pursue this stuff, post about it, trade
information, and have a willingness to spend the time and effort to research
and analyze the details. Most of you have experience, probably a lot of it
and when you think about it, you probably know a lot more now than you
did when you started, or even compared to 5 or ten years ago. You read
magazines devoted to the subject, and scrutinize changes in systems,
perhaps go to hi-fi shows, and probably spend a fair amount of time on the
web.
That's true of a lot of hobbies and pursuits, and the enthusiast's 'take' may
be different than the guy that just wants 'the best' and can afford it.
Granted, there's salesmanship, but it's everywhere in this hobby as well as
every other one. And, unlike a car or watch or other high end commodity,
most hi-fi is not pre-packaged- it needs to be put together in components
that make up a system and it needs to be set-up properly.
I'm not apologizing for bling hi-fi in general or for investment banker
customers in particular, but this gentleman has found a market. I don't
know him, have never done business with him and haven't a clue as to
what his systems sound like, but I'm not going to fault him for selling
expensive products to people who can afford them.
New York City is a mixed bag in terms of high end dealers anyway, despite
its size and 'importance.' Although there is still a thriving audio community
here, we probably don't have any more, or better dealers than any other
major city and some of them are not the most user friendly either. Jeff at
High Water deserves a call-out (and I've never bought anything from him
either, but he's the kind of guy that will spend time on the phone with you
talking about step up transformers he doesn't even sell).
Let's support the good dealers if we can. I know that the very existence of
this site is based on used equipment, and often, folks here have no need
for advice or the support that a good dealer can provide. But there are
plenty of people who want a great system who lack the knowledge (or the
time to get the knowledge) to get there. (Just think about the tweaks, the
repositioning of equipment, the upgrades, frustrations and mistakes we've
all gone through in this hobby and ask yourself if someone who wants the
end product -without the travail- is really being unreasonable in relying on a
'boutique' dealer).
FWIW, Andy Singer was also a lawyer.
