How many of us have worked in audio stores?

Brulee, i hear ya and completely agree. Some people are stuck on brand recognition and prestige. I'll let them buy the "flavor of the month" while i listen to my "low-fi" ANY day of the week.

My one question about your cable comparisons though is have you ever used a cable burner before evaluating these ? I am of the school that truly honestly believes that you haven't really heard what a cable is capable of until it has been "burned" on a "burner". Hundreds of hours of in system use still can't equal a few days on a burner. Sean
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Count me as part of the group that worked in audio retail on several occasions. It was an interesting experience, but not one I'd want to repeat.

I got sucked into this situation a couple or three times. First round was with Lafayette Electronics in the 70's, not at all high-end but we did sell audio & car stereo. It was part time low paying & didn't last very long.
Second round was with The Shoppe, again part time (you really need a day job too if you're in this business) but this was a lot more fun. I mostly did the repair bench work but did assist on the sales floor occasionally. I was paid "in equipment" and managed to assemble what turned out to be the most musical sounding rig that I've ever had. The foundation of that system was beautiful classic Luxman Ultimate Series componentry. We used to bring prospective customers over to my house & wow them there; they almost always bought after one of those demo's although the equipment they chose rarely even resembled what they had heard. Then I would go the the customers' houses & show them how to connect everything together; some became steady clients on the side. The store manager & I were (still are) good friends, but the owner took advantage of us too many times & lost us both.
Third round was again a brief stint, this time at Music In Motion, a southern Chicago area car audio shop that sold & installed some pretty decent equipment. I met the owner at CES & later arranged a job there for my manager friend. The place was also a lot of fun to be involved with but there was no money in it for us as underlings. I assisted the installers occasionally when they needed technical expertise; sort of like an in-house consultant. Compensation was again in equipment, so I built a mobile rig in my truck that took first place at the car wars. I really hurt my hearing with that setup; it measured out >130dB SPL before clipping. We both left the place when the owner's coke abuse became incorrigible, but it was a good time while it lasted.

I worked for Harvey Electronics in Paramus, NJ from 93-95. We carried quality midfi and some High End audio/video products. The manager of that store before right before I was hired was Jeff Joseph of Joseph Audio. I really enjoyed selling systems. I took advantage of a job opportunity in an unrelated field and remain employed by that company. I used to work the weekends at AVI in Little Falls, NJ selling home audio, car audio, and video products on the weekends for a few years for extra income. I stopped that in 97.

An equally interesting question is how many of us would LIKE to work in a HiFi store. I know I would. Especially if I got paid in equipment. Maybe when I retire...