Gone are the days of the great audition.

Your situation is the exact reason that audio trade shows such as RMAF, T.H.E. show (and others) have exploded on the scene in recent years. In your area, go to the Capitol AudioFest. I have been to the RMAF several times and enjoyed the experience immensely. This year I will go to Newport Beach T.H.E. show for a change of pace. It's the audiophile world we live in now.

And very soon even the Yellow Sign store may be gone too. What do we then? At least a subsidiary company of theirs that goes by the name of a certain flower brings some very good brands to market for people to audition. I bought my Viennas from them after a lenghty and enjoyable audition.

This is why I am not quick to advise people to go out and listen to a speaker themselves rather than ask opinions about it in a forum. They simply can't. There are no venues in their area to do it. They must rely on forum opinion or published reviews.

Everytime each of us buys something off the internet vs a local B&M guy, we have only ourselves to blame. Everytime we bash the Yellow Sign company because of incompetent help, we put another nail in the coffin. Everytime we put the absolute cheapest price before value, we ultimately limit our choices. And since the number of participants aka potential buyers is very small, this will only hasten the total collapse of the HIFI hobby even more.

These ain't the glory days of the seventies! I like your comment about the Dark Ages of getting what you want when so much more is available. But where?

"The op must live in NYC or London."

Slooow doooowwwn and read the original post again. You will be enlightened to the geographical location of the poster in question.

Shakey

Everyone has made valid points. It seems as if a perfect storm has formed and there is enough blame to go around as to the cause. Greed and hubris are the main culprits. And this applies to the customers and the sellers /makers.
I would add this.

Is it possible that the MANUFACTURERS of high-end audio, do not want their products to be TOO readily available? High price and scarcity, equals exclusivity. And exclusivity is important in most high-end products. It seems to me that if the high-end snob brands wanted to expose their wares to the masses, and possibly gain customers, and make it more convenient for their high end base customers, their stuff would be sold in Best Buy. Or Crutchfield. etc... Or, ALL brands would be available at the same stores. Either way, there is a lot the makers could do to solve the problem. Unless they think a Wilson Maxx might contract some working class disease from sitting next to Polk or, god forbid, york! But given the profit margin they get on each item, they are doing just fine. It's your responsiblitiy to seek them out.
Cheers