I have lived and bought audio in NYC for years and the views here are pretty much spot on; Stereo Exchange in its original incarnation was actually fun; loads of used hi-end, stacks of last month's flavors in electronics, and then some; the old Goldmund Reference table, Double Quads, bizzaro stuff taken in on trade, gathering dust, all no more. Innovative used to be in Brooklyn Heights, and was a Linn house for a long time, but they serviced some old ARC stuff for me, and were always pleasant. Never had much interest in Lyric, despite the hi-end rep back in the 80's-90's. Singer has loads of fancy equipment, but Andy Singer is a little larger than life for me. I also had some minimal dealings with In Living Stereo, which left me ambivalent. The guy at Highwater Sound (or whatever it is called) is a real enthusiast and was a sweetheart over the phone answering questions about arcane phono stages without a hint of the salesman about him. EarsNova- bought a fair amount of stuff from him and did not get any service or follow-up, but alot of attitude. I currently patronize Bill Parrish, from GTT Audio in NJ. He often has used equipment, not all of which is listed on his website. And, I can pay him the true compliment of a friend: He is not an asshole.
