life without audio dealers

Duke,

No, actually the dealer that I borrowed equipment from was not the one who really set me on my journey. The company that I borrowed equipment from was one in which I had pretty much maxed out what they had to offer when I purchased there (and I wanted to try something in addition to what I had purchased). As for the dealer that set me on my way, they used to be nice, but their new staff has turned me off to them. I am sure Duke that you are different than most of the dealers out there. I just visited your website and saw that you offer hotel accommodations and airfare if someone makes a purchase from your store. Just because of that if I am ever interested in a pair of Sound Labs you would probably be the first person I would contact. You perfectly fall into my idea that people should fly to where the products are in which they are interested...especially when preparing to make a large purchase like a pair of Sound Lab speakers. Great policy and I think many others would be wise to take a page from you book.

Best to you Duke and happy New Year!
Ben

Gosh Ben - here I try my best to start the new year off by being a jerk and picking a fight with you, and I can't even get you to take offense - instead, you reply with friendliness and wish me a happy new year. Dangit, I guess we'll have to get along after all!

Well done my friend, and a Happy New Year to you and yours.

Duke

Somebody comes along and outdoes Duke! Consider, Duke, that many feel you are incapable of being a jerk! Now if you want some instruction..............:-)

You know guys, as I read some of the threads on this site I notice that for some reason there are people out there that refuse to see the arguments from both sides and I think that it is these conflicts that keep things in this business from progressing. People here hide behind their screen names and sense of experience to dictate what they think should happen in this market. There is way to much tension between those who are intimately involved in this business and those who purchase equipment or would wish (like myself) to be more involved.

You have to think at this point that most every serious audiophile in the United States has heard about this site and visited it at least once. Maybe they purchased something, perhaps they wrote in a thread...but this is a great place for ideas to be expressed by those who are interested in seeing the business continue for generations like mine.

I look out of my window and see a lot of pretty bad things happening out there that make me think there are some even worse times on the near horizon. I fell that this could destroy a lot of the things that we hold dear. If we don't be careful we could see this whole business slip away, and then when I am really ready to drop some money on some items there will be no one around to provide anything for me. :-) But seriously, there is another thread right now "why is the industry so lame" in which there are some great points made about what may be some of the problems in this industry right now. But then again arguing about it will not make things any better.

When I was in school, I was a Resident Assistant and one of the things we did was try and solve problems. Perhaps the industry has lost site of the ability to provide for people this problem solving ability. Maybe what we should do is have some concentration groups that could develop some new products that would have much more marketability and appeal to the new generation of people...then we could use these new products to draw people into the hifi shops, where we could show them what is really possible in the realm of audio.

One of the things that upset me about my local dealer was that he was not willing to discuss the possibilities that exist in the realm of computer audio, while he had the Slim Devices products on display in his shop. Tell me, why would you display items like this if you felt they were inferior to other items in your shop. If anything he should use items like this to draw new young people who are interested in audio into his shop and try and sell them something in addition to the new item in which they are interested...Just my thoughts though.

Ben

I think the first point Onhwy61 puts forth is the best of this very new year; one that will possibly not be outdone in the next 365 days.

This is only my opinion, but there are more than enough small manufacturers in this hobby. The number of companies offering tube amplifiers or loudspeakers is incredible.

I believe we need more BIG companies embracing our hobby, which they seem to do less and less over time. Put aside whatever political arguments that folks get into about it around here, perhaps the last time was the effort Sony and Philips (Marantz coming from their effort) put behind SACD.

Most of us here on Audiogon are using amplifier designs from the 1930s - 1960s and loudspeaker designs from the 1950s - 1980s. Reflecting upon that, one will notice the likes of AT&T, Altec, RCA, Matsushita, Sony, etc. were the driving forces behind them. It's hard to imagine the LP, CD, FM, tube or solid state amplifier without big companies behind them. Yes, a lot of breakthroughs came out of places like Quad, AR, and Klipsch, but it can be also inferred that without the bigger companies leading the way, the work of the smaller ones may not have been able to come to light either.

Not much has progressed from these technologies, and without companies who have the resources to dedicate scientific and engineering personnel and hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars into a project, I predict that not much will. While I certainly feel that happiness can be found in the components on the market today, I don't think anyone would disagree with me when I say that even the best doesn't come close to real, live sound.