Andrew Singer Of "Sound by Singer" passed away yesterday
Andy Singer who owned an audio store in Manhattan and was also a lawyer, passed away yesterday. I was friends with him on Facebook and found him to be quite a fascinating person. He was opinionated and was never afraid to speak his mind. He knew a lot about high end audio and much more. I will miss him. Rest in Peace Andy.
I’ve always had good experiences with Dave at Stereo Exchange. I would buy from him or his crew anytime. Andy was not as friendly but he was always attentive to my needs and usually pointed me in the right direction re purchases. The same went for the crew at Lyric HiFi. Each of these have been criticized for not wanting to serve the regular (not rich) customer. I was and am not rich and believe I gave out a "guy off the street" vibe on my first visit to each--none of which resulted in a sale. Nevertheless, I was treated with respect and purchased gear at all 3 locations over the years. Fortunately Dave is still selling and Innovative Audio (not previously mentioned) has a welcoming environment. Not to mention High Water Sound and the fabulous Jeff Catalano as well as Gideon Schwartz at Audioarts.
INYC and environs is still a great place to find and experience a wide range of top notch gear.
And I could never even get the time of day at The Stereo Exchange. I tried a handful of times. Maybe it was the Rolex/Mercedes thing...
Fortuitously, not caring for being invisable at The Stereo Exchange resulted in me finding my little audio ’love connection’ at The HiFi Exchange in Little Neck Queens. Loved Alex, Anthony and all the regulars that came & went. Wonderful guys who taught me what was good and who for the sake of this discussion, also knew & liked Andy enough to speak well of him whenever anyone shared disdain for Sound By Singer.
@unreceivedogma, what inference? I think I was pretty clear with my comments. To my way of thinking when a person reacts defensively without cause tells me that they may be one of the “some” (SOME!) that I allude to? Perhaps whoever you dealt with was having a bad day. We all do at times, no? A crime? A little thicker skin is always a good thing. I think that the overwhelmingly positive comments here vs the negative says something. I like straight shooters. Andy was one.
Stereo Exchange was a much more welcoming place. Steve Wasserman is genuinely warm and friendly, and he has an amazing memory: he would greet you by name every time you walked in, and he knew the status and composition of my audio system at any given time and was always prepared with an appropriate suggestion for the next improvement to make to it that was suited to my budget.
That was my experience. I disliked him immensely. I did go in the shop for FOMO, and I did once buy something, my VPI HW / Sumiko MMT / Koetsu Black combo there, in 1985. But he was not helpful: I knew to know what I wanted before I went in, I went straight to the item(s) and with no discussion I pointed, said “I’ll take it!”, I was in and out within 30 minutes
I shopped mostly at Stereo Exchange, run by Dave Wasserman, a genuinely friendly, nice and always helpful guy. I got my Futterman OTL3s, my Beard P505 there.
Upon first site of ’Andrew Singer Of "Sound by Singer" passed away yesterday’ I immediately thought there’ll likely be more than a few ’ugh finally’s floating around the hobby today.
I met him once, probably 30 years ago, as a pair of hands while accompanying a dealer friend with some business to handle with him. I found him quick & pleasant. That said- it was rare to hear a good word about him whenever his name came up. Maybe it was ’Hating’, maybe it was the ads. He did alot of expensive advertising back in the print media days and no one in the hobby got to escape that imperious black & white gaze- even if you were an audio guy in the furthest reaches of Alaska terrain. There were sometimes pictures of equipment, but the most prominent image in any of the ads would be of him.
He was selling him.
There were lots of dealers in the heyday of this pursuit, he was good enough to position himself at the top of the heap and that in itself always inspires hatred in any business. The pulling up in the ’Mercedes in Armani with Rolex...’ bullsht always rears it’s ridiculous cliche head throughout audiophilia and as a former (and sometimes successful) sales professional, I can tell you with complete certainty that that particular moan almost always emanates from either a tire kicker/timewaster/dreamer or a complete schmuck, all of whom are usually spotable upon first utterance.
The cat lived a good life. He did what he wanted to do and did it well enough to pay some very high rent and still have enough leftover to show the entire audio universe his face somewhere everyday of the year for decades.
Like many here, i happily visited Sound by Singer: it was a great shop. Always felt the staff were very good at answering questions and sharing ideas… it took me years before i could reach “HiFi” status and Sound by Singer certainly helped me with guidance. Andy Singer - be in peace.
I don't remember him but I bought a couple of items there including my first pair of Dynaudios... I think they may have been $1200 for the pair. I owned a small industrial business in Chelsea at the time and always wore jeans which could get dirty. No Rolex. They let me audition the Dynaudios with source material I brought and left me alone. A good experience.
I was in the 15th Street store years ago for a manufacturer's rep night. Can't recall the speakers, but I think it was VAC gear. After the demos, Andy asked me what I thought of the sound. I sheepishly replied that I could never afford the speakers being demonstrated. He was very gracious and said he didn't care, he really wanted to know what I thought. I found him very pleasant. I did listen to some less expensive speakers in the side room with the glass wall. All I could think was "where's the bass?" RIP, Andy.
RIP Andy Singer...the legend. Andy was an excellent businessman, and a BIG man. I rarely saw him smile but was always very professional. He offered to hire me at one point, as long as I brought with me my client list. I did buy a handful of items through S.B.S. Andy, and the entire staff, including Steve G, hated horns at that time, which were my favorite. Yes, Andy and Steve were tight. Again, RIP Andy. My condolences to the Singer family, friends and the audio equipment buyers from the NY, NJ and CT areas. MrD.
I visited Andy’s downtown store many times while still a budding audiophile in the ‘80s. Always a terrific experience. My favorite shop in NYC. It was there that l met salesmen Steve Guttenberg (very nice remembrance from Steve above) and Bob ? as well as Andy himself. They were always helpful and patient with this then very “green” enthusiast and who was clearly not the “Rolex” type. One of the things that I always appreciated about visiting Andy’s shop was the fact that on most visits at least as much time was spent talking about music as was spent talking about audio. I remember well the excitement with which Andy once mentioned that he was going to hear the Swing Jazz (now star) Ken Peplowski. Not many had even heard of Ken at the time. It was also there that I learned some of the most important audio lessons, the importance of component synergy and in the process heard what to this day is one of the most memorable systems that I have ever heard.
The Audio Research SP9 had gotten a glowing review in TAS and was declared a true giant killer. I took the plunge and went on to pay list price and make my very first purchase of a brand new product. Excitement is an understatement to describe how I felt taking it home and installing it in my system. Distress is an understatement when the sound of my system turned out to be terrible. Thin and bleached out. I let it burn in for three weeks and finally gave up and took it back to Andy hoping I could exchange it for something else. Andy proceeded to install it in one of the systems in the shop in order to make sure there wasn’t something wrong with the SP9 and the sound was glorious. To this day one of the most musically realistic I have ever heard. I’ll never forget that system: Roxan Xerxes tt, Koetsu Rosewood Sig, SP9, Manley monos and Snell Type A iii. Andy gave me a store credit. I bought several pieces from Andy over the years.
Sound By Singer was a no nonsense operation with passion for the hobby and for music. In my opinion some buyers walk into audio salons with an attitude that is not conducive to receiving good service. Andy will be missed.
BTW, does anyone remember Bob? He went on to work at Lyric. Terrific guy and a real music lover. Have often wondered what happened to him.
I had been going to the store on 15th Street since the late 80’s. I wore jeans and a tee shirt and didn’t wear jewelry, never mind a Rolex. I first bought some Cardas cables there, which were recommended by Andy. I went back there for a few years and eventually bought a CAT preamp. I never had a problem there. Everyone was nice to me. I didn’t know Andy that well but we spoke about equipment and he let me listen to a few really good systems with CAT preamps, which is why I brought one. RIP Andy and thanks for your recommendations, allowed me to really enjoy my music.
Honestly to turn you away from the store just because you don’t look like you can afford their stuff. That really hurt most of us. I was treated the same. Where they won’t even say hello , and they ignore me even if I asked.In this when people passed it’s your legacy that will be mentioned. I agree when you drive mercedes and they see you? The treatment is different.
Well I guess we all have different experiences, My first (and only) visit to Sound by Singer I was not so politely asked to leave the store by one of the salesman, which I did.
Andy knew his audio and was a very bright man. I always enjoyed talking with him--although if we talked long enough he could usually convince me to spend more and get better. I was sorry to see his downtown store close but I did manage to purchase his custom made (in Brooklyn) audio display stand which resided along the side wall in his "high end room"--the one with the Focal Grande Utopias. It now houses 12 audio components in my NYC apt living room. I'm reminded of him often. RIP Andy.
I visited that downtown store as well as Stereo Exchange fairly regularly in the mid-'80s and experienced impressive early designs like VAC push pull 300B, big Von Schweikert stacked cubes, Apogee Grande, etc. IIRC he was an heir in the Singer sowing machine family and a few of his salesmen went on to writing for the stereo mags. A prototypical New York scene: pushy, salesy, opinionated, swipe your credit card at the door before listening, but usually right about all thiings audio. RIP..
"btw -- this should remind all of us too that life is indeed very short, don’t dwell on negativity, be positive and don’t let tortured souls we meet in life drag us down"
…..he was a memorable individual and also very knowledgeable. He could be and was tough at times but from my interactions with Andy , he was a good guy. Rest In Peace Andy and thank you for all that you gave to this hobby.
I used to go to his store on West 15th St. Only spoke to him once or twice but his sales staff were always great. They'd ask my name if they didn't recognize me and then hook me up with my regular salesperson. After the store closed and he moved to an appointment-only business I drifted away. But always have good memories of him and the store.
@czarivey, Newsflash; you are dead wrong. I never had problems in that store, and I was always dressed like a "bum". I bought a few things there over the years and NEVER had a problem with audio snobs.
Why do you speak ill of the dead, show some class?
one of the stalwarts in the nyc high end retail scene
all high end retail stores turn some people off, andy could do that for sure
but through this store over the decades, he made many many an audiophile happy with great systems he advised on, sold and serviced
rip andy singer
btw -- this should remind all of us too that life is indeed very short, don’t dwell on negativity, be positive and don’t let tortured souls we meet in life drag us down
I remember Sound by Singer store like no other that would FIRST look at depth of your pocket before servicing you. They very often started conversations from "you probably can't afford it" -- that meant that I didn't have Rolex on my wrist and dressed "too casual". Walk in with Rolex and designer clothing -- all dealers are around you! My old memories there: markups on every piece of equipment is titanic and service depends on how you walk in.
I remember going to his shop years ago --80s?--and asking to hear a pair of Acoustats (I think). As I listened, I found the imaging odd and asked Andrew if they were hooked up correctly. He checked and found the the left and right channels were reversed. He laughed heartily at his mistake. RIP
I visited his store from time to time when I live in New York in the late 1970s. It was always a delight -- sort of like when my wife and I perused the street floor of Tiffany's. Here is Andrew's brief obituary:
Andrew Neil Singer - September 16, 1950-April 21, 2024.
Beloved husband of Sandra Felgoise Singer, father to Isabel Singer, and brother to Rickie Singer Peaslee. Andy died the way he lived – fighting fiercely and valiantly against all odds. First an acoustic guitar player, then a lawyer at Skadden Arps, he settled into his career selling high-end audio equipment and became an icon in the field. His goal was to replicate live sound as closely as possible with the use of audio components and systems. A history buff, his knowledge of the civil war often exceeded that of whatever lecturer he was listening to. He had an encyclopedic memory and will be remembered for his brilliance and authenticity.
For those who want to make a donation, please consider a donation to weeksvillesociety.org. Weeksville is an historic site in Central Brooklyn, one of the largest free Black communities in pre-Civil War America. New York, the Civil War, and Freedom are all things that were precious to Andy.
I remember going to one of the NYC audio shows in the late 70's. Sound by Singer had a room there in the hotel. Equipment was set up - but NO sound! Visitors commented about this negatively. Why bother setting up an exhibit and refusing to play music? A reflection on the personality of Andrew Singer.
Sorry to hear of his passing. He could be as acerbic as he was opinionated, but he knew high-end audio. Sound by Singer was my introduction to the joys of this hobby. RIP.
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