Audiophile 'Attitude'


Okay, we love our hobby: we love the music, the equipment, the esoterica, and the deranged quest for perfection the likes of which would make even the greats of classical composition shake their heads. But you've got to admit that there exists a certain 'attitude' among some of our group that can be..... difficult. Often this is sexist, arrogant, elitist, impatience, and so on. I think this would be a fertile ground for interesting stories, some humorous and some just jaw dropping. Would anyone like to share? Remember, there are many stories about those other folks outside the hobby who don't get our brilliance and force us to painfully tolerate their ignorance, I'm talking 'bout the other side: WHEN
AUDIOPHILES GO BAD!

I will gladly start: when my wife and I decided to sell our entire Vandersteen home theater (this is different tale of audiophile arrogance, btw) we started looking for a new brand and a new sound to replace my
formerly beloved Vandys. My first 'target' was Martin Logan. It just so happened that there was a ML dealership less than a mile from where I lived at the time in Champaign, IL. Wonderful I thought! So my wife and I toddled over there.

Now it should be noted that my wife has become quite an audiophile herself. She wasn't this way when we met, but she has become fairly well educated in matters of audiophillia, she has an excellent ear, and she is a brilliant woman (she is a vice president for Bank of America after all). So we choose much of our equipment together.

So we go into this ML dealership with about four CDs In hand to get a brief audition and ask to hear some MLs. Instead of going straightaway to letting us listen the salesman decides he needs to try and 'sell' us on the MLs, the very speakers we'd come to hear in the first damn place! So after tolerating his drivel for a few minutes my wife's asks a question. Instead of answering her, he answers me.... then he turns to my wife and, while pointing to that screen with holes that MLs have on so many of their speakers, he says, "now this isn't here so you can hang clothes to dry."

It honestly took me a second to realize what he had just said and I think my wife wafinally looted. After a couples seconds I said, "well, I guess we won't want these speakers then." And we walked out. We also scratched Martin Logan off of our list. No one treats my wife that way.

Okay, your turn....
aewhistory

Showing 1 response by tonywinsc

I have a fun, opposite experience that I want to share. I was doing automotvie testing in the desert back in the early 90s. I drove back into LasVegas, Nv to fly home. Since I was on the RedEye I had time to drive around and I found a stereo shop. I was wearing a golf shirt with both the Bosch and Ford logos sewn into it. These were special shirts that get passed around to engineers working on common programs.
So I walked in and looked around. It was a very respectable shop with some nice gear and was my first time to see Apogee speakers in person. The salesman/shop owner was a personable guy. He makes a remark to me that he liked my shirt because he sold Blaupunkt Automotive stereos too. I spied a Half Speed Master recording of the Alan Parsons Project Tales of Mystery and Imagination on his record rack. I said I would trade him my shirt for that record. He took me up on my offer. I went out to my car, changed shirts and gave him the smelly shirt off my back for that record.
He was a great guy and that is one of my best audio memories. I think of him whenever I play that record.