Burned out hi fi salesman

This is a funny thread, audiophiles are completely at fault for this situation.

Want 20% off or MORE! and expect a business to keep quality people around with no margin? They can't, buy mail order so you can own it, even though "it" to you really is a review, bragging rights and a faceplate? Yes I'm talking about you!

How can someone own grand Piano's and say they believe in the 5% thing? When I sold Grand Piano's they were my whipping boys for selling the Audience 72's, 1/2 the price twice the performance (nobody disagreed when they heard it with their own ears). Don't get me started on the pathetic Amati Homages. The general consensus to this thread shows the incredible lack of personal expert advice available to the High End Audio consumer. If audiophiles would on a much wider basis learn to reward good service and not be selfish by trying to save money all the time at every turn, then maybe we would know that putting MIT cables on JMLabs is a really bad idea and we'd be happier.

But it has been my experience that audiophiles do not want to be happy. Really

"I have recently sold all my SS equipment for Tube equipment."

I'm sure this was well thought out process over the phone, the reason why they were enthusiastic is they don't have any other customers. Problem with hifi salesmen is Home Theater customers stop by and once given a convincing demonstration buy a system. A new concept for audiophiles I know who must correlate their new findings and consult their elders and tiki dolls for absolution and justification.

Audiophiles amuse me to no end with their complete inability to make a calculated decision and then engage in the flip side and make an impulse buy that lands them in purgatory for another year.

Nocaster what were you looking for at your local hifi shop?
ie. What was the purpose of your visit?

Rene, my poster boy volunteer for what is wrong with audiophiles, thank you for chiming in...

Your niche interest in niche audio is exactly my point. Who's going to make a living selling that stuff?
What the hell are you doing?(based on my opinion) Do you think you can convince me that you have a good sounding system? That when I listen to it it will sound like the artist intended? I think not. I'm sure its magical and musical for you but is it "good sound" or just your sound? Can you be sure i'm going to like it? Am I a heathen neophyte if I don't like it?

Audiophile's lack of focus makes it impossible to design a store around "good sound" because clearly audiophiles don't know or can't agree on what "good sound" is as defined as a stand alone concept. Instead we have , "I know what I like." Let me tell you what a moving target that is.

What do audiophiles mean when they say they know what they like? You shouldn't have a choice, the artist made the CD and that should be that. But it's not is it, have to make that perfectly matched systems that gives us so much pride? Audiophiles are always trying to get their system to do things that will distort one track to flatter another. So what is "good sound" to an audiophile. Can we ever agree so the stores can carry it and the manufacturers make it, or is that the beginning of the end for this industry?

Home Theater buyers get the concept and learn fast, but they never ask for the highs to be more "open". Are the highs supposed to be open on that recording anyway is my question?

To call Home Theater clients uneducated, well is untrue. Fact is most audiophiles like yourself are equally gullible, how hard would it be to mount a $90 Fostex Driver in a box? Well I've already had my runin with the Cain&Cain boys on a DIY forum. People have bought Thiels CS1.6's despite the huge distortion spike in the midrange. What are we doing as a group? Why are we supporting this sort of product? Cause it "sounds good?" Does it really?

----------Rene, so bountiful is your post-------------

" And that although this guy was hanging out at his shop the whole day waiting for customers to come in, with tons of downtime."

Clearly he didn't want to bother to do it for free, can you blame him? Does he owe you something? When's the last time you worked for free Rene? Are you entitled at $3000 for free services, did he have a sign that said so? He made $1200 in profit on your purchase? When you make $1200 a week, do you work for free for your employer...hell no you don't so don't expect anyone else to do it either. Instead you should have bought the $50 in tools necessary to set the system up yourself! And if the system sounded good referred people to him. But instead he didn't do something for free and your willing to overlook that he displayed what you wanted presented it in a way that assured you this was the right move but he's supposed to do that, just like you do the minimum at your job and still get paid retail.

Back to my point......

The diversity presented by audiophiles is killing the hobby, the magazines won't call a spade a spade and people buy on reviews and infact post here as their hard won experience/opinion based on reviews. This forum is all about people getting along while giving "wrong" advice(see any of my HT threads). Fact is we don't hear all that differently from one another (despite the BS perpetuated by those who would perp wrongness), no instead we all have different goals for why we have a system. Until we can focus as a group this will get worse.

I can't note every facet of my argument but think about what I wrote, how permissive are we and PC to have allowed the acceptance of such a diverse sound as good sound? There seems to be no standards When a violin simply sounds like a violin.

Big Joe,

"i have a dealer near me who i like very much & after ive made my mind up on what i want i give him first dib's on making a sale,i tell him what i can get it for & ask for his price,if his price is close enough for me i buy it & if not im out the door with no hard feeling's."

If you never hear the product how do you know what you want? And once the sometimes extensive process of informing you on what you need, the store is then rewarded by you shopping around to dealers who have done zero to help you except take a phone call and lower the price. Then tomorrow lower the quality of help and selection available to you. Brilliant

Where I have my business I love it because despite my devils advocate position here I am very helpful and thrive because all the other dealers in my area are as those who are generally grumbling about the stores say. But they weren't always that way. Since the home theater purchaser spends more and is an easier sale and allows for reasonable margins dealers are catering directly to them. Hopefully your getting the economic picture of audiophiles viability.

"you said audiophile's should stop worring about saving money & reward good service & stop being selfish all the time,what a stupid & self serving thing to say"

Bigjoe, I don't rely on high end audio clients to survive or even prosper, that would be stupid. I'm telling you what I know from the inside out. I've worked many places where audiophiles are no longer welcomed and as policy actively discouraged to "hang out". For some of the reasons listed in my two posts above.

Finally HenryHK,

Audiophiles do not recognize the incredible effort it takes to appease them, that's why in-Home dealers are desirable by most because they have limited product setup in a stabile environment. Demoing for an audiophile with a good system in a store setting is very, very difficult.

You do not seem to recognize the incredibly limited market represented by audiophiles and lets not forget that if the street was working in balance the hifi store would be a great source of free entertainment. But for the most part that two way street is in disarray and not by any one individuals action or attitude but more out of neccessity and economics.

In closing;

The diversity represented here in system sound=

more manufacturers---lower volume----higher prices----more retail outlets with less volume----lower margins----lower quality of personnel----lowered experience and services.

Everyone is losing.