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Ideal Manufacturers for your local hi-fi shop...?

I'm a college student, and am majoring in Business and Econ/Finance to one day open up an audio shop. I want to focus on multi-channel music reproduction and true high fidelity home theater; something worth listening to music on.

This coming semester I will be in an Entrepreneurship (Small Business Management) class and have to create a fictional business, my choice as to what business seems obvious.

I’ve chosen a few manufacturers that I believe offer a good balance to and selection for a variety of price ranges. This will be a mostly audio based store, so keep that in mind. I would like feedback from the experts/obsessed, like myself, as to what vendor you would recommend adding or omitting to this list. Please keep in mind a couple of things though. 1. This is not a list of my favorite manufacturers; the goal is a list of an ideal selection. 2. The list will ideally be as short as possible as I will just starting out and will make life and the project easier. 3. Any advice on how to get vendors to sell at a brand new store (under real life circumstances) would be greatly appreciated. 4. The goal is high end home theater and multi-channel music reproduction, but we all know 2 channel can’t be ignored.

Parasound Halo (very attractive products, a good 2 channel preamp, the JC-1 bargain “A” rated bargain monoblocks)
Rotel (the only “receiver” offered for those wanting a smaller system, as well as a more affordable home theater alternative with there cheaper pre/pros, they also offer a universal disc player)
Meridian (The cutting edge in digital sources and pre/pros, the G series would be a very attractive option for most customers, hopefully.. No desire to sell their speakers if possible)
PS Audio (A wide range of power products, but not as generic as the Monster brand I would not sell their audio cables if possible)
Audioquest (Once again we have a single company with a solid background and a wide range of product. They also appear to me to be a good value)
Mark Levinson (All the amplification I could want, as well as the best 2 channel pres and cd players I would offer)
Revel (For a class A rated speaker the Ultima Studio is a bargain and offers full range in both frequency and dynamics, they also offer a worthy center, the most important channel, and surrounds. Their new SUB30 is supposed to be great as well.)
Totem Acoustic (This would be my average speaker, they offer a traditional look with wood grains versus the modern Revels, they also are dynamic yet small to be room friend [waf] They Their price range would dip to the bottom end, with the rainmaker or Dreamcatcher paired with a rotel receiver)
Gallo Acoustic (Once again we have a bargain buy with the Reference 3, but also another worthy center, the Duo. They also offer a great alternative to in-walls for those with picky decors.

I want each and every comment from all that took the time to read this entire thread, sorry so long, and thanks a ton for the help.
Patrick Mahoney from Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais IL.
eclipse911t

Showing 2 responses by cinematic_systems

cinematic_systems
282 posts
 
Your brand selection is 90% all wrong, if you're focusing on multi channel then why are you're selling the wrong speaker systems and your amplification choices are basically only competent 2 channel solutions.

Put some more thought into it, right now you're just name dropping and not doing a good job at dropping the right ones. The Ultima Studio is not a bargain and grossly underachieves because of shortsited design. You actually think the Revel Studio is any better than the Meridian 5502? It really isn't, if you setup the Meridian speaker properly. As it stands the Meridian speakers are the only ones designed properly to work as a surround system in your proposed store. So you're already dumping the only competent speaker system in your store.

You'd be out of business in less than a year and not any good at multi channel. You have to think about the people where you live or go to school, the everyday bread an butter people who will keep your business alive. Not the finicky tire kicking audiophile who won't embrace surround for atleast another decade and will buy his JC-1 mail order because it makes sense.

I'm not giving you any specific brand suggestions because you won't learn anything but let me tell you Mark Levinson is a terrible choice, Revel is so so, Totem is neat but not multichannel savvy.

Rotel won't sound good on any of your speakers etc. Parasound is Parasound. Gallo? the Duo as a center channel? LOL!!!

I'm being harsh on purpose, but I suggest you learn yourself how to design a proper surround system then begin building systems at likely consumer price points. The store is about serving your customers not yourself. They come to you because you're supposed to be an expert. Right now if you ignore Meridian, your systems are going to be very expensive and be pretty mediocre.

Final tip;

What speaker is the most important speaker in a surround system? This question should be the key to your product selection for speakers. The speakers will guide the electronics etc.

Having some fun with you, but put some more thought into this, or pray your teacher knows very little about audio equipment.
cinematic_systems
282 posts
 
Hey Danlib; all of the above and add Speaker designer;

Don't sell to 'goners typically, but I worked and sold Revel for years and Levinson and Rotel, Gallo etc.

You could say i'm an authority on this subject, just a little bit. :)

My special interest is multi-channel systems and how to design and set them up.

I am able to sell ATC speakers, due to a unique relationship with the importer. Often I help other dealers sell their ATC's too. Powered speakers require considerable education of the client.

Revel's center channels for some reason do not blend with their counterpart tower/bookshelf speakers. Their is an issue with the crossovers, amplitude measurements don't reveal the problem but they will NOT blend together. Couldn't figure it out and tried for weeks, made phone calls etc. They just don't work.

That's the problem with Revel.

As for the comment about multi-million dollar homes with Denon and Deftech, that is not the fault of the owners often its the fault of the audio designers who would rather program remotes and sell flat screens than get a grip on what good audio is. Look it up, often the companies who did the install only sell brands like Denon and Deftech.

HT theater people want good sound, infact audiophiles are the goofy ones who want weird stuff. Like horns in a small living room and 3 watt circa 1916 amplifiers. So I think the generality is pointed the wrong way. Quality clients want the best value for their money all the time. Insulting them by assuming they are ignorant is the wrong attitude for you to succeed. Audiophilia is a curable disease if the victim wants to be cured. Do not cater to audiophiles just be prepared for them.

BTW Eclipse now your getting somewhere with your speaker choices, a much better variety too of good better best, & fancy boy. Do not underestimate how good a receiver based system can be. The Miata is a fine sports car and lots of fun, if you get my drift. As the desinger you must be able to maximize your gear and be focused on what you do well, so that you do it well. You will need an installation team, no way around it. You sell luxury products, would you want to glue the diamond on your fiances ring?

BTW most audio stores have 100IQ dudes, so if you have brain and apply common business sense and a scientific method, you can eat their lunch all day.

I don't compromise for my clients and neither should you. Just don't expect them to drink Kool Aid for you. People with $20K to spend didn't get wealthy by being an idiot.
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