Nowhere to hear speakers and amps anymore!

August/September this year, I took a drive through Colorado and Utah and visited around 7 stores and manufacturers. Lots of pretty scenery too.

I was looking at DACs, got questions answered, lots of good feedback and knowledge on my trip. 

Denver, Boulder, Erie, Ft. Collins, Salt Lake City and Colorado Springs.

Next trip to the south in March, 2024. More stores and an audio show.

Los Angeles has a lot of audio stores. I was shocked at how many compared to the Bay Area, where I had resided before. 

Some of the Best Buy stores near Los Angeles are supposed to carry and demo high end KEF speakers, including the Blade. The Best Buy, walking distance from my home in Santa Barbara, is not one of those high-end stores.

When I was in college (late 70's) tiny State College, PA had seven audio stores. I believe that they are all gone now. I am fortunate enough that the Philadelphia area still has some terrific venues! M¥ longtime favorite, Quest For Sound in Bensalem, PA has reduced hours due to health problems of the owner. You can still see and hear some very nice stuff on Saturdays and by appointment. Audiolab in Morrisville, PA recently opened a new large facility with numerous showrooms and great gear. Both are in Bucks County about 20 minutes from my home and are easy to get to from Philly, North Jersey and New York. Ovation is a beautiful store in Wilmington, DE. One of my favorites is BEK in Allentown, PA. I can get to these in under an hour. Audio and Video Expressions is 1 mile from me and by appt.only as I believe is David Lewis in Northeast Philly. The Best Buy in Plymouth Meeting. PA has undergone the same renovation as described above. Nice new listening rooms and mid-fi to high-end gear. A few other Best Buys in the area still have Magnolia's in the stores, but the stuff is not as nice and it is difficult to actually audition the equipment. They have removed the dedicated salespeople from the Magnolia 's. When driving between one and two hours I can go to North Jersey. Audio Connection in Verona is a fantastic store and I have visited others including the Audio Doctor in Jersey City which is by appt, in the owner's home.

I can get on the PA turnpike and head west to Reading, PA (actually Sinking Spring) and visit the Audio Barn. Hi DEF Lifestyle in Harrisburg, Pa is about 2 hours away. They also have numerous rooms packed with nice stuff.I was able to visit HI Def and Stereo Barn more frequently when my son was in college in Harrisburg, They both became part of my trip when we visited him.

I also travel to the DC area on occasion, where my wife spends time working. I have enjoyed visiting Deja Vu Audio and Command Performance A/V in Northern VA.

I guess that I have been fortunate to live where I do and have the time (in recent years) to travel moderate distances. I do try to support these businesses with purchases.

@yyzsantabarbara Some folks have provided me with the names of Bay Area stores and dealers. Some dealers work from their homes (unappealing) and a few actually have brick and mortar stores but have limited brands. I have a Best Buy down the street with a surprisingly large selection and decent listening rooms. They even have dedicated (but young) staff. Not quite the experience I was looking for. @transnova is indeed fortunate to have so many old school stores near him. But I live in Silicon Valley and you’d think that in the midst of all this technology and wealth one could find a decent, old school store!  In fact, the San Francisco Bay Area has 8 million people and you can count on one hand (less than one hand) the number of real audio stores that are not car stereo or home theater oriented. 

don’t be afraid of stores that also do home theater. Some of the finer two channel stores also provide home theater service. probably part of the formula that has allowed them to survive.