In my town, about 20 miles from New York City, we have a high end true audio/video shop, but we also have a large B&O retail store front at street level. The high end is on the second floor, mainly to discourage walk ins and has 'attitude' that is on par with Lyric/Singer in New York City. The B&O store has been around about ten years, the high end about 30 years. The town is fairly wealthy, and has a vibrant downtown scene. Someone going into the B&O store will get a very pleasant experience, oriented to customer satisfaction. Their demo's do not impress. I go to B&O often, never buy but just to remind myself why B&O is a better sales experience that has long left hi-end shops.
The Demise of the Hi-End Audio Store
Ok. So I've read hundred's of forum posts from a lot of people and one question keeps popping into my head. Where does everyone listen (test out) all of this equipment? I don't know about you but I live in a fairly populated area, Cleveland/Akron Ohio area, and while there are a few (and I only mean a few) high end audio stores in my area, there are limited hi end brands in those stores. Ten years ago that was a different story, but this is the reality today.
So while I want to listen to equipment I'm interested in (Jolida, Prima Luna, Silverline, LSA, the list goes on and on), there isn't the opportunity.
Does everyone really travel hundreds of miles to listen to new components or do you do your research and buy what you think will work and go from there?
Thanks
So while I want to listen to equipment I'm interested in (Jolida, Prima Luna, Silverline, LSA, the list goes on and on), there isn't the opportunity.
Does everyone really travel hundreds of miles to listen to new components or do you do your research and buy what you think will work and go from there?
Thanks