Thiel/Crutchfield

Andrewdoan, so you are willing to buy a $5000.00 pair of speakers from Crutchfield sight unseen, sound unheard? That's the other problem with highend-audio mail order. Who in thier right mind would buy something in that price range without auditioniong them? It's impractical. And if you quote some liberal return policy as your reasoning, let me ask: what do you think Crutchfield is going to do with those returned speakers? They're going to sell them to next buyer of course, which very likely will be you.

Crutchfield does seem like a strange marriage with Thiel, but think: Who really believes nonaudiophiles will be ordering a $249 receiver and a $10K (or even $2K) pair of speakers? The only people who will be taking advantage of this arrangement are folks who might have gone to a high end store and bought Thiels anyway, except they don't live close enough to a dealer (or don't like the dealer they do live close to). As for why Thiel chose Crutchfield over MD or AA, the answer is probably HT (think PowerPoints and PowerPlanes) -- that and the fact that I bet the Crutchfield catalog reaches 50X the customer base of the other two combined. I seriously doubt Crutchfield reps will be expected to sell up the Thiels to mid-fi customers unfamiliar with the product. Assuming Crutchfield is competent to basically just take and process what orders they get -- which I'm sure must be the case if Thiel selected them for this -- then I don't see any downside for Thiel's image, just upside for Crutchfield's. It's a convenient way for Thiel to outsource the marketing, order-taking and payment-processing aspects of factory-direct sales, which take up time and manpower they probably don't have to spare, with a nice dose of extra publicity thrown into the bargain (that they wouldn't get from selling through their own website), while for their part Crutchfield won't have to stock or ship product. I don't see this arrangement hurting Thiel's dealer base much if at all, but it's easily enough ended if it doesn't produce or go smoothly.

Davidrow, If my memory serves me right, I did listenning to three different lines of the Thiel mated with CJ at a local dealer that I used to hang around on my day off. I was not really impressed that much as compare with the slanded 6/8 Apogees at a times. I ended up with ML Aerius I and then LS3. You know what, BB carries ML and VA so I see nothing wrong with Crutchfield carries Thiel. What's next with CC? JM labs or Sonus, perharps. In my home town, hi-end dealers went belly-up one after another. The golden days are over for 60% to100% retail mark-up due to vast internet informations. I know and I hang around quite a few local dealers in my younger age, I know what happens to those returned items.

The point I'm trying to make is that it is terribly unfair to take the time of your local dealer to audition their Thiels and then go home and order them from Crutchfield. Crutchfield is doing nothing for the sale, yet they get the commission. And the dealer who was kind enough to let you hang around and listen to their gear gets nothing. So this arrangement works - and should only be available - in those areas where there isn't a local dealer. One final note, what do you do when you blow a tweeter? Is Crutchfield carrying replacements like your local dealer would? Or would you go directly to Thiel for warrant work?

Daviderow, fair enough. I shouldn't cry like a bit** due to some minor issues with certain local dealers. Life is a two way street and it ain't perfect so there you have it. I promise I will be less demanding and no more expecting perfection from my local dealer(s).