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What happened to all the highend stereo shops

What happened to high end stereo shops I mean real high-end stereo shops. I am 78, my father bought me my first stereo when I was 12, I have been hooked ever since. I remember the days when you can go to a nice audio store and not just audition what they had in the store but if you saw a couple of tuners, preamps or some cables that you liked, you could give them a blank check and take the equipment home to audition on your system. Bring one or both back Pay for what you want to keep or get your check back. I don’t understand how someone can buy an expensive piece of audio equipment and not audition it in their system first. Many places today, you buy it and your stuck with it. OH yes you can sell it on Audiogon or eBay. Reviewers are nice and give good reviews but the problem I have is the equipment they are auditioning  is on their system in their treated music room which is going to be different than what you have. 
 

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Showing 1 response by emergingsoul

emergingsoul
958 posts
 

The marketing of products is horrible. No good explanation of what the products do and why. Most of the salesman, and there are exceptions, don’t understand the products they are selling. If you’re able to read product descriptions and understand all they’re saying, you are a rare breed indeed.

Further, many of the higher end products are just not available in the store to see. And it’s very geographically dependent. AB testing is not done very effectively aside from the lack of availability of many products. Which makes sense as each Store is pretty much required to buy anything they show you.

It’s an awful business to be in, and requires someone who truly is dedicated to the craft and not necessarily interested in making a lot of money. The true craftsman who sell hi-fi products, if you're lucky to live near one, are really really nice people and you can learn a lot from them.

 

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