There seems to have been quite a bit written over the past several years regarding the myriad of reasons one can attribute to the demise of the brick and mortar audio shop. Rarely have I read however one of the most obvious reasons, which based on my experience, has got to be the simple fact that for the most part, they just didn't offer a high end listening experience. That, along with an elitist and careless attitude towards customer service, buried them as much as anything else. So here's my question. Who is the WORST audio shop/dealer you've ever encountered?
There's a Lyric shop in White Plains, NY too - same owners as the one in Manhattan. The salesmen there are morons - I'm considerably more knowledgeable about the equipment they sell than they are. For a very good shop: Take 5 Audio in New Haven, CT.
Paragon in Ann Arbor, Michigan absolutely sucks. Very full of themselves. You are to buy what they say becuase they know more than you and this is what they say works. Never mind you enjoy the thrill of learning, listening, growing with your hobby, etc. Owner Larry, a liar. Salesperson Tom, pure arrogant, snob, schmuck. Salesperson Ron... babbling bullwinkle. Salesperson Matt, does what he is told with his tsil between his legs. Losers.
Still on Paragon. Their pricing... some of the worst in my ecperience. Big inability to answer questions. Seem to enjoy trying to explain things in ways designed to get you to quit asking questions, stop making them demo ANYTHING for you, shut up and start buying something. Get in, buy, get out. Phoney. Want great service? Go to Paulson's, in Farmington I think it is, and ask for Strat.
Another NY resident here. Luckily no experiences with Lyric, but Singer. Oh boy...i asked him about a Red Wine Audio amp he had and if i could come in an demo it: "at this price, it's a steal. you don't need to demo" and more or less hung up on me shortly afterwards.
Stereo Exchange is a mixed bag. Really sales person dependent. Had a great time talking to one of the fellows (few years back) over there re some headphone gear. However, a different guy once bitched me out for calling B&W 805s "bookshelves". "These are stand mounts. There are a lot of differences between standmounts and bookshelves". This is after he asked me my upstream gear and so, should have had an idea that I wasn't a casual enthusiast!
There are not a lot of shops here in Dallas like there used to be. Go in there. They cut alll the big equipment off and if you go in there more than once they walk away and hope you leave quickly.
Natural Sound in Framingham, Ma. I had been a customer since the late 70's, having bought a GAS amp, preamp, tuner and moving coil cartridge, Counterpoint in the 80's and Vandersteen speakers in the 90's. I also brought a few friends in and they all bought equipment from them. One friend in particular has spent just south of 800K on his system at Natural Sound..
About 10 years ago, I bought a demo Marantz 8001 SACD player and needed some high end interconnects for them. To make a long story short, I got royally screwed on the pair of cables and when I brought this to their attention, nothing. I sent the owner who I was friends with an email explaining everything and still nothing. They will never, ever get another cent of my money and I also tell all my friends not to shop there now.
A VERY good dealer is Natural Sound in Framingham, Mass. They have a very enticing list of equipment offerings available and they are quite easy to work with.
Back to JS Audio in Bethesda, MD... I've had wonderful experience with them. Over some years, bought three sets of Wilson speakers, a High End sub, a top Ayre DAC. They came to the house and packed up my WP7 speakers taken in trade to deliver and set up the Sasha's. I've since moved to Sarasota so they drop shipped my latest Wilsons and came down to pack up the traded speakers and set up the new. All at fair, read discounted, prices. Joe is a unique personality which could be considered abrupt if you don't know him. He's a good dealer, knows his business and takes cake of his customers. I note in reading this blog that folks seem to have the most issues in very affluent areas, where potential customers have and spend for larger purchases. If you are in the business of selling big ticket stuff it's difficult to deal with the curious who could never afford to buy those items. There are ways to be polite to everyone and maybe give them a peek at the aspirational products... you never can tell who has or will come into some cash.
I’ve had similar unpleasant experiences with audio dealers
who did their best to figure out what I was willing or able to spend. They assumed I was looking for a Best Buy
store to buy a low budget stereo system. Unless they know you they seem to do their
best to chase you out of the store.
I dropped in on a dealer in OC, Ca to discuss a new
system. He was really put out by my
failure to schedule an appointment with him.
He eventually allowed me to listen to a system he had ready to go but
made sure I knew he was doing me a big favor.
Another dealer – a famous OC audio shop - flatly refused to let me listen to his Magico
S3 speakers because he was too busy to turn the system on. This was at a LA/OC Audio Society sponsored
open house – usually the perfect time and place for auditioning new gear.
I now have a great dealer who understands audio equipment
and customer service. It’s like finding
a good doctor – you have to kiss some frogs.
Chasing the "Grail" since 1972. I have had Good, Bad, Ugly experiences and all the Shades of Grey in between with dealers.
2016 was a good year! Both in-person and through FedEx / UPS route.
Jan 2016- Elusive Disk; Bought an Audiodesk. It leaked and dripped all the fluid onto my hardwood floor in the 1st 24hrs. In (9) days it was replaced by the factory with the new Pro Model.and I have been satisfied.
Jan 2016- Ordered a Spectral 30SV from Goodwins Highend ; Rec'd it finally on June 30th. I was very happy for (7) days even placed my order for a pair of DMA400s. Then the 30SV decided that it did not want to play well with others ( my Manley Steelhead & Pass Xono phonostages ) Went through a 1 1/2 month of Hell !!!! Short story of it; Alan Goodwin lost a $44,000 sale. And Spectral lost a 20yr Spectral owner. But Alan Goodwin was a standup dealer through all of this.
April 2016- Had my '88 vintage LP12 completely tuned by a master of the Linn by Tom at "Ovature Audio" in Ann Arbor, MI.
April 2016- Bought a Kuzma Sta S from Brian / Essence Audio at Axpona; Great deal, Great Service, Great setup.
May/June 2016- Bought MIT Oracle ICs , Oracle Speaker Cables from Scott Markle in AZ. And Oracle power cords from Joe Abrams. Both excellent service.
July/Aug 2016- Time spent trying everything Alan Goodwin could think of to get the 30SV to play well with others;including an expedited trip to the factory. No Luck! Ugh!!
Sept 2016- Mark at Reno HiFi sent me a pair of Pass XA160.8s to audition for (2)weeks; then I asked for another (2)weeks. Gave me a Great deal and they are my current amps.
Oct/Nov- Bought NOS Telefunkens from Brent Jesse for the Steelhead. Others have posted unfavorable reviews of him. but I took a chance. NO Complaints from me. Fast service (he is local to Chicago), well packed, The "Magic" of tubes that I was looking for, and QUIET!
Some records while at Axpona, also (6) stillpoints for my Avalons and (2) copies of Santana Abraxas UD1S 001 -- "It is Spectacular"
Lyra Kleos from "Needle Doctor" Dynavector XX2 MKII from Brian at "Essence Audio"
Diffusors from Music Direct and GIK Acoustics.
NO Problem with anybody mentioned. The couple of problems that did happen; were taken care of professionally.
Best Wishes to All on this Journey. It is what You make of it.
those guys in SoCal must be doing very well financially by turning you down for a demo. I would write a letter (not an email) to Magico referencing your experience while attempting to audition the S3 speaker.
My point exactly. Pass up the worst dealers and move on to a good dealer. Yes, I live in Chicago and have more than a few dealers within a hour drive and more if I want to make a weekend of it and/or a long day. Others do not have the same accessibility but can, if they put the effort into it or a few $ for shipping. Stop whining !!!! Deal with it.
You can be a fantasy and angry client like jafant; who wants to call out dealers on this site and probably others because they won't accommodate him wasting their time. Just look at his posted system under "Alabama Gateway" and take a good read of his "profound advice and insight?????"
There are good dealers out there working to help clients get the experience and equipment they want. They might not be a 10min. Drive away but they still exist. I really do not remember anything being cheap or easy on this Journey. Oh , you can go to Best Buy.
Natural Sound is very dependent on the salesperson. There is at least one or two pushy salespeople there who I have seen flipflop position on different pieces of equipment, or try to upsell customers in a very obvious way (think cables). At times I've said I'll never go back there again. But, I've been going there for 30+ years and if they're the only local shop that's got what I'm looking for I'm sure I'll go back.
Calvinj. Agree w comments about Dallas stores and I probably know the one you refer to. One guy in particular is pretty arrogant. I was talking price about some speakers and he told me to my face that because I drive the car I drive, I shouldn't be concerned about price. He wasn't making a joke. So he had looked outside and had the guts to say that. I bought a TT there but from another younger guy that at least takes the time to answer my questions. The first guy is pissed now that I've fully upgraded the LP12 and we know that's not a cheap exercise The arrogance seems to be common among Linn dealers. Oh well. It's really about the music anyway
nkonor, thanks for the kind words about the Kuzma rig you purchased. In case you didn't know I'm at Music Direct as analog expert / showroom manager and continuing the same kind of setups I did for you. Next time you're up this way stop by, I'd be happy to show you around including the sound rooms.
My experience with Audio Concept of Dallas was completely different. I visited them in 2014 while visiting the area. I was greeted as usual as I entered. I told them that I was visiting the area and did not have any dealers near me and do not intend to purchase anything right away. The sales person was accommodating and demoed me songs on multiple systems including Naim, PMC, Rega systems. Very good experience overall. Hope you guys are talking about a different vendor and hope things have not changed at Audio Concept. In general, I have not come across any shops that were not willing to demo, provided you tell them upfront, the reason for your visit.
My philosophy is simple. I refuse to pay for bad service.
I'll simply walk away.
People of color have experienced this for generations. people "size you up" the minute you walk in the door, anywhere.
However, in this day of mega rich people, entertainers, sports stars, etc. it is rare that business treat people this way. Still happens in the audio industry. Not so much for clothing, watches, and autos. They don't know who and what you are and aren't willing to lose out on a big sale anymore. The Pretty Woman scenario rarely happens today.
But, for audio....well.... I was in Stockholm a few years back and when I travel I try to visit high end audio stores.
I was wearing jeans and definitely wasn't from Sweden. but, I'm older and carry myself pretty well.
well, the sales man looks me up and down and comes to a conclusion immediately. completely ignores me. I was interested in a all in one type unit for my girlfriend. It was Rotel, I believe. But, they also sold higher end equipment and some Martin Logan equipment also.
So, I tried to ask about the Rotel unit. The salesman in a very condescending manner asked me, so, what equipment do you have?
I said my amps were Audio Research and Mark levinson and I have Martin Logan Monolith III speakers, with Audio Research pre-amp, dac, etc.
His manner and eyes changed immediately.
don't get me wrong, he wasn't rude at all, just initially condescending and stand offish.
But, we got along fine after that exchange.
Same is true for high end watch dealers I've dealt with, and auto dealers. I have found that it isn't their initial impression that matters, but how you respond to it.
Some people are just asses and my response is to walk away. but, others, work within their comfort zone and rarely leave it unless you take them by the hand and show them how wrong or incorrect they can be.
polk432...Buy those PB tix...if you win big, follow through on that threat, and I'll come work for you. ;)
"Hi there. I see you're looking at (X) amp. It's really nice, but (Z) amp here is better, and we sell it for less that anyone in This galaxy. Care to hear it through those MB101's? Sure...sit on down. Care for a drink?"
Years ago, I purchased a pair of speakers by phone from Audio Classics in NY. When they arrived at my home, I found that the cosmetics were nowhere near what had been claimed (damage in several places). I loved them and so I kept them anyhow. A couple of years later, I order two pieces of electronics from them...a CD player and an tuner. One of the pieces arrived first and did not work properly. I called them and they agreed to take it back and cancel the entire order. I have not dealt with them since that time. To be fair, they are a well known business and many people seem to have satisfactory dealings with them. My experience was less than good.
Norbert, I'm currently here Monday through Friday, 9 to 6, although once our formal showroom grand opening happens in the coming weeks I expect I'll be here on Saturdays and probably off on Mondays.
Sound organization here in Dallas was one mile away from where I live and would not let me come by and demo. They let another guy demo a week later. It was a shame I was interested in Dali at the time and had the cash to pay for them. Very disappointed in them!
Well I know they let someone else listen at their place. The nearest local dealer was in Houston at the time. I'm one mile away and I know they had what I wanted to hear to demo! I'm not mad I went to East Texas eventually to hear them. I'm just not happy with the high end that's why I'm done!
I used to see his ads quite frequently here and on eBay. I must report that he would not be much of an Audio Pimp w/o hookers. Did you ever visit his shop?
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