Will Internet Distroy High End ?

Good question. Most of the items that I have been upgrading to have come direct from the manufacturer (custom shelves, speaker cable, IC's and PC's). These items are not carried by the local retailers and they are what I wanted. Speakers were purchased new (local dealer), but the source items (digital) and the main tube amp were purchased used from private parties (it's hard to pass up 40% to 60% off retial on hardly used items) and my local dealers did not have any trade ins on these models (otherwise I may have purchased from them and paid a bit more). The problem that I have (in the LA area) is that many of the products that interest me are not carried by the local shops who now carry a higher percentage of HT gear (which is what they sell the most of). I have nothing against HT gear, other than rarely watching televsion/movies myself and it therefore does not interest me. There is a local shop (they are down to one location now) with a great owner and staff which only has enough space to carry what they sell in quantity. They have tried packing some of the slower lines into their listening rooms and it just wasn't their style. I agree as I cannot tell hide nor hair in a listening room that has 20 pairs of speakers in it (all sucking up the sound of the pair that I am trying to audition). There are also a couple of local high end dealers, close by, who previously had store fronts and who now operate out of their homes (to reduce overhead expenses I would guess). I assume that this is the impact that you speak of. One of these dealers is Elliot at Acoustic Image (in Studio City) who if you are in the area and looking for high end, but value orientated gear (IMO) is a good place to start, he has an incredible listening room as well. There are at least two other dealers in the outlying areas that do this as well. I have even tried to think of things that I need, to purchase from my favorite local dealer (we go back 25+ years), but they just don't have the "right stuff" for me anymore.

I would not have gained access to high end audio if not for the internet. The ability to read lots of (potentially) unbiased personal reviews has made the decision process more informed while offering more options. Used prices don't hurt, either, and direct access to buyers helps individual sellers to get better resale prices. Rules sometimes change to make sitting in the middleman seat unviable.

I do hope that dealers who care about the music and their customers more than profit margins will survive through their efforts.

It's not that bad for off line dealers. Infact, I know of a few mom & pop dealers in my area that do business with 3rd party on line distributers to get a share of the on line business. This way they only exist to the distributers and not the general public including the manufacturers. This reminds me of the baseball owners of the past who would rake in all of the money and pay little to the players. Now like all things, what goes around comes around and look at the salaries of today's sports stars. In this case, look at the prices these guys sell their gear for and look at the money that they've made. I say the internet is the great equalizer and the true power to the people. If it's about cash, the mom & pop stores who want to survive will survive and do what's necessary to adapt to the world of the internet.

Hi Stokjoc. As it happens I just posted the following to start a thread, and which probably belongs here...

"I have decided to go back to dealing with dealers I know, or can meet face to face. I have grown sick of the rudeness of sellers, in particular, and occasionally buyers when transacting over the internet. One part of me wonders if I am cutting my nose to spite my face, so to speak. But I find a pleasantly transacted deal has an effect on my enjoyment of this hobby and maybe even causes me to feel better about the equipment acquired. I am interested in how others have fared with internet transactions in this regard.

"This post is probably an over-reaction to a recent discourse with two dealers on the internet whose primary focus in their correspondence in reply to my enquiries was about the consequences of me failing to meet my side of the bargain - stated so indelicately by both as to seem more like an accusation. My reaction to both was to tell them I had no interest in entering into a contract with someone who clearly was going to be unpleasant to deal with. As it happens both are connected with this site (but I will not name them)."