You own a store, you sell 2 brands, which?


Thought experiment:

You run a store which sells used and new gear from any point in history.  The catch is you can have exactly 2 brands.  One of electronics one of speakers. 

Defunct brands are OK as are those current with long histories. 

What brands are they? 
erik_squires
Silly....Yours and mine. ;)

Sound Spaces by Eric and AVLOmnis.

...at worse, we could 'bench race' a lot.
...at best, make people happy.

Currently I 'do' more of the latter. ;)  Non audio, tho'' *sigh*

Entrepreneurship is hot these days.....*L*

('ell, I'm already starting to 'commute' to Greenville....what's a few more miles, right? )  😏

My 'problem' would be getting confused with a certain hotel chain...

"I'd like to reserve a room..."

Yeah, I'm sure you need a space where you and X can 'sleep'....
...we've got this closet by the laundry that goes for 550$/24 hrs....

If they haven't hung up before the end of That, you can sell them ANYTHING.  *LOL*
Luxman - electronics to disc to turntable and JBL big speakers and little boom boxes to running headphones 
I'll go with part to be different, part cause I own there stuff.

KEF and Technics

But Cambridge Audio & JBL would be my close second for the same reason.
Hello,
Samsung and Sony. Due to the lines that Samsung own and Sony because they cover the rest. Did anyone hear about the Sony A9 4.1 surround system. It is supposed to be totally incredible and a totally immersive experience. Maybe we can just add this system to our 2channel rooms so we don’t have to compromise our awesome 2 Channel systems. Have you noticed how many people still have their projection screens in their 2channel rooms. I know I still do. Maybe it’s time to get back into HT or music surround sound. Of course we will still have one seat in the room. 😁
No need to tell people you added the Sony A9 system. 
You can't make money out of a bricks and mortar store that stocks only two brands.
Yamaha and Macintosh. Yamaha covers every aspect of AV from consumer gear to audiophile. Macintosh will satisfy the snobs. 
Schiit and Klipsch.
They both range from affordable to audiophile.  

I've owned neither...yet.
VTL and Wilson.

Hey, if nobody buys them, I still get to listen to them all day.
Same thing I sold back in the mid-1970's - 1990's:

Audio Research and Magnepan

That's about all you need for the major components if you are actually interested in accurate reproduction.

Cheers
PASS LABS and MAGNEPAN

Both expensive,



I always felt Magnepan was quite reasonable, all things considered.
Can someone explain to me which speakers are not electronic?  Are they things that make sound without the use of any electric input, wires, crossovers, magnets etc?

I've seen pictures of vintage horn like things which somehow physically attach to the source of vibration.
Can someone explain to me why speakers are not electronic?


@noske

Make Wikipedia your friend:

 [Electronics use] active devices to control electron flow by amplification and rectification, which distinguishes it from classical electrical engineering which uses passive effects such as resistance, capacitance and inductance to control current flow.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronics

So  unless you have powered speakers, they are not electronic. :)

@erik_squires Thankyou, however I think that’s just geography.

I’m not sure Wiki clarifies my pedantic point but only serves to deflect - it is talking about two types of electronics - active (powered?) and passive. Non-active speakers use passive electronics, by definition. I’m not convinced that makes them non-electronic.
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Hi @noske


I'm afraid that Wikipedia's definition goes with my own.  To be electronics it must have a power source that is not the input signal.


However, arguing that is not the point of the thread.



Best,

Erik
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Sony electronics

Probably Magnepan or Tannoy speakers


I'd really like to carry some other stuff, though...
Considering the rebirth of vinyl and nice offerings of speakers and electronics all modestly priced, Rega.
And a very popular and venerable with a wide line of speakers, Klipsch.
Sonus Faber and  whatever other brand doesn’t go through online retail channels.
Really tough question as there are many great electronics brands that I would choose but very few that also have a turntable line.

Would probably have to second a previous choice with Linn due to their product categories of electronics, turntables, speakers and price ranges.

Speaker manufacturer is an easy one. Vandersteen hands down.

Did somebody say Carver and Energy?
Damn ! Are you a brother from another mother ?

Spot on , man ! LOL !

The real answer is which two brands give me the highest volume of sales as well as profit margins and which companies back up their products. 
The OP did not say the goal of the subject matter was to select the two products that would be the most profitable. Suppose you are independently wealthy and opened the store for personal enjoyment.
In that case I would select two products that I would enjoy selling and have confidence in their quality and musical enjoyment. 

OK, accepting the premise of the question, and having co-owned a HiFi store back in the day, the brand selection process is not one takes lightly. Leaving aside the Parent Company Ploy that gets you a whole basket of brands (clever, but not the point), picking two brands that can cover a lot of territory and thus give you the best chance of surviving, is actually pretty simple,

Marantz and Monitor Audio. Both are long-time brands with a lot of credibility, both have vertically stacked their product lines e.g. Bronze,Silver, Gold for Monitor Audio. As well they have horizontally diversified their offerings,

Monitor Audio has bookshelf, floor standing, in-wall, on-wall, pre-packaged surround and even soundbars. They have really covered the waterfront, with no apologies necessary at any price point you care to pay, and a couple you probably wouldn't - the  OK, accepting the premise of the question, and having co-owned a HiFi store back in the day, the brand selection process is not one takes lightly. Leaving aside the Parent Company Ploy that gets you a whole basket of brands (clever, but not the point), picking two brands that can cover a lot of territory and thus give you the best chance of surviving, is actually pretty simple,

Marantz and Monitor Audio. Both are long-time brands with a lot of credibility, both have vertically stacked their product lines e.g. Bronze,Silver, Gold for Monitor Audio. As well they have horizontally diversified their offerings,

Monitor Audio has bookshelf, floor standing, in-wall, on-wall, pre-packaged surround and even soundbars. They have really covered the waterfront, with no apologies necessary at any price point you care to pay from under $700 a pair for the Bronze 50s, to the PL500-IIs at a cool $35,000 a pair.

The $699 Marantz NR-1200 is the modern take on the classic Marantz receiver that pretty much defined our hobby with streaming and Bluetooth added as well as phono inputs; the PM7000N, a true middleweight contender and very integrated amplifier, and the muscular Ruby 200W/Ch 4 Ohms, no less than 6 AV Receivers, AV separates, a stellar selection of disk players, and a couple turntables, with the TT-15S1 being a legitimate high-end offering.

So yeah, I could make a pretty good run at it with those two lines, and tell a pretty good story to my customers about the legacies they're buying into. 


No store. With many of the best brands moving to direct sales currently, "stores" are doomed and this is another irrelevant question. Stores like Quintessence are more like museums.
Having been involved in businesses that sell to the public in some manner since I was about 9 years old...

The point is that the basic premise of the OP, is a no show, period. Full Stop.

Sales to the general public, in audio, via a ’store’....does not work that way.

All scenarios are different, all scenarios change. If the store owner does not grasp that and grasp it correctly, and move with it correctly...then they die on the vine.

It will be tough sledding regardless.

Eg, in older times, an ’entrepreneur’ was considered to be about 50 years old. A point where a person was considered to be matured, tested, and varied enough to be trusted with the complex act of being an entrepreneur. To run, or head -a complex attempt. Nowadays... we somehow confuse this with 20 year olds, as if it is all gumption and running in place, expending energy. Walking down the hill (so to speak) is the best way to get it done. Still, to this day.

Finding the right level and quality of maturity in one’s self or another, is more the problem. Eg, you want to open a music shop, a record shop?... you want Richard Branson to run it. He has no more mistakes to make. At the same time he is learned enough to know he still will make them. Which begets the ability to correct with his vast knowledge base of how things can go wrong, a base of knowledge built out of massive levels of scar tissue.

To return the point, the OP is fundamentally flawed. It is a poser that is relatively meaningless and has no relation to the working functional world of such endeavors.
to return the point, the OP is fundamentally flawed. It is a poser that is meaningless and has no relation to the working functional world of such endeavors.

We'll put you on the island with like minded people with souls who have long ago lost their ability to use fantasy and imagination as a way of talking about things they are passionate about. 
@teo_audio et al

Of course the OP premise was silly, but he asked a question, so give an answer or move on.

You all remind me of people who can't simply take an idea and run with it rather than spending your time tearing it down and ridiculing the person and the concept. I worked with a lot of you all at the large computer company I spent my career at after selling my "high -end" audio shop.

Some things are just simple and straight-forward and don't require tons of dissection and discussion.  Either name the two brands, like most of us did, and move on, or take Bambi's mom's advice.  You remember Bambi, right?

Oh, my, he was not REAL, so let's not talk about pretend cartoon characters.  Harumph!  This is a SERIOUS Forum!  We only deal in measurements and numbers and quantifiable information that noone except a PhD in physics and acoustic theory can discuss.  (Joke's on you. In audio, purchase is usually based on what YOU like.)

Good grief!  Has light humor left the planet during the previous 4 years of total insanity?
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Fer fun:

Joseph Audio

Devore Fidelity

Two brands that, to my ears, do some things, especially timbre and tone, "so right" and yet do it by sounding so different.

Dahlquist and NAD.....  I think these would be reasonably affordable to any schmo.  And great sound for the buck.
Excellent thread!!!!!!! I’ve started similar by asking what amp sounds good with my current speakers, but this thread should answer everybody’s.
KEF
Hegel.
For me, for fun:

Snell and Tandberg

Excellent styling and performance, and I did hear them both together, but I am very curious about Snell with Luxman to be honest but I never heard that combination.  With so many tube amps in their history so I think I’d absolutely adore trying out vintage 35W/Ch tube amps as well as the big SS beasts of today.
Has light humor left the planet during the previous 4 years of total insanity?
Eight months. It only feels like 4 years.