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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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tonywinga's avatar
tonywinga
844 posts
 

Read or read not.  It’s your choice.  
 

tonywinga's avatar
tonywinga
844 posts
 

You’re missing out if you choose not to read it. The book contains sex, romance, love, sword fights, epic battles, mysteries, miracles, fantastic creatures from other worlds, fantastic beasts, fantastic tales, hope, heartbreak, vengeance, and promise for all mankind. It also answers the questions why are we here and how we got here. 
 

Now regarding audio:  In order to build an audio system either modest or grand the first question is, “What do you want the system to do?”  Having brick and mortar stores in the past helped guide buyers to make those decisions.  These days it seems people get the cart in front of the horse. 

zarrdoss
7 posts
 

Sadly most of them are going away. This younger generation only cares if they can hear it, on their phone, Bluetooth speaker. They really don't want to experience it. Luckily for me there is a good shop that does new and used equipment and will let you take home stuff and audition it for 14 days if it's used more if it's new. And if you don't like it bring it back and get your money back. Worked out great for me, I went through three sets of speakers before I found the ones I liked.

grislybutter
2,409 posts
 

I feel like it's a management and communication problem. People, old and young, male, female, black, white, any and all minorities love music. Manufacturer's web sites are horrible, listening to systems is nearly impossible, how would someone with limited time and budget put together a satisfying system?  Most of us have good hearing and at least one in 10 is head over heels for listening to music in high, mesmerizing quality. We used to have local shops, Circuit City, Tweeter, Lechmere, etc. now the last one: BestBuy is downsizing, all we got left is online. There has got to be a better way.... 

bubba12's avatar
bubba12
430 posts
 

I believe any music lover might be open to hearing about how their music might sound better. The problem begins and ends with the prices. The stores that seem to do well have made a huge investment to stock the ultra high end. Bottom line if I can't listen in your store you have offered me nothing more than an online seller.

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