A Routine Day at your Local Hi FI Shop
- Thread starter MylesBAstor
- Start date
There was a High-End shop similar to the above in my area. I first went there in my early-20 and was treated like an ******* with no brains and even less money. A few years later, right after getting married, I stopped back looking for a preamp. Asked about a used ARC, they quoted a very low price (while laughing, of course), I took the cash out of my pocket and bought it immediately. The looks on their faces were priceless, as they no doubt thought I'd walk away. Been there. They're no longer in business. BTW, their owner now sells mid-fi receivers for someone else. Ain't life fun?
Wait, this gets better. My relationship with the store was fairly extended, as it was essentially the only shop of its type for quite some time. Like a 20 year span. Each and every time I was treated below par, as if the staff was somehow on a higher physical plateau than the rest of humanity. They'd constantly brag about the exclusivity of their lines refusing to discount, would mention how much this or that person spent, talked about buying new BMWs all the time ...all the while my wife was their accountant and they have no idea of the relationship, not are they remotely aware that I know their bottom line. During that time, both owners (one passed sway since then) had second mortgages on their homes, cashed-in their retirement plans, etc... and still treated perspective costumers like crap. Still refused to discount, even in light of a rising Internet market. Still rude, rude, rude. He who laughs last, laughs best.
Wait, this gets better. My relationship with the store was fairly extended, as it was essentially the only shop of its type for quite some time. Like a 20 year span. Each and every time I was treated below par, as if the staff was somehow on a higher physical plateau than the rest of humanity. They'd constantly brag about the exclusivity of their lines refusing to discount, would mention how much this or that person spent, talked about buying new BMWs all the time ...all the while my wife was their accountant and they have no idea of the relationship, not are they remotely aware that I know their bottom line. During that time, both owners (one passed sway since then) had second mortgages on their homes, cashed-in their retirement plans, etc... and still treated perspective costumers like crap. Still refused to discount, even in light of a rising Internet market. Still rude, rude, rude. He who laughs last, laughs best.
That's an awfully funny video, thanks Myles!
Unlike the previous poster I love my high-end store, Goodwin's High End in Waltham, MA. They are always friendly, extremely knowledgeable and thus able to give me good advice, have great gear and always let me try gear in my own system at home. So far I have tried at home three DACs (one DAC twice, before and after system upgrade), an amp, a pair of speakers, a CD transport, a Shunyata power chord and cable elevators. I bought from them acoustic treatment (custom designed by ASC), the Berkeley DAC, a second-hand digital interconnect (at a good price), the CD transport (Simaudio Moon Neo 260 DT) and the Shunyata cable elevators (and a very long time ago, my REL subwoofer).
They didn't mind that I didn't go for their amps and speakers; I listened to the Spectral DMA-260 amp first at length and pressure-free in their store, and after that upon my request for two days at home. When I wanted a new CD transport Paul told me if the Simaudio didn't work out they would only have very expensive ones apart from that (there are very few stand-alone transports anymore because people play from servers), and he suggested then perhaps buying a used one from the web might be the best for me. After doing some research I later said that I might be interested in an Esoteric transport that was for sale at Audiogon, and he offered, if I would go that route, that the store could handle the shipping if it ever needed service -- even though Goodwin's doesn't carry the brand. But since I was able to listen to the Simaudio transport at home for several days, I could make the decision for that unit in an informed manner; on my Berkeley DAC the unit sounded identical to my old Wadia 8 that needed replacement. By not going with the Esoteric I saved a lot of money and potential hassle along the way (there may be a technical reason why the Esoteric might not even have mattered on the Berkeley DAC, and neither did the Shunyata power chord that I auditioned on the Simaudio transport; I may start another thread on that). Paul also gave me a nice interconnect for my subwoofer for free.
I pay mostly (not always!) full price for my gear, but the ability to test the gear at home instead of having to rely on reviews or on recommendations from people on web fora has saved me from making a few costly bad decisions. Thus in the end it is cheaper and more hassle-free for me to build my system with Goodwin's High End as anchor point than to base everything off of second-hand purchases that often are guess-work.
Unlike the previous poster I love my high-end store, Goodwin's High End in Waltham, MA. They are always friendly, extremely knowledgeable and thus able to give me good advice, have great gear and always let me try gear in my own system at home. So far I have tried at home three DACs (one DAC twice, before and after system upgrade), an amp, a pair of speakers, a CD transport, a Shunyata power chord and cable elevators. I bought from them acoustic treatment (custom designed by ASC), the Berkeley DAC, a second-hand digital interconnect (at a good price), the CD transport (Simaudio Moon Neo 260 DT) and the Shunyata cable elevators (and a very long time ago, my REL subwoofer).
They didn't mind that I didn't go for their amps and speakers; I listened to the Spectral DMA-260 amp first at length and pressure-free in their store, and after that upon my request for two days at home. When I wanted a new CD transport Paul told me if the Simaudio didn't work out they would only have very expensive ones apart from that (there are very few stand-alone transports anymore because people play from servers), and he suggested then perhaps buying a used one from the web might be the best for me. After doing some research I later said that I might be interested in an Esoteric transport that was for sale at Audiogon, and he offered, if I would go that route, that the store could handle the shipping if it ever needed service -- even though Goodwin's doesn't carry the brand. But since I was able to listen to the Simaudio transport at home for several days, I could make the decision for that unit in an informed manner; on my Berkeley DAC the unit sounded identical to my old Wadia 8 that needed replacement. By not going with the Esoteric I saved a lot of money and potential hassle along the way (there may be a technical reason why the Esoteric might not even have mattered on the Berkeley DAC, and neither did the Shunyata power chord that I auditioned on the Simaudio transport; I may start another thread on that). Paul also gave me a nice interconnect for my subwoofer for free.
I pay mostly (not always!) full price for my gear, but the ability to test the gear at home instead of having to rely on reviews or on recommendations from people on web fora has saved me from making a few costly bad decisions. Thus in the end it is cheaper and more hassle-free for me to build my system with Goodwin's High End as anchor point than to base everything off of second-hand purchases that often are guess-work.
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Wilson Audio mentioned in the movie "Nebraska":
https://www.facebook.com/?sk=welcom...6601747&set=vb.100000000587155&type=2&theater
https://www.facebook.com/?sk=welcom...6601747&set=vb.100000000587155&type=2&theater
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