If you were to be a dealer, what lines would you like to carry and why?

[BruceD]

Bruce, do you know how the Maxonics sound? There is a dealer not 20 miles from me. Runs these 100dB+ beauties w...Soulution amps!

Mark--Yes I heard one of the Units in the SibatechJP room at CES (2010) I think but not certain-it was CD and they played the Gary Karr and Organ track--very impressive and went nearly all the depth!.

They are fine Transducers but I've since heard the Atelier Rullit aero 8 full range FC's and thought they
being more cost friendly delivered as much as the Maxonic sonically--don't know if they are sold in your neck of the woods.

Seeing you have contact locally --I'd certainly check pricing and what they can do for a demo.

FC's have a sought of mesmerising quality that draws you into the Music--I have friends that won't have anything else for Speakers and I must admit some of the few sessions where one does not want make lame excuses for leaving early to feed the Dog!

-- tho Hmm-- Soulution Amps would not be first choice
with any FC's -just my opinion YVMV

Good luck,
BD

 

[spiritofmusic]

The Atelier Rullit online don't seem to be complete spkrs, just the FC drivers.

 

[BruceD]

The Atelier Rullit online don't seem to be complete spkrs, just the FC drivers.

Ah Ok --yes I think so --the pair I heard were in custom semi-open baffle type frames. Mind you with the plethora of plans for cabinets/semi and full enclosures on the net I'd sooner get the best FC's Drivers I could afford and have the Speaker builder make the surrounds in the finest wood and finish to suit my needs and surroundings--this is what I personally would do if I was putting together cost no object speaker( only FC's for that !)
I can see where you are coming from--fair enough but be careful choosing FC's -- in my own experience Voxativ was disappointing also Feastrix
didn't float the boat.

Here is what I've always wanted -I would die happy sitting in front of these!

Good Listening!

BruceD

 

[andromedaaudio]

I m not sure its the best SS.
But which is???
I would like to have the boulder 2110 2120 and 2160.
I like good made stuff .
No tube change anymore and dead quit. ( CAT itself is reliable however )
I like the 3060 but i dont think its gonna bring more on easy speakers.
3010 preamp is less pretty (as seen from the net) then the 2110 imo.

Ps in my case(speakers ) if boulder would make a nice class A 100 watter it would be more then enough as well.
I dont expect much more of the next 500 to be honest.
But im open to surprises

II would say boulder is the Benz S 560 of the audio world.
CAT is the ferrari/lamborghinii

 

[musicfirst1]

Totally hypothetical, but curious to see where people would put their money and reputation into. You determine your investment capital as well.

Nice topic!!

 

[IanG-UK]

In the current environment and in the UK, I would not dream of being a dealer, for these reasons:

1 Mixing business with pleasure
2 The low-end student-enthusiast market must have shrunk and/or become a non-commercial area for an independent dealership
3 The middle ground area previously aspiringly fulfiilled by UK owned/designed/manufactured products has changed so much with the Quad/Naim/Arcam/KEF/B&W/Wharfedale/SME businesses no longer what they were and no longer aspired brands
4 The high end is dominated by one importer (Audio Research/Constellation/Agostino/dCS/Magico/Martin Logan/Wilson) and I suspect what is ex-factory in the USA at 100 and retails in the USA at 100 + 50% margin + 5% sales tax = 158 retails in the UK at 100 + 50% distributor margin + 50% dealer margin + 20% VAT = 270 making these items quite painful purchases.

My lines, were they deliverable, would be Elac, KEF, Quad and Magico speakers; Devialet, Quad, Naim and Soulution amplification; SME, Antipodes, Naim and Rega sources; Stax headphones; Devialet and Naim "all-in-one" units. But my retail model would be supply of product at cost with two excellent obligatory demonstration facilities each charged out at maybe £250 per hour, regardless of purchase - hopefully £10k income per week!

And I would go bust.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Running an audio dealership? A good idea for about 3 nanoseconds, and then the cold dread of reality hits.

Would my proclivity for left field brands translate into sales? Probably not.

Running eg Bakoon SS at £5k, £10k and £20k, and Nat SETs at £8k, £15k and £30k, appeal to many in the UK? Indeed, any?

Zu spkrs at £12k and £22k, Maxonics at £70k? Maybe I could procure Alsyvox at £40k and £80k. Any market here? Left field horns, anyone?

Eera cdps at £10k and £15k, and dacs at £7k to 17k? Any takers?

Primary Control and Torqueo tts at £7k to £15k. Terminator and SAEC arms at £2k and £10k. Please call to listen.

Soundsmith carts and Tom Evans phono stages. Gotta be demand at tags of £2k to £15k, surely?

As I say, nice idea...for a moment.

 

[cjfrbw]

Will sell audio for food. I guess the homeless crisis is rubbing off on me. What brands go well with hand stenciled cardboard.

 

[andromedaaudio]

I can still sell you a card board friendly in wall speaker

 

[andromedaaudio]

I might give levinson another try off course
However from what I read the 5 series of today are voiced differently then the golden age levinson 3 series .
But the products of today look well built again and are versitale.

 

[Gregadd]

I can't remember how many hobbyist turned dealers have gone bankrupt in my area. I am just down the street fron the defunct Hi C stereo. I went there to audition Audio Researh/WATT/Entec.(Leesburg,Va.)
The funny thing is they all seemed to be doing a reasonable amount of b usiness and then poof!, they were gone. Some showed up at other shops. A couple took my deposit with them.
Magazine reviews greatly influenced their product lines and sales. Many had vile things to say about Harry Pear we on. Most were honest and loved audio.

 

[Site7000]

I'm omitting the less expensive brands that would make a store viable.

Speakers:
Rockport
Wilson Benesch
MBL
Vivid
TAD

Electronics:
Boulder
Nagra
CAT
PS Audio

Sources:
MSB
Basis
Kuzma
Koetsu
Lyra

Accessories:
Stacore
Masterbuilt
Furutech

 

[andromedaaudio]

Viable hmm ???? , to make that happen i m looking at selling french Fries and Egyptian perfumes as well

 

[kach22i]

I can't remember how many hobbyist turned dealers have gone bankrupt in my area. I am just down the street fron the defunct Hi C stereo. I went there to audition Audio Researh/WATT/Entec.(Leesburg,Va.)
The funny thing is they all seemed to be doing a reasonable amount of b usiness and then poof!, they were gone. Some showed up at other shops. A couple took my deposit with them.
Magazine reviews greatly influenced their product lines and sales. Many had vile things to say about Harry Pear we on. Most were honest and loved audio.

Steve the guy that I bought my Nordost wires from out of his basement finally found his investors and had a great store going for a while. He folded after only about three years. My guess is his investors were not willing to let their money sit being drained by the overhead, did the math and cut their losses or knew better investments were calling to them.

Poor Steve, probably left holding the bag, his house or his business?

People usually go for the roof over their heads.

Okay, now for my dream store.

A suite in a warehouse district where I could build speakers and other equipment, with a listening room or two up front for testing and sales by appointment.

 

[andromedaaudio]

The only time I become a dealer( with an actual shop ) is when (commercial) real estate is gonna make a dive ( I expect in the next 1 -2-3 years ), and buy something at a nice price, no rent no monthly expenses.
And everything that is in the shop is paid for already by Johnny cash so i dont have to beg people to buy something plus I dont have to be very political
The primary reason would be to demonstrate/ sell my own speakers , I m also thinking of designing non resonant / beautifull equipment racks.
(plus some smaller speakers off course )

The suite in a warehouse district sounds good to me , but the more exposure the better off course.

I would target home cinema just as much as just listening to music , and try to sell the whole package: custom room speakers amps the whole experience.
I assume people go often wrong because the mix and match hasn't worked out for them as to what they wanted .

 

[infinitely baffled]

My perfect dealer would carry:

Wavac, Tenor, Boulder, Lavardin, Zanden, FMA amplification
Speakers Rey Audio Kinoshita, Snell/ AudioNote, Nola, Focal, Bohne, Apogee, Soundlab
Artisan Fidelity, Kodo, Avid, Brinkman, VPI, Vyger, Esoteric, Lampizator,
Tripoint, Entreq, Artesania, Dalby and Vicoustic





Also shrooms sensimilia, pills and mandy

and LazyBoy

 

[sbnx]

Interesting...What brands sell or what brands would I like to sell. A good business model is to pick brands that practically sell themselves. However, I prefer the sound of lesser known and represented brands

Speakers:
Brands that sell -- Magico, Wilson
Like to sell: Vivid Zellaton, Audes

Amplification
Brands that sell: -- D'Agostino, Audio Research, Pass Labs
Like to sell: Gryphon, CAT, Mactone

Source:
Brands that sell: DCS; Esoteric
Like to sell: Aqua; Lampizator; MSB, Aurender; Pro-ject

Cables: Lots of good cable lines to choose from all of which have great margins.

Bass Management: JL Audio CR-1 + Xilica + Subwoofers

I think a killer and "affordable" system would be Audes speakers, Mactone amp, Lampi DAC w/Volume, Aurender. Although I have never heard that specific combo.

 

[bonzo75]

SBnx, I completely agree - as a dealer it is more important to keep what sells automatically rather than what you like. I also a think a dealer should not be emotionally attached to the goods he sells. Imagine stocking dCS and Lampi, and if a customer comes in to buy the dCS, and if a dealer likes the Lampi, it will show. The dealer should be focused on margins/turnover, and service. To distinguish himself he should have key set up skills, else people will simply be able to buy his stuff in the used market and plug it in themselves. There should be some value to buying from him in terms of learning, or it should be incredibly bespoke and high margin.

 

[sbnx]

Ked, you are right about the service thing. Most brick & Mortar stores I have encountered aren't after a real relationship with customers. It is simply "Hello, what box do you want to hear for 10 min? You buying it? No. Then go away." And if you do buy something you have to pick it up or if you are lucky they will deliver it and unbox it. No real setup or guidance on how to steer toward the sound you are looking for. The model seems to be to just keep people on the "box swap merry-go-round".

Also, I can not think of a single store I have visited that I have gone away with a Wow! That was amazing! Now, I have not visited Suncoast or any of the New York stores. Maybe they have a "wow" setup. I think if a store shows people an absolute wow sound at various price points and can articulate how the customer can achieve this starting where they are then they will come back as they move up the ladder.

If a store is going to complete with things like Music Direct or Audiogon then they have to offer something those guys don't.

But this thread is about what brands you would sell if you opened a brick and mortar store.

Todd

 

[QuadDiffuser]

In the category of speakers, I find it interesting that made-in-the-USA Von Schweikert Audio is conspicuously absent. Guess they still have some ways to go before being regarded as being in the big leagues producing speakers that will “sell themselves” (such as Magicos and Wilsons)?

In Hong Kong, where I’m currently based, audiophiles seem to place paramount importance on resale value, with the steepness of the depreciation curve driven by the rather binary reality of either the presence or absence of a dealer support network - ironically, the investment required to grow brand recognition and reputation have become doubly difficult (compounded by Covid-19) in today’s market where brick-and-mortar stores especially important for auditioning loudspeakers have largely disappeared.