The Case for High End Audio

[PeterA]

Glad you told them to F off. I’m originally from Philly so that’s actually a perfectly acceptable way to say good bye to someone. I do understand your points. As a consumer of course you understand that I want the best way to decide between A and B to be as simple and accurate as possible. Different stores, different electronics different set up philosophies makes it almost impossible to really understand the contribution of just the speaker to the sound I am hearing. Also I am relying on memory. As a hobbyist/consumer I love the idea of being able to hear 2-3 great speaker options in one place. I accept that the financial realities makes this difficult and even unwise in some cases but it also makes a truly informed decision by me more difficult.

This is a good example of where the interests of the consumer do not always align with the interests of the dealer. It is too bad, but I appreciate the economic and business realities. The hobbyist does what he can to navigate the choices and do what he thinks is best for him, and the dealer does the same. Likewise for the magazines and the forums.

 

[PeterA]

When I was CEO at Nextscreen, I observed the following:

1. Most manufacturers mentioned that our reviews still move a lot of their product, both for The Absolute Sound and hifi+.
2. Most manufacturers fought to be on the cover. Sometimes it got ugly. Lots of politics.
3. Many mentioned the shift to digital and often we would shift some paper dollars to online dollars.
4. When we did the pop-up sweepstakes events on the website, we saw massive associated sales.

I'm sorry Gobel didn't see an increase in sales but I would guess that was due to the factors of price and how that specific brand is perceived. It could have been general economic conditions at the time as well. I want to see Oliver and team do well.

Did Elliot say that Gobel did not see an increase in sales after that recent review in TAS, or did he say that his dealership did not see an increase in sales? You should call Oliver and get his take on it too.

 

[Lee]

Let me give you an example of when reviews worked. I was on HP's listening panel. I used to go to Sea Cliff a few times a month and particularly when HP found something he was excited about. I knew when I got a call that he wanted me to come have dinner that I was going to see and hear something new. I went over one evening and he had installed the Infinity Black Widow tone arm. He loved it, It sounded great that night and the system was cooking. I went home and the next day I called Arnie Nudell at Infinity who were bringing in the arm and asked AN how many he had in or coming in. He told me 200. I bought them all. The review came out months later and we were the only ones that had them. The phones rang off the hook. Contrast a while ago my speakers the Gobel Divin Noblesse was on the front Cover of TAS with a major review and pictures etc.
The result from the magazine , if I am totally honest ZILCH, I guess it helped bring th e brand to many people but it sold nothing, it didnt make the phone ring it did nothing tangable. Truth

@PeterA Here is what he wrote. My read was the brand in general but it's not clear.

 

[PeterA]

@PeterA Here is what he wrote. My read was the brand in general but it's not clear.

I see what you mean Lee, but he did say it did not make the phone ring, it did nothing tangible. I presume he is talking about his phone at his dealership.

 

[Lee]

I see what you mean Lee, but he did say it did not make the phone ring, it did nothing tangible. I presume he is talking about his phone at his dealership.

One measure of whether advertising in print magazines or online magazines is effective (Stereophile and TAS have both) is whether manufacturers continue to buy. They are still buying. They still want the cover.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

I don't have any bias against Wadax. In fact, I have expressed to Elliot and Brandon my strong interest in reviewing the Wadax Studio. I even reached out to Brandon who came through Atlanta a few weeks ago. I think if they can get a lot of the Wadax reference sound into a $60K all in one then that would be great.

Also, I have written about how great the sound is that Elliot gets in his rooms several times based on my listening at Axpona. And I have been a long-term fan of Oliver at Gobel and his products.

This doesn't make sense because in my post, I offered an essentially free path for Elliot to bring it by for a listen. My suggestion was a stop by in Atlanta when he is on his way to Axpona in Chicago. In the past he has gone through here and that's how we handled some Gobel cables which were in for a listen.

Lee,

maybe someone out there sees you as a digital reviewer expert. maybe they don't. not for me to say. did dCS trust you with a Varese stack?

i'm not a reviewer, neither do i manage reviewers. i'm only a consumer. but my guess is that manufacturers and distributors give much thought to who gets to review gear, so do the media decision makers. those are the people you should ask. you making a case to Elliot as a Wadax dealer is misplaced. Elliot has a job to do, which is not scratching your itch.

OTOH be serious about buying the Wadax, and now Elliot might be interested. i have no idea about you and Elliot and Gobel cables. Elliot is a distributor for Gobel, but only a Wadax dealer. or what that has to do with this situation. sounds like you have not convinced Elliot to stop by, and more push about it likely convinces him more not to do it.

sound like he is playing it about right. he should stay in his lane and the juice is not worth the squeeze for him.