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The truth about audio equipment sales

Mnyb

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https://www.stereophile.com/content/goodbye-house-mike-kay-built

Read the last few paragraphs, the truth is in black and white.

I liked this sentence.
“the emergence of literary, subjective audio writing by Harry Pearson of The Absolute Sound, J. Gordon Holt of Stereophile, and others created a new language and, with it, a new market.”

Has it ever been about actual audio technology and sound :facepalm: I put my hopes in midfi :) then it must be good but not to expensive and not silly . The high end is lost cause regarding actual sound.
 

Kvalsvoll

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This doomsday-vision is ever present on all audio-hifi-sound forums. But is it real. Or is this - like some of the reviews - just opinion based on subjective observations.

Because I see a world with more and more expensive hifi gear, more sophisticated, more manufacturers, hifi shows that did not exist decades ago.

Since this is the place with a scientific approach. This is something that can be measured, in plain numbers. How large is the market today, compared to say 30 years ago. How large are the sales in the upper price segments, compared to 30 years ago.

Bring on the numbers. If hifi is dying, we can see it in the numbers.
 

Wombat

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30 years ago, my son shared my interest in audio. Now? Now he says he just wants something to listen to while he works. From what his friends and co-workers are saying, I think this is the new standard. :confused::confused::confused:

Good-bye, High End. The writing is on the wall. Jim Taylor

I think it was always thus.

Audio aficianodos tend to have an over-inflated sense of importance re their interest.
 
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Jim Matthews

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When I first had sufficient disposable income for audio I often fielded invitations from older fans for "demonstration sessions".

They rarely included actual music.
 

sergeauckland

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"No one asks a Mercedes salesman how the drivetrain is connected to the tires."

That's just the sort of questions I've always asked about the cars I've bought, and equivalent questions about anything technical I've bought. Why wouldn't I want to know about how something works in detail? If the salesperson doesn't know or can't tell me then they don't understand what they're selling, so why should I believe anything else they're telling me?

Regarding Lyric, I would have had a lot more respect for a dealer that refused to sell $20,000 loudspeaker cables as being a rip-off.

But then I never understood making money out of people's weaknesses / stupidity.

S
 

Vini darko

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High end anything isn't going away. Luxury, prestige, craftsmanship , exceptional service and being sold a story/ideal are how one parts people from big money. I've worked in various retail and sevice jobs it's always like this.
 

FrantzM

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A bit sad for me ... A little story
I was a student in NYC (early 80's) when I first went to Lyric Audio. I was a hardcore subjectivist then ( and for the next 30 years or so .. :(). I knew , I couldn't afford any most of those gear but HP (The Man, TAS personified) said that the NAD C3020 was the bee-knee so I went to audition it ...
First salesperson was snooty and haughty ... I was about to leave.. I met with Mike Kay who politely asked me what I came to buy ... We fast became friends. He called me "Kiddo". From that point on ... 1985 , perhaps, I had basically a free pass at Lyric. I bought a few weeks later a used Magnepan Tympani and a Modulus something preamp and found a Dynaco ST-70 at a flea market, Mike gifted me a pair of Fulton Brown ... I went home with those.. I was in heaven ... Those were the only stuff I bought at Lyric, it didn't matter, I had a free pass.
From that point on , I auditioned at Lyric whatever and whenever I want; only rule was that I would defer to a customer or potential customer. I went to the best room they had and listened to whatever I wanted or brought in. Mike would join for some sessions. My dream system was that with the Infinity IRS V, late they were replaced by the quasi-identical Genesis One.
Years later a friend (who introduced me to Burmester) and I, brought a pair of smallish Burmester 878 amplifiers to Lyric. My friend, Mike and I listened to these for hours. He later carried the brand, whether it was because of that encounter I don't know ... . Of course auditions were carried with full knowledge, with a full dose of hyperboles from my friend and I.. THe amps were indeed small by High-End AUdio standards but they did drive some difficult loads with apparent ease.
We would often discuss Classical music concerts. I continued to visit Lyric Audio for many years until I left NYC.
Lyric had 3 stores at one point in NY: One on Broadway until the early 90's, another one in upstate NY and the main store at Lexington Avenue.
I learned of his passing through the audiophile press and audiophile fora. I wished to see him before as I knew he was ill.
The man was a passionate person and a good business man. I believe his wife and him came to buy a piece of Mark Levinson, the brand, and sold it later to Harman.

Other people may have had a vastly different experience with him. He wasn't universally liked.

He was Lyric Audio. When he went, I knew Lyric Audio would follow.
Times have changed: The Internet has not been too keen on Brick and Mortar.
 
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