Speaking of things that dealers just want to get rid of...
There are still audio dealers who become friends and have enough decency and compassion to teach without degrading their pupils. Dealers with enough passion for music that their only interest is helping you get as close to the music as possible.
This kind of dealer spends enough time and effort with customers/friends that it becomes obvious that the bottom line is the last of their concerns.
These are the dealers and teachers I spend time with. There are internet know it alls on every site...nameless and faceless they tell everyone of their knowledge and knock down those who disagree. But for every 100 buffoons like that there are the rare gems that love music and people enough to show it...and come with name and face proudly displayed. Dale Shepherd of Eugene HiFi is such a person.
Last weekend Dale came to my home and brought many samples and taught me how he sets up a turntable. It was obvious to him by how my setup sounded that I knew plenty about speaker placement and isolation as well as to how to optimize a multi purpose room. It was also obvious by how my turntable was performing that all was well there too.
Dale, setup an awesome demo here in my home and one that I won't soon forget. We sat for hours with goosebumps and tears enjoying one piece of music after another.
We started by setting the Box Furniture Company rack and listening to the stereo still placed on my rack. Then moved one piece after another to the rack while taking the time to listen to music with every change.
Dale then setup the Concept and we started to move into higher end gear...nothing I can afford to buy and he knows that...but something we can enjoy together without jealousy or a sales pitch. Just two music lovers sharing an evening of great music, great hifi and great friendship. That's what this hobby is about to me.
The last pic is of the final high end setup we listened to with the Box Furniture Company rack, Roksan Reference phono stage, Mastersound Due Venti and gillion dollar vdH cables (which btw sounded like every nickel of it).
We were tickled pink! ....and perhaps a bit twisted...
Great stuff. I only wish we had dealers like Dale here on the Gold Coast. There are some nice guys who give good advice, but they wouldn't go to that trouble without a very decent sale dangling from the end. Top stuff Art. And I agree with your opener.
Dale is the kind of dealer that will just stew and ruminate about how to help someone get to kind of sound that they will be happy with, and selling them something is the last thing on his mind. Don't get me wrong, if that's the right move he will help you make that choice and come to that conclusion logically...but he is just a zealous if that is not the the right move. Totally about the music. His only reason to be in the business is the love of the music and not to make money. If you've ever met anyone like that, you know what I mean.
Nice rack Art. Is there an appreciable difference in SQ? Be nice to find a dealer of similar qualities in this area. Unfortunately, nearest dealer is 45 miles away, and my impression so far is they seek the big accounts. Can't say its a case of money over substance, but existence in this tighter economy. & I'd even share a good single malt
Bryan, Dale lives a little more than 45 miles away. Good folks are good folks whether they are audio dealers or insurance salespeople. Dale is a friend first, I just happen to have met him through our mutual interest in audio. I have a number of other dealers who are friends as well, none as tight as Dale and I.
There's not enough people like those guys in the field, Art. Dale sounds a lot like my local Naim/Linn/Rega dealer. They personally install and set up everything they sell, and will set it up for an in hose demo too. When I was auditioning cartridges, they offered to come to my house with a few different ones to audition them there and make sure the system and room was set up optimally. Doing all that wasn't really worth their time - I'm sure they could have been out setting up $30k Linn tables and the like.
When I declined, they suggested bringing in my B60 and speakers with the turntable to get a sense of how everything sound together.
Remember Ed with the Naim gear who bought the Arivas? They wouldn't sell them to him over the phone. He had to make the trip from Philly (about 2 hours drive) so they would be sure that that's what he wanted. It had nothing to do with territory - Arivas were discontinued - or shipping hassles. They had a ton of phone inquiries from people who were willing to pay more than retail for the speakers. Ed had a great time and was very glad he made the trip. The dealer called me later that day thanking me for the referral.
Then there's the rest of the Metro MYC jokers - telling you what you want to buy, asking to hear specific pieces and them showing you completely different stuff even though what you asked for is already set up, charging for auditions, and on and on. There's so much great gear available in this area that a lot of people will never get to hear because of these guys.
Its great to see that I'm not the only one who has a great dealer to buy from and to just stop by their shop and hang out.
Excellent post, Stu. I'm glad you have a dealer in your area that you can rely on for outstanding service. Great story relative to Ed as well. Hope he is still enjoying those Ariva's. What a great speaker!
These great dealers sound like my dealer, Red Ball Radio. These guys will let you take stuff home, return it, bring your stuff in, let you listen for hours or just hang out and talk shop. They wont let you buy a product unless you have a plan. Speaking of dealers being friends, the Sr. Installer of Red Ball is like a brother, and a long time friend of the family since we were born. His mother babysat us when we were babies, we took baths together.HAHA. Anyway, its good to know there is people out there doing it right. Cheers.
Stu, the Box Co rack makes an incredible difference. Dale has never been anything but straight with me, but when it came to the rack I wondered if perhaps his ears were a little more "golden" than mine. Then there was the demo and OMG, I really couldn't believe my ears. Everything became that much better. The only thing that stayed the same was imaging. Soundstage, timbre, definition...everything was better. Y'all know I don't listen to music loud, I was able to listen much louder than normal because of how easy it was to listen to. Engaging and easy on the ears, great combination.
The Naim Fraim is really great for Naim gear, probably not as much for other products.
