Good stores in LA

Check out Digital Ear in Tustin, CA, they have the top shelf gear you're after:

http://digitalear.com/

Stereo Design in San Diego also has top stuff:

http://www.stereodesign.com/

Sunny Components in West Covina, CA has good stuff, but the owner is very difficult to deal with and he's by appt only, so the hassle may not be worth it.

http://www.sunnycomp.com/

Jay at Audio Revelation (San Diego) and David at Weinhart Designs (Beverly Hills) carry Magico and have good reputations, but they are by appt only.

Brooks Berdan is probably worth a visit, and from the comments above, they seem to be one of the more approachable dealers around.

Upscale Audio in Upland, CA have a great reputation among tube enthusiasts, but I don't think they do walk ins or appts really...

Brace yourself for some serious LA HiFi attitude, most times it's not pleasant dealing with dealers, but a necessary evil if you want to enjoy and explore this hobby...

Weinhart Designs also has the new Magico M5s. Listening to the M5s alone would be worth a trip to LA...

I would rather make the drive to a good HiFi shop in S. CA than waste my time within LA county at the not so great shops. So, I would want to know about all of the better S. CA shops, then pick the good ones in a specific area to visit.

Better to have more options than less, right?

Well, since we are off topic now...

While in LA, the place you should REALLY go, as a music lover and audiophile, is the Walt Disney Music Hall for a classical performance. LA may not have the friendliest and best HiFi shops, but they do have some of the best musicians and one of the better symphonic music halls in the world.

You'll get closer to the music there than you would sitting in any dealers showroom.

Well, how was the trip?