The glory of the internet and sites like Audiogon make it easy for everyone to find great gear at sizeable discounts. There is always someone whoring out virtually any product for some starving dealer. The downfall to all of this? Dealers make zero in the transaction and therefore high end audio dealers will soon be a distant memory leaving in its place shops that focus solely on theater and custom installations. We will be left with a consumer self-serviced market. No place to demo gear, get support (less the manufacturer) and hear multiple pieces at once. But hey, the gear is cheap!
High End Audio Dealers
I am sure this question has been asked many times before, but I am new to Audiogon. I am researching audion equipment. Unfortunately, I live in Birmingham, Alabama and the high end audio dealers are few. Most have converted to become custom AV installers. There are only a couple here and they handle a limited stock. How do you audition equipment if you have no local dealers that handle the manufacturers you are looking for? I guess I could drive 2 hours to Atlanta.