How many dealers do you use?

I generally have a dealer that I know well and knows me. Typically the relationship lasts for twenty years or more. The alignment first comes from the brands he/she carries, as this shows a common sensibility. I occasionally buy some things on line or from another dealer as he is not able to carry every brand. For instance the Transparent dealer was already in place. His insights and exposure to products is greater than mine. He is constantly learning, goes to audio shows at least once a year, advanced training classes (e.g., Linn master class). This does not mean I am not learning constantly, I am… but he does this 50 hours a week. He Is exposed to dozens of high end systems that he has installed in vastly different acoustical space.

I will as a question of a product and get back a very detailed and nuanced objective description using standard audiophile terminology which allows me to decide if what ever it is will have the effect or quality I am looking for and if it is cost effective to me.


I credit my dealer with joint design of my system. He pushed me to try a component I was not interested in, that had a profoundly positive impact on my system. My system is both of our favorites.

On average I probably go through an upgrade cycle every ten years and it takes one to two years to do it. I just love the time in between enjoying the music.

One of the reasons I have been active on the forums is that over the last couple years I upgraded two of my systems and realized how much the last fifty years of being an audiophile has taught me. So, for a while I thought I would try and be helpful to some folks that are actively working on upgrading their system. After a while, I will probably go back to mostly appreciating the system I have.