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life without audio dealers

currently there is a thread eliciting comments regarding the purpose of audio dealers. i would like to go a step further and consider the question:

what would it be like without audio dealers ?

in order to answer this question one should analyze the activities of audio dealers, such as:

providing an opportunity to audition stereo systems.

possibly lending components.

providing advice as to component selection, providing repair service for components under warranty and providing information as to how to deal with component "malfunction" which do not require a technician.

the obvious, namely, ordering and selling components, both new and used

i maintain that auditioning components at a dealer's store is usually not helpful. if you cannot listen in your own stereo system, the demo may be useless.

some dealers may lend components over the weeekend , or for longer periods of time. this is a very useful service.

advice may not be useful, as there is no guarantee that a recomendation if purchased will satisfy your needs. providing advice when a component acts up may be helpful at times. providing service during a warranty period is of value.

lastly selling a component may be necessary if one wants to buy new and is willing to pay the price.

as a consumer, i prefer buying direct from the manufacturer. in that context many of the dealer functions are now provided by the manufacturer.

it would seem that a dealer is not indispensable and while there might be some inconvenience in absence of dealers, i don't think i would suffer too much if there weren't any dealers.
mrtennis

Showing 2 responses by macrojack

macrojack
1,303 posts
 
Many of us feel that we have passed the point of needing dealer assistance. Many dealers just behave like toll booths, believing that you have to pay them to gain access. Many manufacturers support this notion with exclusive sales territories. Everybody's crazy.
The number of real B&M dealers has shrunk to only those who say "my way or the hiway". The number of manufacturers seems to be growing exponentially, and the number of new audiophile purchases seems to be static at best.
Something's gotta give -- especially since those few of us who remain obsessive enough to keep spilling significant sums into this mercantile abyss, has to start diminishing dramatically as the grim reaper collects his toll.
The stores are merely the first part of this ship to meet the iceberg.
macrojack
1,303 posts
 
That's well put, Duke. But my experience says that most people will never hear or care about "the difference" no matter how much exposure they get. It just isn't there for most people.

The Viet-Nam era, driven by drugs and the youth movement of the day, propelled widespread purchase of component audio. Later, during the 1980s, when tech stocks were causing widespread consumption of all things luxury, high end audio evolved as a separate category and money flowed. We are the sad remnant of those glory days.
Today, component audio and high end pretensions are passe. Many of us are in denial about this but those people are like Goethe's drunk on horseback. No matter how much they wave and yell and curse and gesticulate, the horse plods undeterred in whatever direction it chooses. And the current direction involves computer music servers and personal audio. New and better versions of the same old componentry will not redirect the horse. Dealers, graphs, reviewers -- all will struggle in vain. The die is cast and the end is in sight. It will probably never go away entirely but high end audio is in an irreversible decline. It's still fun though, if you are given to this sot of fun -- but too few are.
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