Mikec your description could be my old dealer who closed up shop 5 years ago after finally burning out on the HT crowd. His hi-end business esentially ended 3-4 years previous to that. Then again this area isn't the 2-channel capital of the world. My take is that mult-channel will eventually be the hi-end of tomorrow incorporating movies and music. Two channel will die like the dinosaur probably did, one by one until the last one looks around to find he is alone and the last of his kind. I really don't see a long term future in 2 channel audio.
Will Internet Distroy High End ?
The internet has been a godsend to those who wish to trade used equipment. It has also been ok for those dealers who care to do internet business. In the long run however, I don't envy local high end dealers. As more people jump on the used equipment bandwagon it may have a serious detrimental effect on new equipment sales. That in turn may distroy or shrink the cottage industry we call "High End Audio." We would then be left with all the mass merchandisers who want to reduce us all to mid-fi garbage. What do you think ?