Would you pay to listen?

If an audio dealer wanted to check my credit before letting me listen to THINGS THEY WERE TRYING TO GET ME TO BUY, they would never again see me or my hard earned money. Is there some weird cult of salespeople worship going on here? At a fave museum of mine you can stand right in front of a Van Gogh with a swiss army knife in your pocket, and that sucker is worth more than any hifi gear (the painting, not my little knife). I don't think any damage can be done to audio gear by listening to it. Test driving a car has obvious risks. I played a friend's $200,000 guitar once (59 Les Paul Standard)...I could have dropped it I suppose, but hey, life is risks! Also, when I listen to some amazing music on my system late at night I think, "man...this sounds like a million bucks".

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I'd pay money to hear this system.

Siriusly, the room's the thing!
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..by the way. I test drove a Ferrari, and they didn't charge me...why would I pay to hear a stereo system. Don't you EVER use the word Mazda and Ferrari in the same month. You just don't know.

Is the question here asking if you would pay to audition a high end stereo system or pay a nominal fee to be able to use a high end stereo system?

If there was a really high end system that I could rent out for $20 per hour and I could spin my own LPs and sit back and listen I would do it. Especially if they had a way to prevent my wife from coming in and interrupting every 3 minutes to ask a question. Hell I already pay a lot more than that to rent out a cart and the real estate to hit a white ball every week.

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I'd pay money to hear the system in the link below.

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?vevol&1115953260
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Only if there is a refund if not satisfied.

I've spent $20 in gas/tolls to hear high end systems a number of times, since there are several good dealers roughly 100 miles from me.

I will do this again if/when I get the urge to upgrade or just want to hear what is out there, unless they continue to go out of business. If they do, I will miss the opportunity to spend $20 to hear a high-end system. My $.02

Would I be offended if the store asked me directly for $20? Probably, but only because I think the margins are high enough that it shouldn't be necessary. The fact that brick and mortar high end stores are dropping like flies makes me wonder though.

A thought - maybe the retail price (or discounted MSRP that we usually pay) already includes consideration for the times people walk in just to listen and not make a sale?. Hey, I have a great audio guy (GREAT). Staff always very inviting and willing to play anything for anyone. I have been a customer for over 10 years and have spent mucho bucks - but would still never touch anything.

The level of insulation from the Real World among the Audiophelia (that sounds like a creepy hearing fetish) always mystifies me...I don't think anybody noticed the point I made that high end retail places are awful at attracting new biz...and it is completely their fault. Could they host a jazz band or a solo guitar player maybe? No. And aren't manufacturers dying to come in and show off their stuff? Maybe not, unless they set up a system in a stark hotel room at a show...pathetic.

it seems silly to pay to listen to stuff--a bunch of inanimate objects.

Mrtennis, some of those inanimate objects you are refering to provide a pleasurable listening experience and that is the objective.

I agree with you wolf garcia, about retailers being more inventive in looking for custom and I think some are. I went to a small 4 room show run by a local retailer recently and it was great. Frequent cycling of kit and music meant I spent 5 hours there happily. There was also a local vinyl shop there with lots of used vinyl.

I think some retailers are trying but they are caught between a rock and the proverbial. High margins mean few sales which means higher margins and fewer sales. I would love to know how many sales of kit, not accessories, your average retailer in a moderate sized city makes. I suspect it is very few and they have fixed costs, rent, salaries, utilities to cover. If any would be retailer produced an honest business plan about starting a HiFi shop, he would be laughed out of the door by his banker.

The internet, sites like Audiogon and the shrinking interest on 2 channel high end music reproduction, means that the retail industry is sadly, dying on it's feet. It is sad for all of us, even if we do'nt tend to use them. Fewer stores mean fewer new entrants to our interest/obsession. I suspect most of us started out with an interest in music and wandering into a helpful hiFi store, on an impulse. Then we followed a similar path of obsession, guilt, ruinous expense, relationship breakdown, drugs and penury.

hi phd:

you are accurate in your asssessment.

however i would not pay to hear inanimate objects rather ai would pay to hear humans use them to create sound.

th human factor is lost when listening to a stereo system.

the only human involved is the listener.

i think it's a value judgment that determines where one wants to spend one's money.

hi phd:

you are accurate in your asssessment.

however i would not pay to hear inanimate objects rather ai would pay to hear humans use them to create sound.

th human factor is lost when listening to a stereo system.

the only human involved is the listener.

i think it's a value judgment that determines where one wants to spend one's money.

There are a LOT of humans involved in my stereo...the people who designed the components and sold them (inspired me to buy their stuff) to me are represented well...they aren't in the room with me, but I've been playing for people in clubs, at concerts, and on recordings for over 40 years and trust me...a lot of those actual live people aren't there even when they're there. So there. My stereo is one of the most animate objects I have, it has soul and personality and turns electrons into art...and I'm speaking from a performing musician perspective, and as an obvious philosophical genius (obviously).
Regarding the audio retailers, as with most other semi-dead businesses, they seem to lack spark and creativity...If I put those lazy hours into any of my successful businesses (ar live performances) I would have lost a pile of money...you need to KICK ASS in the business world (and the music performance world) or you get what you deserve...failure.

In a heart beat ,in fact I've often entertained having such a place with several different systems up and down the cost scale.Such a pleasant fantasy at this time.

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Now that I think about it, guys pay good money to get on a plane, rent a hotel room and buy food to go to CES or RMAF and other shows to see and heard hi-end systems. So, they ARE paying. Even if they drive to the event, with the high cost of gas, they ARE paying. Audiophiles go to these events in large numbers...and there IS a cost involved to get there.
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If a dealership starts to charge potential customers to listen, I would think those customers would feel less guilty about listening to some gear and then buying used over the net. I think it would be a slippery slope for dealers to offer such a service.

CES and RMAF already diminish the need to audition at dealerships. The experience is certainly more pleasant at a local dealership with good service, but the shows offer a much broader array of products and with the exposure, buyers have a better idea of what components sound like before they buy them on Audiogon.

Paying to audition components in one's own system is another idea.