I am on the west coast - California. I must preface - I haven't been to a brick and mortar audio store in decades - not including 'magnolia' -- as brick and mortar audio stores are nearly non existent - there are a few in Palo Alto and SF bay area - but in silicon valley - decades ago - there were a dozen or more. Anyhow - I say all of that to segue into ... I am 52.
Went into my first 'high end' audio store in high school sometime - at Century Stereo in San Jose - and the owner - who became much like a mentor to me for years - and the folks that worked there - let me stay for hours if I wanted to - to listen - to learn - they new I had no money - but they didn't care -- they wanted to pass on the passion that they had for stellar sound -- ... and I have to say most stores back then were all the same -- no one kicked me out - they taught me respect for the hobby and a love for great sound and music --
As years went on -- stores closed -- Century Stereo moved to Saratoga - and - I would still in college go over their and drool over gear I couldn't afford - and learn from those that were willing to teach me about the latest and greatest gear -
I always appreciated it - and after college I bought the gear I could afford -- some b&w 803 towers and an aragon 8008 and matching preamp -- loved the sound - still have the gear in fact.
I will always be thankful that I didn't get turned away because of the arrogance of store staff --
Ironically -- at Magnolia I have been given the stink eye on more than one occassion because I wanted to hear something - but I think it was largely because they didn't know how to set anything up.
Visited a Store and was shunned
I live in an area where brick & mortar stores are not easily assessable to demo equipment. While traveling for business, I decided to stop by an establishment on the U.S. West coast. My interest was in the Dynaudio Confidence 20 since I’m looking to upgrade from the Contour 20i. I’m not here to name names or throw anyone under the bus, just purely to voice my frustration and disbelief on how I was treated.
I was greeted with skepticism and a general lack of interest in discussing the product. There were two gentlemen working that day and neither had any interest in answering questions or providing a listening demo. As a matter of fact, when I asked to listen to the Confidence 20 speakers one of them immediately said “no way”. Both speakers were on stands sitting next to several amplifiers so it wouldn’t have taken much time to setup.
I was intent on making a purchase that day and having the speakers shipped to my residence, but decided to leave the store based on my experience.
It’s a shame that most of us have to relay on equipment reviews when establishments such as this lack interest in the customers that support the hobby.
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- 118 posts total
- 118 posts total

