Suncoast Audio...
kharp1
Posts: 3,453
I'm in Clearwater for nine days and thought I'd check out a couple of audio shops while I was in the area. Looked up Suncoast Audio and checked their brands, hours and got directions downloaded from Google maps. Tried to go yesterday, but, due to accident on 75 I got rerouted and maps took me to the wrong place. Ended up an hour away and I wouldn't reach them before 5pm closing.
Made this my primary destination today and arrived at 11:15 am only to find them close and a sign on the door that states "By Appointment Only." Nowhere on their website did I ever see by appointment only! I'm a bit miffed to say the least. I curse the owner with festering sores on his arse so painful he can't move.
Made this my primary destination today and arrived at 11:15 am only to find them close and a sign on the door that states "By Appointment Only." Nowhere on their website did I ever see by appointment only! I'm a bit miffed to say the least. I curse the owner with festering sores on his arse so painful he can't move.
Comments
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Oh no! That's @BlueFox's dealer! Too bad you couldn't have had Bud tell him you were coming so he could've accommodated you.
But yeah, lame that nothing on the website says "by appointment only". -
Boo Hoo. Mike is a great guy. I visited there last September and had a great time.Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
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Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits. -
Did you read the post? I went online abd checked them out, and, it nowhere did it state "By Appointment Only." I called and spoke with Mike and he's out of town. He told me the website states by appointment only, however, I'm on my phone and the mobile site says nothing about needing an appointment.
Guess the take away from this is call first to verify. Wasted 6 hours drive time as well as toll costs both ways.Post edited by kharp1 on -
I walked through blizzards and snow chest high, ten miles in each direction just to go to school, so forgive me for not being too concerned about your first-world problems...
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“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson -
nooshinjohn wrote: »I walked through blizzards and snow chest high, ten miles in each direction just to go to school, so forgive me for not being too concerned about your first-world problems...
Total BS, you didn't go to school! Well, you may have went to a location that had a school, but, I'm betting you spent more time behind the football stadium smoking funny cigarettes.
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Now that....would warrant a nasty email. Maybe some eggs on the windows too.
Screw that !!HT SYSTEM-
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Pioneer elite vhx 21
Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Polk Sig. 20's
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cables-
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Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
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lsi 9's -
Yes, let's vandalize his business because he doesn't allow walk-ins.Now that....would warrant a nasty email. Maybe some eggs on the windows too.
Screw that !!
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Yeah, lets....since he doesn't think wasting customers time is no big deal. Put the notice on your website for Christ sake, is it so hard ? If that was me instead of Kerry, smoke would be coming out my ears.....and bad things happen when that occurs.HT SYSTEM-
Sony 850c 4k
Pioneer elite vhx 21
Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Polk Sig. 20's
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cables-
Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable
Kitchen
Sonos zp90
Grant Fidelity tube dac
B&k 1420
lsi 9's -
It is listed on the website: https://suncoastaudio.com/contact/
Opening Hours (By Appointment Only)
Monday to Friday: 10am-5pm
Saturday: 12-4pm
Sunday: closedYeah, lets....since he doesn't think wasting customers time is no big deal. Put the notice on your website for Christ sake, is it so hard ? If that was me instead of Kerry, smoke would be coming out my ears.....and bad things happen when that occurs.
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The notice is absolutely on the website. Also generally a pretty good idea to make sure of these things before committing that much time especially when high end audio shops often work in this fashion.2 Channel in my home attic/bar/man cave
2 Channel Focal Kanta 3 I Modwright SWL9.0 Anniversary Pre I Modwright PH9.0X I Modwright KWA-150SE I VPI Prime Signature w/ Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC I Lumin U2 Mini I North Star Designs Intenso DAC I Audience OHNO ICs/Audience Furutech FP-S55N and FP-S032N Power Cables/Acoustic Zen Satori I Isotek Sirius -
Geez guys, read the post. I was on my mobile device and it doesn't show up as by appointment only. I foundd that out by calling him. He told me it was on the website, and, I believe him. Only thing I have to go on is my phone, and, I went back and looked and it says nothing about needing an appointment.
My fault for not calling to verify.
And, @stangman67 that is one of the big reasons why I'm put off by the industry. -
Nowhere on the mobile website does it say by appointment only. It states the hours that it's open each day of the week but no mention of by appointment onlySDA SRS 2.3TL's
Silk Audio MS-90-BT integrated tube amp
Yaqin MS-20L integrated tube amp
SDA 2B TL's -
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Ah, yeah, he needs to get the mobile version of his site to also say appointment only.
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Just use the web site on your phone. I never use mobile apps on my phone. They are always deficient in one way or another.
Also, join AudioShark and PM him.Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits. -
The phone's browser requests the mobile version of the website by default. If the site has one, it obliges.Just use the web site on your phone. I never use mobile apps on my phone. They are always deficient in one way or another.
Also, join AudioShark and PM him.
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I can text mike any time and he answers
He’s a good guyMagico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R -
The only place the mobile shows it is in "contact us" drop down2-channel: Modwright KWI-200 Integrated, Dynaudio C1-II Signatures
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erat interfectorem cesar et **** dictatorem dicere a -
My apologies kharp1. I appreciate you calling and I’m sorry I wasn’t around. Thanks for the heads up on the mobile site, I’ll get that added immediately. I’m in DC doing an install for a client this week (booked back in December) and would not have been around. Please accept my apologies and if you’re around Friday, I’ll be back.
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Nowadays I have learned that most independent dealers are by appointment only. Suncoast is a good dealer and Mike is too. I would not hold this against him from what I know of MikeMagico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R
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YAY!!!! PIZZA FOR EVERYBODY!!!!
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A local shop about an hour south of me, in Provo UT has adopted a similar business model - appointments only, at your place or his. When I asked him about it, he said that between the price of commercial real estate, product margins, and of all things ADA requirements for the store front (Which would have required him doing a $6k bathroom remodel) forced him to abandon the physical location. Apparently, one of the "professional ADA lawsuit" individuals hit the strip mall where his shop was located, and filed suit for inaccessible restrooms. now they have to be redone, and the landlord will not foot the bill.
In another 10 years, I doubt there will be any high-end audio shops left...:-(“Human beings are born with different capacities. If they are free, they are not equal. And if they are equal, they are not free.”
― Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn -
That’s for sure.A local shop about an hour south of me, in Provo UT has adopted a similar business model - appointments only, at your place or his. When I asked him about it, he said that between the price of commercial real estate, product margins, and of all things ADA requirements for the store front (Which would have required him doing a $6k bathroom remodel) forced him to abandon the physical location. Apparently, one of the "professional ADA lawsuit" individuals hit the strip mall where his shop was located, and filed suit for inaccessible restrooms. now they have to be redone, and the landlord will not foot the bill.
In another 10 years, I doubt there will be any high-end audio shops left...:-(
Utah Audio in Sandy just moved into a warehouse space and its Now Appointment Only. Haven’t talked with Brian the owner yet but it’s got to be that same story.
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Patio- SDI Atrium8 x3, Emotiva A-100 amps x3 -
A local shop about an hour south of me, in Provo UT has adopted a similar business model - appointments only, at your place or his. When I asked him about it, he said that between the price of commercial real estate, product margins, and of all things ADA requirements for the store front (Which would have required him doing a $6k bathroom remodel) forced him to abandon the physical location. Apparently, one of the "professional ADA lawsuit" individuals hit the strip mall where his shop was located, and filed suit for inaccessible restrooms. now they have to be redone, and the landlord will not foot the bill.
In another 10 years, I doubt there will be any high-end audio shops left...:-(
Idiots like the "professional ADA lawsuit" individual won't have to worry about silly things like bathrooms when there's no more stores because of them.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
A local shop about an hour south of me, in Provo UT has adopted a similar business model - appointments only, at your place or his. When I asked him about it, he said that between the price of commercial real estate, product margins, and of all things ADA requirements for the store front (Which would have required him doing a $6k bathroom remodel) forced him to abandon the physical location. Apparently, one of the "professional ADA lawsuit" individuals hit the strip mall where his shop was located, and filed suit for inaccessible restrooms. now they have to be redone, and the landlord will not foot the bill.
In another 10 years, I doubt there will be any high-end audio shops left...:-(
Idiots like the "professional ADA lawsuit" individual won't have to worry about silly things like bathrooms when there's no more stores because of them.
That's why I wear diapers... -
Thanks to Mike for reaching out that shows great character, and, I hope he knows that the "festering sores on his arse" comment was my flippant sense of humor. I certainly hope he doesn't come down with some terrible rash back there...or anywhere for that matter.
I understand why the business has gone the way it has, especially from the hours of conversation Skip and I have had, but, I still don't like it. I can also appreciate that when I want to audition equipment priced in the equivalent of a small starter home that I could do that with out being interupted by some yahoo comparing what I'm auditioning with a pair of thrusters he had that were "killer man." I still miss the ability to stroll around an audio shop unmolested until I talk myself in to making a purchase that I really didn't need, but, talked myself in to not being able to live without it. I realize the times have changed and we'll probably never have business the way it once was. There's both good and bad to that. I don't like it, but, nobody said I had to.
Geez, I sound like an old codger. Somebody put me put of everyones misery!
