High End Online
Comments
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That's just wrong. I would say most retail CD stores did not allow you to open CDs and listen to them. A few would, but they didn't like it and they didn't make it easy. I sure as hell couldn't browse dozens of CDs like I can on Amazon. Why do you think stores started using so called "Listening Stations" with pre-setup CDs and headphones? Answer: because they didn't allow you to listen to CDs before buying them. I'm sure a few smaller mom & pop CD stores had a liberal policy about this, but the overwhelming majority of big major players in CD sales did not allow it. Sound Warehouse? Nope, Borders? Nope. CD Warehouse? Nope. Walmart? Nope. Target? Nope. Barnes & Noble? Nope. Block Buster Music? Nope.
No it's not wrong. I never said that you could open a CD and listen to it. The ones I was referring to all had listening stations in them with a menu of CDs you could listen to. If what you wanted to hear wasn't on the menu, you would tell the clerk and he would load it into to listening station.
Do your homework before making a statement like that. Are you old enough to remember the places? These places were doing the practice of listening stations in the late '80s and '90s until their demise. The CD outlet, a place where they had thousands of used CDs and several new CDs, would play the CD over the their in-store sound system for you if you liked. They would charge anywhere from $1 to $5 for used CDs depending on the title and the artist. For new CDs they would charge $10 bucks which back then was a bargan considering that CDs were being sold for $15 - $20 at the time because they were considered a permanent, indestuctable medium unlike the LP.
As far as the ones you listed, they don't care about their customers and most have other products to rely on for profits. I'm talking about the stores such as Wall to Wall sound and such that sold CDs as their main product for profits and have gone by the way side for obvious reasons. -
hearingimpared wrote: »Are you old enough to remember the places? These places were doing the practice of listening stations in the late '80s and '90s until their demise.
LOL, I was wondering the same thing about you. I'm 45 and I've been buying CDs since they arrived on store shelves. I purchased one of the very first yamaha CD player model availble at the retail level in the 80s.
I will condede that some stores may have on ocassion made a half hearted attempt to allow a customer to listen to a CD. However, I found many mainstream CD outlets that did not allow it and the ones that did, did not make it friendly. For instance, they might open up one or two for me, but they would certainly frown on more than that. And as I've said, during most of the last 25 years, I was forced to buy blind. No need to research it, I've been a consumer of CDs the entire time.2 Channel
NAD C545 -> Benchmark DAC1 -> Bryston BP6 -> Bryston 4B SST2 -> Dynaudio Contour S1.4 -
LOL, I was wondering the same thing about you. I'm 45 and I've been buying CDs since they arrived on store shelves. I purchased one of the very first yamaha CD player model availble at the retail level in the 80s.
I will condede that some stores may have on ocassion made a half hearted attempt to allow a customer to listen to a CD. However, I found many mainstream CD outlets that did not allow it and the ones that did, did not make it friendly. For instance, they might open up one or two for me, but they would certainly frown on more than that. And as I've said, during most of the last 25 years, I was forced to buy blind. No need to research it, I've been a consumer of CDs the entire time.
Alrighty then. Then we will have to agree to disagree on that topic. BTW I'm 54 going on 70!:D -
It started out that only the lowest priced gear was available on-line. As stated, now Crutchfield has NAD and even Thiel. Who'd a thunk it? I think the trend will continue, but I think B&M will continue to exist, probably in the form of manufacturer supported outlets and showcases. A whole lot like Bose does now. Gotta give credit (or blame!) where it's due: Bose was WAY out in front on this. I know they're the company everybody loves to hate, but in a few years, what they've been doing for years will be the industry norm.THE MAN-CAVE 5.1 CHANNEL A/V RIG
Sony KDS-60A3000
a/d/s/ HT-400LCR (3)
a/d/s/ HT-300 (2)
Velodyne DLS-4000R (2)
Pioneer Elite VSX-55TXi
Pioneer Elite DV-47Ai
Sony BDP-S300
Sony SLV-779HF
DirecTV HD sat. receiver
MAN-CAVE 2-CHANNEL RIG (shares sources with a/v system)
Adcom GFA-5500
Bose 901 Series VI
NAD C-165BEE
Slim Devices Squeezebox Classic
TEAC CD-RW890
Technics SL-BD20D w/ Audio-Technica P34
Akai HX-A3X -
I know they're the company everybody loves to hate, but in a few years, what they've been doing for years will be the industry norm.
What, bending folks over?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 -
What, bending folks over?
Yep, with their huge marketing budget they have to skimp on quality and quantity at ridiculous prices. -
But their clock radio sounds like a huge compenent system. Haven't you seen the commercial?2 Channel
NAD C545 -> Benchmark DAC1 -> Bryston BP6 -> Bryston 4B SST2 -> Dynaudio Contour S1.4 -
But their clock radio sounds like a huge compenent system. Haven't you seen the commercial?
Yeah and I have some permanent ice sickles to sell you to give your house that sweet Christmasy look all year round.:D -
The word on the street is that Polk is going ID only. Whether or not this is true is another question that remains to be answered. If so, then here's another prime example of not being able to walk in a B&M store & giving them a listen."2 Channel & 11.2 HT "Two Channel:Magnepan LRSSchiit Audio Freya S - SS preConsonance Ref 50 - Tube preParasound HALO A21+ 2 channel ampBluesound NODE 2i streameriFi NEO iDSD DAC Oppo BDP-93KEF KC62 sub Home Theater:Full blown 11.2 set up.
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pearsall001 wrote: »The word on the street is that Polk is going ID only. Whether or not this is true is another question that remains to be answered. If so, then here's another prime example of not being able to walk in a B&M store & giving them a listen.
Where did you hear that Phil? From Stephen? -
What, bending folks over?
ha-ha
...as far as I know, they are straight up to deal with. A buddy of mine bought my 901 Series IV's from me back in the late seventies. When the foam surrounds went bad, they fixed them for free, even though they were way out of warranty. Not bad customer relations in my book.
As for Polk going internet distribution only, that would be surprising. I think they're too mainstream for ID only.THE MAN-CAVE 5.1 CHANNEL A/V RIG
Sony KDS-60A3000
a/d/s/ HT-400LCR (3)
a/d/s/ HT-300 (2)
Velodyne DLS-4000R (2)
Pioneer Elite VSX-55TXi
Pioneer Elite DV-47Ai
Sony BDP-S300
Sony SLV-779HF
DirecTV HD sat. receiver
MAN-CAVE 2-CHANNEL RIG (shares sources with a/v system)
Adcom GFA-5500
Bose 901 Series VI
NAD C-165BEE
Slim Devices Squeezebox Classic
TEAC CD-RW890
Technics SL-BD20D w/ Audio-Technica P34
Akai HX-A3X -
So I called a B&M Bryston dealer about 90 minutes from my house. Typical bad experience from B&M places these days. It was clearly yet another one of these businesses that is just an empty store front for taking home theater orders and doing "custom installations" as they like to say. The guy new absolutely nothing about 2 channel audio. Told me that my 4ohm Dyns should be easier to drive than 8ohm speaker since they will get more watts. Didn't have a clue about Bryston amps. Had to look up the models available. New nothing about 2 channel audio. And wanted to charge me full retail price for a 4bsst that is not even the current model anymore.
Yep B&M places are Soooo great. Such super service, I'd gladly pay a 40% markup to that guy.
Back to the internet....2 Channel
NAD C545 -> Benchmark DAC1 -> Bryston BP6 -> Bryston 4B SST2 -> Dynaudio Contour S1.4 -
Its unfortunate that you don't have a good dealer around you. Living near Toronto I'm blessed with many. Having said that you'll see what I mean in a couple of years. The internet is a short term gain for the consumer. In the end the consumer will suffer, as everything will boil down to price making two channel a commodity...
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I agree that it's a shame, but I'm really sick of going to B&M stores and having them have no clue about the type of customer I am. They don't get me and they don't care. On the internet side, I've had numerous online vendors that were eager, helpful and totally understood where I fit into this hobby and the type of customer I am. They treated me like a valuable customer and offered expert advice. It doesn't seem so bad to me...2 Channel
NAD C545 -> Benchmark DAC1 -> Bryston BP6 -> Bryston 4B SST2 -> Dynaudio Contour S1.4
