Issue 214   July / August 2011
Paradigm Shift

 

  A profound change is underway in how high-end audio products are presented and sold. In the increasingly rare old model, consumers discover products at their local specialty audio retailer. In the emerging model, consumers travel to one of a rapidly growing number of regional hi-fi shows to find new gear, audition products, and even make purchase decisions.

High-end audio festivals were once about showcasing a wide range of brands under one roof so that consumers could decide which of their local dealers to patronize. The high-end show augmented the dealer experience; in all the major markets, and many secondary ones, audiophiles could select from a wide choice of brands represented by dealers who were loyal to those brands. Choosing audio gear meant visiting a number of stores to audition equipment before making a carefully considered purchasing decision. The hi-fi show provided one-stop shopping, but with the actual "shopping" occurring days, weeks, or months later in a dealer's showroom.

All that, of course, has changed with the unfortunate decline in the number of high-end retailers in the US. Except for a few major cities, it's impossible to find a reasonable selection of brands being demonstrated in dealer showrooms. Moreover, compared with the 1980s or even 1990s, high-end audio has become splintered into an ever-increasing number of "sub"-brands that have very limited market presence. Consequently, it is much more difficult for consumers to get first-person exposure to products before choosing gear.

Which is why the hi-fi show has morphed from a place to learn about gear to a place to buy gear, or at least to make a purchasing decision. The audiophile whose choices of brands and dealers are limited (or non-existent) in his hometown now travels to a show with the express intention of selecting, for example, a new pair of loudspeakers. This trend is accelerating; witness the number of small, regional shows popping up all over the country in just the last two years. There's no question that hi-fi shows are in many ways good for the industry. Shows generate enthusiasm, expand showgoers' horizons, give manufacturers and dealers a vehicle for showcasing new products and technologies, allow audiophiles to hear a wide range of products, and are just plain fun. But there's a dark side to this trend; shows tend to attract existing enthusiasts rather than new customers. The show-as-replacement-for-local-dealer model leads us down a path toward greater insularity and a shrinking industry. It's the local dealer working the front lines every day who is in the best position to share with a new audience the joys of high-quality music reproduction. There's absolutely no way to tell someone how good reproduced music can sound; he has to experience it for himself. And the most likely way for someone to have that first experience is in a dealer showroom.

Moreover, buying a product from a dealer is not the end of the relationship but the beginning. The dealer can offer on-going set-up advice, provide a loaner product if your unit goes into the shop, take in your old gear on trade, service your product, and suggest system upgrades that will allow you to get the most performance from your investment. This level of customer service should be part-and-parcel of high-end audio. As many important functions as shows serve, only the local retailer can deliver the quality of customer service befitting high-end audio.

--- Robert Harley

 

Those of you who read my review of Naoto Kurosawa's Technical Brain electronics in Issue 213 already know that I think these Japanese solid-state products are high among the most realistic-sounding in the world (given a first-rate source). My opinion about the exceptional quality of the TB presentation has not changed. Unfortunately, something else has changed that is going to force me to withhold my recommendation of the Technical Brain line (at least, for the time being).

Almost unbelievably, no more than a week or two after my review was printed, Technical Brain and its U.S. distributor Silent Source Audio had a falling out. These things happen, of course. But with no forewarning? On the heels of a rave? Be that as it may, Technical Brain is, once again as of this writing, without a U.S. importer! 

Until the company finds new U.S. distribution, I'm going to have to withdraw my recommendation to audition/purchase its products. This is a genuine pity given the superb quality of Technical Brain components, but I can't in good conscience advise our (well-heeled) readers to consider buying this gear without a distribution/support network standing behind it. As soon as Technical Brain acquires new U.S. distribution, I will let you know and reinstate my recommendation.

--- Jonathan Valin

 

SUBSCRIBE!
Click here to subscribe to The Abso!ute Sound.