Audio manufacturers need to get a clue!

[Woochifer]

"Vast majority of people"? Who are you speaking for?

The "vast majority of people" live in a large metro area, and I'm not aware of any of the largest metro areas that lacks an independent specialty audio store. Maybe you'll have to drive an hour, but that's sure different from "no longer having a way" to demo two channel gear. I did a Google search for "high end audio Atlanta," and there seems no shortage of two-channel analog specialty stores from what I could see.

Your points about internet sales are not supported by the actual sales data that shows less than 10% of retail sales occurring over any remote transaction. The vast majority of retail sales still occur at B&M stores.

The home audio component market in general is in decline. Those retailers that do not diversify into home theater do so at their own peril. What you consider "retarded" (i.e., not shelling out for two-channel demo units), the retailers likely consider a matter of survival (i.e., buying demo units on those products that their customers are likeliest to actually buy). It's not cheap to have the full product lineup available for customer demo, and in my experience, it's only the larger stores that can afford to offer this.

The two-channel market in particular will never go to strictly internet-based distribution because customers want to try before they buy. Mail order remains a niche market, and for manufacturers, they need to weigh which market is more important to their bottomline.

If someone like Rotel begins to offer their products over mail order, they can count on their existing dealers dropping them in droves. Dealers will carry, promote, and support Rotel, and in return, Rotel grants those dealers territorial exclusivity.

You might make the argument that Rotel can expand their market share by going mail order, but on the flip side they will also lose market share when their dealers begin dropping their products. I've had plenty of discussions with audio store managers over the years, and their mantra is that they will not support their competition. When an audio company gets in bed with big box stores and internet distributors, the audio dealers will simply drop them and go with a different supplier. High end audio is a market that's driven by customer support and that's something very difficult to do remotely. That's precisely why so few high end audio companies authorize their products for internet sales.

[hifitommy]

the ones who have gone to the brick store and taken their time to demo equip, and sometimes to send it home for the in home audition (that is actually the best method for selection) and THEN the buyer returns everything and buys on the net for cheaper.

those are the ones who have screwed us over! getting net dealers to do a free in home trial will be like pulling teeth.

fortunately, i live in LA where there are numerous brick store dealers. we need to nurture these guys and make our purchase through them when we have inconvenienced them by using their services.

i too buy on the net but usually only the items that won't be likely to be in the brick stores or lent from them.