Audio manufacturers need to get a clue!

[02audionoob]

If however, you use a real estate agent to find a property u really like and then do a backdoor deal with the owner to cut the agent out of the sale and his commission... that's when it becomes wrong... same thing with audio... using a dealers time and equipment, to then order the same gear for cheaper online is messed up...

Agreed. That clearly crosses the line.

[Ajani]

In my opinion, the future of 2 channel audio sales is the internet. The vast majority of people no longer have a way to demo 2 channel audio gear at a retail shop. The shops in my medium sized city do not stock the 2 channel gear and they no longer even have any demo rooms. They sell almost entirely to people that are totally ingorant about sound quality who just want to build a home theater and let the retailer just order what they think is best. I've called around to bigger cities close to me (orlando, atlanta), and it's pretty much the same story.

Yet many of these audio manufacturers have these antequated policies preventing internet sales or limiting them to cities without authorized dealers. This is a joke. For instance, I was considering the new 2 channel 15 series amps from Rotel, well of course the 2 rotel dealers in my town stock ZERO 2 channel amps for demo. Rotel bans internet sales, so I would have to order the amps from my local retailer with a fat cut for him even though he provides zero service in exchange. I would walk in, get no demo, know exactly what I want and then he would order it and take his cut. Sounds great! It's retarded.

The future for 2 channel gear is online sellers that allow 30 day at home trials. This is the only solution. 2 channel audio gear still has a market, but it can no longer support the existing retail structure. There's just not enough demand for it. Rotel and many, many other manufactures need to get a clue already!

Looks like one manufacturer is doing as you suggest:

http://www.avguide.com/article/news-...-based-company

http://nhthifi.com/current/index1.html

[O'Shag]

The Good Guys concept was great. In their Torrance CA store (Audio Video Exposition Center) they had 7 different listening rooms, each with different levels of performance and/or showcasing different manufacturers. All rooms were acoustically treated. Its sad that they were unable to make it, but their model was doomed to failure with management being unwilling to cut prices even moderately in order to compete - understandable of course.

I stil feel that with a few important changes, this is the best model. At the end of the day, you need a 'brick and mortar' facility to get a good idea of what different products can do, that is unless the mfr will ship a demo to you, and your room is appropriate and you have the other components to experience the product's performance in an optimal environment.

Unfortunately, given the current economic climate, this type of solution is not valid. Most manufacturers are struggling to survive.