Totally hypothetical, but curious to see where people would put their money and reputation into. You determine your investment capital as well.
If you were to be a dealer, what lines would you like to carry and why?
- Thread starter ack
- Start date
The only hole in our line up is not having any servers and streamers. Well, that and a very high effiiciency soeaker to match with the Lamm and KR SETs. Problem is that over here the SET enthusiasts are mostly into having speakers custom made by our excellent local horn builders. I think a couple of them are very competitive in terms of performance and suffer only in terms of final fit and finish vs the internationally established players. We can't compete in price with an import. Taxes and Freight will kick us out of consideration not to mention that tiptop fit and finish can add A LOT to prices. Those brave enough to have tried have not fared well. I'm happy for our local guys but would have enjoyed the added variety.
I'd like to add some carts to the line up but our proximity to Japan and Japan being one of the favorite outbound tourist stops for my compatriots makes no sense business wise. Japanese carts go for a song at places like Audio Union or even Big Yodobashi compared to export prices. You'll have to live on the flagship carts which are rarely in stock. The top EU and US carts are already represented here.
I'd like to add some carts to the line up but our proximity to Japan and Japan being one of the favorite outbound tourist stops for my compatriots makes no sense business wise. Japanese carts go for a song at places like Audio Union or even Big Yodobashi compared to export prices. You'll have to live on the flagship carts which are rarely in stock. The top EU and US carts are already represented here.
Jack, you might want to consider Zu re v high efficiency full range driver spkrs, absolutely SET friendly, w great sonics and aesthetics, 3 interesting price points $10k, $20k and custom order flagship $100k+.
I would look at it differently. Do you want big name brands like Wilson, Audio Research, Transparent etc etc (not a definitive list and not worth debating please) or more esoteric names (dozens to choose from). It also depends on your market. Are you in a big city and the name brands already have dealers? This may dictate which route to go...
Jack
That is why my hi fi store would have to be a well funded hobby. No business sense.
I am still working on brand lineup.
That is why my hi fi store would have to be a well funded hobby. No business sense.
I am still working on brand lineup.
It is curious you say it. I have once questioned the forum for recommendations on broadly distributed speakers to be paired with the ML3 and could not get a good candidate.
Important considerations indeed. To distill it down to one question: Until you define who your intended buyers/clients/customers are, how can you make good decisions about facilities/brands?
First It would be a well funded hobby rather then a dealer who has to make a living from it .
Cant imagine me having to say :
Sir the reason your soundstage sounds compressed is due to your cables ,I sell this and that
If you want higher highs you have to buy cable elevators ( Which I happen to have in stock).
For me it would be first a top room possibly 2 , trapezium shaped acoustically correctly designed .
Then some really expensive amps to attract customers( and piss of local cable switchers lol ) , LAMM ML3 , Convergent reference series , possibly Octave as well .
2 top solid state brands I dont know which one havent heard the most current ones .
I cant mention speakers because I think my own designs no need to take a back step over for any of them.
If I did I would sell Wilson , and the kharma exquisite model , and some other kharmas , possibly also Avalon.
Cant imagine me having to say :
Sir the reason your soundstage sounds compressed is due to your cables ,I sell this and that
If you want higher highs you have to buy cable elevators ( Which I happen to have in stock).
For me it would be first a top room possibly 2 , trapezium shaped acoustically correctly designed .
Then some really expensive amps to attract customers( and piss of local cable switchers lol ) , LAMM ML3 , Convergent reference series , possibly Octave as well .
2 top solid state brands I dont know which one havent heard the most current ones .
I cant mention speakers because I think my own designs no need to take a back step over for any of them.
If I did I would sell Wilson , and the kharma exquisite model , and some other kharmas , possibly also Avalon.
Source wise i would mostly likely play/ experiment only with tape ,a little bit of digital mostly for movies
I cant use the edit function It doesn't work ??
So ill make a new post , it would for me be very important to sell a system to a customer that does all music you can throw at it well
Been disappointed to many times
So ill make a new post , it would for me be very important to sell a system to a customer that does all music you can throw at it well
Been disappointed to many times
That's how we started. I do believe however that the reason we are still here 15 years later is because of the business sense
There's only so much stuff we can keep for ourselves The business has allowed me to go from the entry level floor stander to two succeeding apex models, so I guess I have to throw in the very important aspect of trust and aligned goals with both manufacturers and clients. The exchange of ideas, especially those that lead to new products is probably what excites me most about being part of the industry. Lots of people forget that the distribution and retail participants are customers too. The direct customer if you are a distributor. Like any customer it is always nice to be listened to and treated with respect and professionalism. Makes for a great basis for long and lasting friendships.
I
I didn't say all dealers / distributors are like that , but quit a few are pretty clueless , its always difficult
I didn't say all dealers / distributors are like that , but quit a few are pretty clueless , its always difficult
To find the right balance between politics commercial interests etc .
The best dealer in Holland with the best room MIJN HIFI went out of business
The best dealer in Holland with the best room MIJN HIFI went out of business
Last edited:
What a lot of them do here imo is look at whats on ¨the absolute sound * best list and try to import /sell it .
Most shops are guided by American magazines , if those say that's the best everyone jumps on the wagonl
To risky to deviate and remain stuck with products
Most shops are guided by American magazines , if those say that's the best everyone jumps on the wagonl
To risky to deviate and remain stuck with products
As other have said, it would need to be a hobby. I have often dreamed of this if I magically won the lottery. I would specialized in Analog, tubes, high efficiency speakers.
Brands include: Artisan Fidelity, OMA, Air Tight, Koetsu, Line Magnetic, Avantgarde, Daedalus speakers (for high efficiency box speakers), Ikeda, Reed, Allnic to name a few. There might be a few gaps in the offerings I would have to think about.
I would have a furniture maker on staff and an interior designer. I believe the visual design aspect of a music, listening, family room is often an overlooked variable. Spaces can be designed to be beautiful and still contain big speakers and systems.
Brands include: Artisan Fidelity, OMA, Air Tight, Koetsu, Line Magnetic, Avantgarde, Daedalus speakers (for high efficiency box speakers), Ikeda, Reed, Allnic to name a few. There might be a few gaps in the offerings I would have to think about.
I would have a furniture maker on staff and an interior designer. I believe the visual design aspect of a music, listening, family room is often an overlooked variable. Spaces can be designed to be beautiful and still contain big speakers and systems.
Finding a broadly distributed speaker for a 30wpc four chassis 6 figure amp is a challenge indeed. Gotta say I loved Steve's with his X2s and that was before he added a ton of goodies. Low wattage in itself is a challenge given what physics will allow. There is nowhere to go speaker wise except BIG especially when it comes to bass at realistic dynamic levels without bi-amping. Custom not broad does appear the way to go. Nobody makes Bionors anymore. It is definitely a niche within a niche.
If Living Voice would accept agency instead of distributorship, I'd do it if i had a client for them.
Last edited:
For sure. We work with two design houses and an acoustics firm for turnkey projects. Clients that go all in for two channel are very rare however at least compared to HT. We do not like working on HTs. No passion for it. We stopped 10 years ago. It was such a drag.
Similar threads
 | Steve Williams Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator |  | Ron Resnick Site Co-Owner | Administrator |  | Julian (The Fixer) Website Build | Marketing Managersing |