Would love to hear stories about what people brought in to listen to on their dream systems. I’m a Rock and Blues guy mostly, but always took Steeky Dan when I was serious about something. But hey, I just found you today and have enjoyed your channel a lot. I dabbled when I was younger and getting interested again. Great stuff man.
Your story about the 10-year-old kid brought back memories of myself. I was into hifi way back in the late 1970s when I was still in secondary school (middle school equivalent in the US). I think I was 13~14 years old then. One day I walked into the Musical Fidelity showroom wearing my school uniform. The salesman looked at me funny and laughed “Boy... You have any money?” Well, I must say he left a deep impression in me. I vowed never to go back to that shop again. Subsequently, I bought a National (later known as Technics) turntable, Akai tape deck, Luxman amp and AR speakers.
I was 14 when I started buying proper HIFI, a couple of dealers were less than helpful and one actually told me it’d be a waste of his time demonstrating anything to me... my nearest dealer did take me seriously and I bought an Arcam/Rega system from him and by 16 started buying Linn kit from him. I’m 34 now and he’s still my go to guy. I think dealers really should take young customers seriously, good on you for it.
its not easy being into hifi at a young age, but i remember at least one store that let me and my friends listen to speakers, its going to so many years to the point that i could afford them. but a good experience from a young age with hifi make a world of difference. and now i been loving speakers for decades :)
I’m 16 and have just finished my first hi fi setup, not very expensive, but it sounds great! Very thankful that the record store in my city sells vintage hi fi equipment, and was very helpful with explaining what’ll work for and what wont
Steve, thank you so much for sharing your stories with us. It simply endeared you to us that much more. We actually “clapped” after watching it in our staff meeting. Every meeting we sit down and watch “vloggers” such as yourself to learn how others in the community do it. We are starting a new UA-cam channel this year and hope that we can do it with as much honesty and integrity as you have done. Have a great week and don’t change sir.
I lived on the Border of Mexico. We didn't really have Audio Stores, but we did have a lot of Audio in stores. By 67' I can't remember out of 20 or 30 stores if any of them had gear using tubes in Hi-Fi. All of my gear was a/b or b amps, most of the speakers I owned used 'acoustic suspension' technology... I don't know if I'm saying that right. Anyway, turntables were mostly multi-disk and nice ones too, but no name really sticks in my head in the beginning. .... I really don't think the guys who were selling stereos back then in the stores we had knew much more than I did, but they had 'salesmanship' and tenacity to say about anything if it generated 'sales.' WATTS WATTS WHAT? Back then they had 20 different ways to calculate Wattage, and Sales Men showed me amps with 100s of watts - 1000s of watts, but I easily heard what was most important and after a while the stores would show me stuff that just came in and let me read the books. .... If I had been bilingual I'd probably have eventually gotten a job if wanted.
You triggered some old memories of me and my friends frequently visiting a hifi shop here in Canada. We were in our late teens in the early 70s and the salesmen were gracious enough to demo different systems to us. I remember be taken aback by the surprising power and open sound that was available then. One thing that was holding us back from buying into the dream was of course the lack of funds. But one friend had a decent job then, he was a couple of years older and he decided to go "all in". The system was a phase linear 500 amp, a pair of ESS Amt pro 6 speakers, (the size of small friges) a Dual 701 direct drive turntable, and a Crown ic150 pre amp. The price was around $5000 can. Pretty close to that in US dollars then ( our dollar was much closer to par then it is today) and in 1970s dollars a small fortune. (I think a decent American car was around $6000 then) So all his friends are invited over to see and listen to his new system (he was still living with his parents then) and I remember his mother coming down to the basement where we were about to listen to this unbelievable stereo system and she asked her son "so, how much did this costs?" And he says $400 dollars! And she says " what, are you crazy , spending that much money on a stereo? " I couldn't believe he got her to believe that sum and that she didn't understand the real cost) but then we were kind of in shock too as how much he was " bitten buy the hifi bug" he then proceeded to play a direct to disc Thelma Huston "pressure cooker " album and we were blown away! And totally jealous and envious (but not at his monthly payments to the bank) A couple of years later he sold that system to me and I enjoyed it too , until I meet my wife to be. And once we decided to get an apartment together, well in her words "those speakers are not moving in with us"! So I ended up down Sizing the speakers and it never sounded the same. You can't replace big displacement for little displacement and hear and feel the same energy. It was many years later and many different systems bought and sold. But I'm happy with my present setup ( and AMT tweeters are still in the picture because there included in my Elac fs 247 BE speakers and my pre/pro tube gear custom built by a local electronics genius. And my wife is still saying are you sure you can't get smaller speakers? And can you get rid of those big wires? I love my system, but I love my wife more ! I don't think you can escape that feeling of wanting great sound and hearing great music in the privacy of your own space late at night with a cold one and your friends still coming by after 40 something years and still getting a thrill and talking about those first encounters with hifi and the stories we had . And we had a lot!
Around 1977 I bought a Thorens TD-160 at Bay-Bloor in Toronto. I even remember Saul around the store and a live vs recorded demo of Goodman speakers and Macintosh electronics. I’ve had various cartridges, but still have the stock TP-16 arm on the Thorens. I haven’t had it set up for years, for various reasons, but in the next several months I’m going to have it completely refurbished, maybe upgrade the arm, get a new cartridge and put it back in service in a new system driven by a DECware SE84UFO. Thank you Bay Bloor; it was a good investment in both audio and memories.
I worked in the service department of a high end audio store in the Midwest during the 1990's, and I would hear stories like this occasionally from the sales guys. One in particular that I remember is a guy who would come into the store and ask how much certain receivers or amps weighed. He didn't ask relevant questions about specs or how they would sound, he just wanted to know how much they weighed. Finally, after coming in several times, the guy shows up one day carrying a big cardboard box. He wants to know if the amp he's been considering weighs the same as the box. Inside the box is a collection of rocks, chunks of metal, and other objects. I never found out whether he bought the amp, or why the weight was so important to him, but I never forgot the story.
Maybe he wants to kill an audiophile and plans to tell police that the guy committed suicide by drowning in the ocean and couldn’t bear leaving his cherished amp behind, so he tied it to himself and jumped in. ;-)
I am glad you started writing. I used to get such enjoyment when my magazines used to come. I would save them and take them when we vacationed to read from cover to cover by the pool or on beach. They were part of my vacations. Also I enjoyed the actual "media" , not a laptop, or tablet.
I can't understand why anyone would thumbs down this or any of your videos.... WoW, any way I love them!! What a awesome experience that must have been.. Great story about that part of your history.. Thanks for sharing Steve!
I bought a Linn LP12 back in 1982 and still own it and use it now ;-) I have had the great fortune to have had more than one demo from Ivor Tiefenbrun himself, and back in the 80s, I even sold them for a living :-)
I only went to Sound by Singer once in the 80's I popped in bought an adcom preamp and walked out. I never saw a salesman. I started going to crazy eddie's every thursday evening with a friend and we sold a lot of gear for them because everyone asked us for advice! But I finally settled on stereo exchange before they became rude and became the flat panel TV store of the city. You walk in there now and they treat you like crap just to see if you will leave, and I do!!!
My son is 10 and has a hi fi...not fancy but he has a pair of Sony towers, an Audio Technica automatic turntable and a 1990's Onkyo amp with a great phone section and tone controls. His Foo Fighter records sound great. In the next room is Dads system...not too fancy either, but good enough for me: Monitor Audio RX6 Silvers powered by an HK3490 and Rega RP1 with Ortofon Red cartridge and Chinese tube preamp for boosting signal from cell or tablet.....
Haha! 15 years here and still selling, I've got stories too. Eccentric people for sure. Never had people having sex though, haha. Rarely do we even see a woman in our store coming to listen to audio. I've had a guy who rode to the store on his John Deer lawn tractor, one guy who smelled like shit covered in vomit and wanted the two hour extensive tour (We ran to the store to get lysol when he left) and one guy we call "the penguin", who goes into a two-hour monologue every time he comes in, about everything in audio he's ever heard of. You can't even get a word in, he goes non-stop for two hours, if you'll stand there and listen. Very hard to get away from that guy. Lots of time wasted by people who aren't really serious though, and that's starting to get old. Some people literally just want to be entertained, with no intention whatsoever on narrowing it down to a purchase. Buyers want the best deal, the best service, the best warranty, an unlimited return policy, in-home demos, the best product, the most knowledgeable salesman, the ability to A/B compare to every single competitor of said product, and they want top dollar for some old piece of crap they want to trade towards it! People will want the world if you'll give it to them. As an audio customer, we need to have realistic expectations. If you're buying a $400 bookshelf speaker, don't expect all of the above, or 5 hours of a salesman's time over multiple visits to audition...and don't change your mind after the sale, or blame your wife for your indecision. (A popular cop out) Just enjoy what you've bought. We need buyers, anything else is waste of our time. It's not the Library and we're not government funded. We earn a living ONLY by selling audio. The people who call multiple times from out of state just for "Audio advice" kill me. Rant over, I need a vacation, haha.
Love your honesty truth wisdom Steve, my favourite channel! I'm digging now to go back in history and watch all (aside your daily show which I of course watch :) The topics are very very spot on to what I think is important / entertaining and interesting. Keep it up!
I sold equipment quite a few streets down from the marquis brands you peddled at Andy's place. My battleground store was Crazy Eddies and their clientele was just as nutty neurotic. I did once stop a S-B-S and was pleasantly welcomed by the big man himself. We auditioned the WATT PPY 5.1. and a few others. However after the first 60 min I was reminded that money needed to change hands pronto or the welcome mat would be unceremoniously pulled... true story.
I would have slipped that phrase in somewhere while talking to them ... "so yeah let me connect this pair I just brought in for you, I think you'll get the most bang for the buck from these".
Steve tells a story like a gentleman careful not to offend or demean....I like that and to an aging putz in this hobby morning coffee with Steve is becoming a habit...
Great stories. Who is thumbs downing this?! (We see you Herb Reichert! [joking of course!]) I got my first HiFi at age 13 I think. EPI speakers, Akai cassette tape deck and a Realistic "30 Watt" receiver with a black anodized aluminum face. That receiver was actually quite good and my brother STILL HAS IT in his guest bedroom! My primary source of music in those days was FM radio, from which I made pirate mix tapes. I still have those tapes too, and some of them, made on various decks over the years, sound reasonably good. Sadly these days I have a rather junky low end Onkyo dual cassette player, yet it's still actually better than my original Akai which was really low end and older, less advanced tech.
"Rug-Burn-Good" should be a rating for audio gear. If it is good enough to send a couple into "rutting sessions," it HAS to be good enough for your living room. :) LOL
New York can be fun. I was in a record store when a gun went off (totally accidentally in the backroom). I still know the man who ran the store. Stuff happens. I worked in a record store in NJ, not so much drama.
Dude, you should write a book! I mean Paul McGowan is, and I know everyone hates on Paul and I don't agree with everything he says BUT I think he truly believes what he says, that's good enough for me. Great stories man!!
Got to love humans :). Not that weird to me to sell a turntable to a deaf person. My dad is 'hard of seeing', so to say, haha. He can still see but not good enough to drive a car. Yet he likes buying oldtimers, fixing them up and having me driving them to keep them active. He just happily rides along and enjoys what other people think of them. That last story is brilliant. Makes up for the horrible people. More please!
Hi Steve just like to say yorself and herb are my favorite reviwers. I would like to tell you what my local hifi store said when I asked them who their main customers were. He said with a straight face "people who have given up on life" meaning they come in to blow the bankroll before they go. Coffin with your hifi anyone!
I know it makes a big difference with my guitar cords. Cheap cables tend to have a very loose braid weave around the dielectric so noise can be induced, also the quality of copper in the center conductors is significant.
I can't understand either whey anyone would give a thumbs down to this video. I enjoyed it so very much. I agree that it must have been a incredible experience selling stereo equipment back then. When I was a teenager I always wanted to work at a record store, I filled out so many applications trying to get to work at a record store, but for whatever reason, I never got a job at a record store, but I would have loved it.
Ok, here's one of my stories: I almost missed re-threading a projector on a late shift before the last showings because a woman in one of the auditoriums was having a diabetic attack/seizure. I was running about getting her kool-aid and whatever else her husband asked for while my co-worker was on the phone with 911. After some time, the woman got better and asked us to call off the ambulance. When I realized that this all started after I had re-threaded the first four projectors but not the fifth, I bolted upstairs in such a panic that I almost went head first into the platter. Anyway, I had just enough time and all was good and the people in the rest of the theatre were none the wiser.
I worked at high-end audio store at the edge of town. In the late 70s. We had a wheat field across the street. A guy comes in and asks us if we sold car stereos. We said yes. So he leaves goes back to his car to pull out his stereo. He walks across the street and pulls out a pistol and shots the deck 3 or 4 times. He starts walking back to the store. Were ready to lock it up quick. But didn't. Guy comes in and says thats the last time that piece of shit going to eat a tape.
Remember the old days of Stereo Review a publication hated by many audiophiles. The best part of the magazine were the comics, I remember one it was the back of a large speaker and a large sticker warning shock hazard, in the next part of the comic the guy takes the back of this huge speaker and inside is a little 4 inch speaker with a tag below it that said WE TOLD YOU THAT YOU WOULD BE SHOCKED. Reminded me of all of the scam artists selling speakers out of the back of a van at shopping center parking lots. A neighbor got sucked into buying a pair and I took the back cover off and here we see a 12 inch woofer with a magnet not much bigger that a 50 cent piece. I told him these will sound great in your garage. He paid 200 bucks for them. I told him next time he comes up with some money I will help him pick out some real speakers. They sounded like tin cans.
hmmm - think you might have set up one or even TWO demos for me ... in 1997 or 98 some audio physic speakers and a naim amp - both of which i still have
Seen your name all my life in Stereophile, Audio, Stereo Review and all the rest. I cant imagine companies sending me high end gear to critique. I remember a Magnaplanar small speaker that was meant to be used and turned in when an upgrade to a bigger speaker was necessary. I also remember a pair of bookshelf Mission speakers that had the coolest stands I ever saw. What happened to them? I probably upgraded but man were they nice.
Ha, Ha, Ha, this is hilarious. I guess as long as the guy with the lost Penis was writing a BIG Check. Steve the couple was just Audio Feeling, was it in it in 5.1 surround sound or DTS master Audio, ha, ha, I'm on the floor dying here Steve, just dying. Most importantly did they buy anything. Priceless, Steve, just Priceless and I'm sure your have a ton more stories.
I have a friend that has money, doesn't have a financial filter, nor the best ears, is impressionable & impulsive (goes to places like gearslutz for gospel), and has dumped over $60k into audio gear over the past several years. He is the biggest customer for the current "Hi End" segment. Considering how much quality you can get right now for a low cost, it's ridiculous to spend a certain amount of money to get a good sound. For example, understanding and being able to manipulate EQ, can affect sound more than any DAC. It is a concept almost eschewed away, when compared to price, hype, and shills, over function. Again, one must use their ears. First & foremost.
You think the man was crazy for saying he talks to other beings in the universe don't you??? Would you believe that Einstein and Tesla sort of said the same thing but not in the same way. Tesla said he would get inspiration from the universe ,and or get answers to problems with the electronics he was trying to create. He also said he would have an easier time communicating with the universe while being in the middle of 100s of 1000s of volts flying around his head.Einstein said he would go to a quiet place and meditate and try to enter the far reaches of the universe with his mind and ask for knowledge,,he says he got a lot of his ideas that turned out to be facts from some higher power...I believe these people....
At 6:38 ish, it's interesting how you've lowered your voice and are speaking more intimately as if sharing a secret. This was interesting. I don't know if you intended it, but that technique provides a varied "vibrational structure" to your narrative which could be useful as a, I don't want to say "hack" but a procedure or something that can be used in your videos to continue to command viewers' attention? Anyway, these are so interesting because it kind of feels like I'm in a sacred space with someone who knows about sacred things. Okay, not a priest but it's like, experience, but not throwing the experience in my face. It's like when my friend tells me stuff. So that to me is a really good presentation method.
Audio dealers are clueless idiots who got in the audio retail for decent commissions and easy life. Most of them are former real estate agents and car dealers. I stay away from them and shop on line. There are enough idiots and douche bags in my life. Please avoid audio salesmen. You will thank me later for it.
These stories are hilarious. Thanks Steve for sharing all this stuff with is. 🙏
Would love to hear stories about what people brought in to listen to on their dream systems. I’m a Rock and Blues guy mostly, but always took Steeky Dan when I was serious about something. But hey, I just found you today and have enjoyed your channel a lot. I dabbled when I was younger and getting interested again. Great stuff man.
Your story about the 10-year-old kid brought back memories of myself. I was into hifi way back in the late 1970s when I was still in secondary school (middle school equivalent in the US). I think I was 13~14 years old then. One day I walked into the Musical Fidelity showroom wearing my school uniform. The salesman looked at me funny and laughed “Boy... You have any money?” Well, I must say he left a deep impression in me. I vowed never to go back to that shop again. Subsequently, I bought a National (later known as Technics) turntable, Akai tape deck, Luxman amp and AR speakers.
I was 14 when I started buying proper HIFI, a couple of dealers were less than helpful and one actually told me it’d be a waste of his time demonstrating anything to me... my nearest dealer did take me seriously and I bought an Arcam/Rega system from him and by 16 started buying Linn kit from him. I’m 34 now and he’s still my go to guy. I think dealers really should take young customers seriously, good on you for it.
its not easy being into hifi at a young age, but i remember at least one store that let me and my friends listen to speakers, its going to so many years to the point that i could afford them. but a good experience from a young age with hifi make a world of difference. and now i been loving speakers for decades :)
I’m 16 and have just finished my first hi fi setup, not very expensive, but it sounds great! Very thankful that the record store in my city sells vintage hi fi equipment, and was very helpful with explaining what’ll work for and what wont
Steve, thank you so much for sharing your stories with us. It simply endeared you to us that much more. We actually “clapped” after watching it in our staff meeting. Every meeting we sit down and watch “vloggers” such as yourself to learn how others in the community do it. We are starting a new UA-cam channel this year and hope that we can do it with as much honesty and integrity as you have done. Have a great week and don’t change sir.
I lived on the Border of Mexico. We didn't really have Audio Stores, but we did have a lot of Audio in stores. By 67' I can't remember out of 20 or 30 stores if any of them had gear using tubes in Hi-Fi. All of my gear was a/b or b amps, most of the speakers I owned used 'acoustic suspension' technology... I don't know if I'm saying that right. Anyway, turntables were mostly multi-disk and nice ones too, but no name really sticks in my head in the beginning.
.... I really don't think the guys who were selling stereos back then in the stores we had knew much more than I did, but they had 'salesmanship' and tenacity to say about anything if it generated 'sales.' WATTS WATTS WHAT? Back then they had 20 different ways to calculate Wattage, and Sales Men showed me amps with 100s of watts - 1000s of watts, but I easily heard what was most important and after a while the stores would show me stuff that just came in and let me read the books.
.... If I had been bilingual I'd probably have eventually gotten a job if wanted.
My favorite Audiophiliac video! Great storytelling Steve.
You triggered some old memories of me and my friends frequently visiting a hifi shop here in Canada. We were in our late teens in the early 70s and the salesmen were gracious enough to demo different systems to us. I remember be taken aback by the surprising power and open sound that was available then. One thing that was holding us back from buying into the dream was of course the lack of funds. But one friend had a decent job then, he was a couple of years older and he decided to go "all in". The system was a phase linear 500 amp, a pair of ESS Amt pro 6 speakers, (the size of small friges) a Dual 701 direct drive turntable, and a Crown ic150 pre amp. The price was around $5000 can. Pretty close to that in US dollars then ( our dollar was much closer to par then it is today) and in 1970s dollars a small fortune. (I think a decent American car was around $6000 then) So all his friends are invited over to see and listen to his new system (he was still living with his parents then) and I remember his mother coming down to the basement where we were about to listen to this unbelievable stereo system and she asked her son "so, how much did this costs?" And he says $400 dollars! And she says " what, are you crazy , spending that much money on a stereo? " I couldn't believe he got her to believe that sum and that she didn't understand the real cost) but then we were kind of in shock too as how much he was " bitten buy the hifi bug" he then proceeded to play a direct to disc Thelma Huston "pressure cooker " album and we were blown away! And totally jealous and envious (but not at his monthly payments to the bank)
A couple of years later he sold that system to me and I enjoyed it too , until I meet my wife to be. And once we decided to get an apartment together, well in her words "those speakers are not moving in with us"! So I ended up down Sizing the speakers and it never sounded the same. You can't replace big displacement for little displacement and hear and feel the same energy. It was many years later and many different systems bought and sold. But I'm happy with my present setup ( and AMT tweeters are still in the picture because there included in my Elac fs 247 BE speakers and my pre/pro tube gear custom built by a local electronics genius. And my wife is still saying are you sure you can't get smaller speakers? And can you get rid of those big wires? I love my system, but I love my wife more ! I don't think you can escape that feeling of wanting great sound and hearing great music in the privacy of your own space late at night with a cold one and your friends still coming by after 40 something years and still getting a thrill and talking about those first encounters with hifi and the stories we had . And we had a lot!
Sounds like you need your own basement.
Around 1977 I bought a Thorens TD-160 at Bay-Bloor in Toronto. I even remember Saul around the store and a live vs recorded demo of Goodman speakers and Macintosh electronics. I’ve had various cartridges, but still have the stock TP-16 arm on the Thorens. I haven’t had it set up for years, for various reasons, but in the next several months I’m going to have it completely refurbished, maybe upgrade the arm, get a new cartridge and put it back in service in a new system driven by a DECware SE84UFO. Thank you Bay Bloor; it was a good investment in both audio and memories.
Gary Toth Cool story man.
I worked in the service department of a high end audio store in the Midwest during the 1990's, and I would hear stories like this occasionally from the sales guys.
One in particular that I remember is a guy who would come into the store and ask how much certain receivers or amps weighed. He didn't ask relevant questions about specs or how they would sound, he just wanted to know how much they weighed. Finally, after coming in several times, the guy shows up one day carrying a big cardboard box. He wants to know if the amp he's been considering weighs the same as the box.
Inside the box is a collection of rocks, chunks of metal, and other objects. I never found out whether he bought the amp, or why the weight was so important to him, but I never forgot the story.
Maybe he wants to kill an audiophile and plans to tell police that the guy committed suicide by drowning in the ocean and couldn’t bear leaving his cherished amp behind, so he tied it to himself and jumped in. ;-)
@@pkdude5334
Did Craigslist even exist in the mid 1990's??
steve you're probly one of the most kind/respectful guys! We love you, thanks for the videos
I am glad you started writing. I used to get such enjoyment when my magazines used to come. I would save them and take them when we vacationed to read from cover to cover by the pool or on beach. They were part of my vacations. Also I enjoyed the actual "media" , not a laptop, or tablet.
I can't understand why anyone would thumbs down this or any of your videos.... WoW, any way I love them!! What a awesome experience that must have been.. Great story about that part of your history.. Thanks for sharing Steve!
I bought a Linn LP12 back in 1982 and still own it and use it now ;-) I have had the great fortune to have had more than one demo from Ivor Tiefenbrun himself, and back in the 80s, I even sold them for a living :-)
I only went to Sound by Singer once in the 80's I popped in bought an adcom preamp and walked out. I never saw a salesman. I started going to crazy eddie's every thursday evening with a friend and we sold a lot of gear for them because everyone asked us for advice! But I finally settled on stereo exchange before they became rude and became the flat panel TV store of the city. You walk in there now and they treat you like crap just to see if you will leave, and I do!!!
My son is 10 and has a hi fi...not fancy but he has a pair of Sony towers, an Audio Technica automatic turntable and a 1990's Onkyo amp with a great phone section and tone controls. His Foo Fighter records sound great. In the next room is Dads system...not too fancy either, but good enough for me: Monitor Audio RX6 Silvers powered by an HK3490 and Rega RP1 with Ortofon Red cartridge and Chinese tube preamp for boosting signal from cell or tablet.....
When you're rich, you're eccentric. When you're poor, you're crazy.
AUDIOPHILES are like police officers, they just love to trade war stories. Great channel
Lovely stories, Steve. There's a good plenty more episodes in that history. Keep it up.
Haha! 15 years here and still selling, I've got stories too. Eccentric people for sure. Never had people having sex though, haha. Rarely do we even see a woman in our store coming to listen to audio. I've had a guy who rode to the store on his John Deer lawn tractor, one guy who smelled like shit covered in vomit and wanted the two hour extensive tour (We ran to the store to get lysol when he left) and one guy we call "the penguin", who goes into a two-hour monologue every time he comes in, about everything in audio he's ever heard of. You can't even get a word in, he goes non-stop for two hours, if you'll stand there and listen. Very hard to get away from that guy. Lots of time wasted by people who aren't really serious though, and that's starting to get old. Some people literally just want to be entertained, with no intention whatsoever on narrowing it down to a purchase. Buyers want the best deal, the best service, the best warranty, an unlimited return policy, in-home demos, the best product, the most knowledgeable salesman, the ability to A/B compare to every single competitor of said product, and they want top dollar for some old piece of crap they want to trade towards it! People will want the world if you'll give it to them. As an audio customer, we need to have realistic expectations. If you're buying a $400 bookshelf speaker, don't expect all of the above, or 5 hours of a salesman's time over multiple visits to audition...and don't change your mind after the sale, or blame your wife for your indecision. (A popular cop out) Just enjoy what you've bought. We need buyers, anything else is waste of our time. It's not the Library and we're not government funded. We earn a living ONLY by selling audio. The people who call multiple times from out of state just for "Audio advice" kill me. Rant over, I need a vacation, haha.
Love your honesty truth wisdom Steve, my favourite channel! I'm digging now to go back in history and watch all (aside your daily show which I of course watch :) The topics are very very spot on to what I think is important / entertaining and interesting. Keep it up!
Bag of Popcorn a beverage I could literally listen to these stories for Hours..... Keep em coming
I sold equipment quite a few streets down from the marquis brands you peddled at Andy's place. My battleground store was Crazy Eddies and their clientele was just as nutty neurotic. I did once stop a S-B-S and was pleasantly welcomed by the big man himself. We auditioned the WATT PPY 5.1. and a few others. However after the first 60 min I was reminded that money needed to change hands pronto or the welcome mat would be unceremoniously pulled... true story.
Couple you talked about really wanted "best bang for the buck" lol
Lmao thanks for the laughs
I would have slipped that phrase in somewhere while talking to them ... "so yeah let me connect this pair I just brought in for you, I think you'll get the most bang for the buck from these".
Great stories! Thanks for sharing Steve!
Steve tells a story like a gentleman careful not to offend or demean....I like that and to an aging putz in this hobby morning coffee with Steve is becoming a habit...
Great stories. Who is thumbs downing this?! (We see you Herb Reichert! [joking of course!])
I got my first HiFi at age 13 I think. EPI speakers, Akai cassette tape deck and a Realistic "30 Watt" receiver with a black anodized aluminum face. That receiver was actually quite good and my brother STILL HAS IT in his guest bedroom! My primary source of music in those days was FM radio, from which I made pirate mix tapes. I still have those tapes too, and some of them, made on various decks over the years, sound reasonably good. Sadly these days I have a rather junky low end Onkyo dual cassette player, yet it's still actually better than my original Akai which was really low end and older, less advanced tech.
Thanks for the fun story Steve! I'd like to hear more stories maybe one of the time 1 per video or something thanks
Great video. Really enjoyed your stories
Hey Steve, I really like your early videos, also these non-review vids. Cheers!
Thank you!
"Rug-Burn-Good" should be a rating for audio gear.
If it is good enough to send a couple into "rutting sessions," it HAS to be good enough for your living room. :) LOL
"Mr. CHEAP's" OLD MOTORHOME UNIVERSITY hhaha
New York can be fun. I was in a record store when a gun went off (totally accidentally in the backroom). I still know the man who ran the store. Stuff happens. I worked in a record store in NJ, not so much drama.
Great collection of stories, Paper Penis Guy needs to be in a movie script.
Absolutely!!
Dude, you should write a book! I mean Paul McGowan is, and I know everyone hates on Paul and I don't agree with everything he says BUT I think he truly believes what he says, that's good enough for me. Great stories man!!
Got to love humans :).
Not that weird to me to sell a turntable to a deaf person.
My dad is 'hard of seeing', so to say, haha. He can still see but not good enough to drive a car.
Yet he likes buying oldtimers, fixing them up and having me driving them to keep them active. He just happily rides along and enjoys what other people think of them.
That last story is brilliant. Makes up for the horrible people.
More please!
Hi Steve just like to say yorself and herb are my favorite reviwers. I would like to tell you what my local hifi store said when I asked them who their main customers were. He said with a straight face "people who have given up on life" meaning they come in to blow the bankroll before they go. Coffin with your hifi anyone!
I know it makes a big difference with my guitar cords. Cheap cables tend to have a very loose braid weave around the dielectric so noise can be induced, also the quality of copper in the center conductors is significant.
I can't understand either whey anyone would give a thumbs down to this video. I enjoyed it so very much. I agree that it must have been a incredible experience selling stereo equipment back then. When I was a teenager I always wanted to work at a record store, I filled out so many applications trying to get to work at a record store, but for whatever reason, I never got a job at a record store, but I would have loved it.
Ur videos are the best. I learn what wasnt easily available in laymans terms
Sounds like the first guy was a King Missile fan.
Now for the stories, "Adventures of a Film Projector-ist."
nothing worse than walking into the booth and seeing the whole floor covered 2 foot deep in movie print..
Ok, here's one of my stories: I almost missed re-threading a projector on a late shift before the last showings because a woman in one of the auditoriums was having a diabetic attack/seizure. I was running about getting her kool-aid and whatever else her husband asked for while my co-worker was on the phone with 911. After some time, the woman got better and asked us to call off the ambulance. When I realized that this all started after I had re-threaded the first four projectors but not the fifth, I bolted upstairs in such a panic that I almost went head first into the platter. Anyway, I had just enough time and all was good and the people in the rest of the theatre were none the wiser.
Love it. Thanks Steve.
Nice one, thank you.
I worked at high-end audio store at the edge of town. In the late 70s. We had a wheat field across the street. A guy comes in and asks us if we sold car stereos. We said yes. So he leaves goes back to his car to pull out his stereo. He walks across the street and pulls out a pistol and shots the deck 3 or 4 times. He starts walking back to the store. Were ready to lock it up quick. But didn't. Guy comes in and says thats the last time that piece of shit going to eat a tape.
Thank you so much for this video. I haven't laughed so hard in a while. One question - did the flaming amp sound good before it met its demise?
ha ha audio burnout nice diagnosis, happens to me sometimes and I have only to deal with my own equipment
Very enjoyable. Thank you for sharing.
I really like your channel , Good job !!!
Remember the old days of Stereo Review a publication hated by many audiophiles. The best part of the magazine were the comics, I remember one it was the back of a large speaker and a large sticker warning shock hazard, in the next part of the comic the guy takes the back of this huge speaker and inside is a little 4 inch speaker with a tag below it that said WE TOLD YOU THAT YOU WOULD BE SHOCKED. Reminded me of all of the scam artists selling speakers out of the back of a van at shopping center parking lots. A neighbor got sucked into buying a pair and I took the back cover off and here we see a 12 inch woofer with a magnet not much bigger that a 50 cent piece. I told him these will sound great in your garage. He paid 200 bucks for them. I told him next time he comes up with some money I will help him pick out some real speakers. They sounded like tin cans.
Great Stories! You're the best.
hmmm - think you might have set up one or even TWO demos for me ... in 1997 or 98 some audio physic speakers and a naim amp - both of which i still have
Seen your name all my life in Stereophile, Audio, Stereo Review and all the rest. I cant imagine companies sending me high end gear to critique. I remember a Magnaplanar small speaker that was meant to be used and turned in when an upgrade to a bigger speaker was necessary. I also remember a pair of bookshelf Mission speakers that had the coolest stands I ever saw. What happened to them? I probably upgraded but man were they nice.
It was golfing flames! flames just golfing - ricky
Love ur stories, thanx!
King Missile - Detachable Penis, that's all I have to say. Too funny.
More stories like this.
I loved this
I Love your videos ! What is your opinion of Paul's videos (PS audio) ?
Excellent stories! I had a good laugh
Great stories.
Ha, Ha, Ha, this is hilarious. I guess as long as the guy with the lost Penis was writing a BIG Check. Steve the couple was just Audio Feeling, was it in it in 5.1 surround sound or DTS master Audio, ha, ha, I'm on the floor dying here Steve, just dying. Most importantly did they buy anything. Priceless, Steve, just Priceless and I'm sure your have a ton more stories.
Many more...
love the channel Steve
Very interesting stories. Thanks
I have a friend that has money, doesn't have a financial filter, nor the best ears, is impressionable & impulsive (goes to places like gearslutz for gospel), and has dumped over $60k into audio gear over the past several years. He is the biggest customer for the current "Hi End" segment. Considering how much quality you can get right now for a low cost, it's ridiculous to spend a certain amount of money to get a good sound. For example, understanding and being able to manipulate EQ, can affect sound more than any DAC. It is a concept almost eschewed away, when compared to price, hype, and shills, over function. Again, one must use their ears. First & foremost.
Some people have more dollars than sense!
fo sho
The couple in their 30’s probably still lived with their parents.
You think the man was crazy for saying he talks to other beings in the universe don't you??? Would you believe that Einstein and Tesla sort of said the same thing but not in the same way. Tesla said he would get inspiration from the universe ,and or get answers to problems with the electronics he was trying to create. He also said he would have an easier time communicating with the universe while being in the middle of 100s of 1000s of volts flying around his head.Einstein said he would go to a quiet place and meditate and try to enter the far reaches of the universe with his mind and ask for knowledge,,he says he got a lot of his ideas that turned out to be facts from some higher power...I believe these people....
I really enjoyed this vid
I thought that last lady and story steve was going to end it with "and that's how I met my wife"
More stories please!
I only go when I am ready to buy
At 6:38 ish, it's interesting how you've lowered your voice and are speaking more intimately as if sharing a secret. This was interesting. I don't know if you intended it, but that technique provides a varied "vibrational structure" to your narrative which could be useful as a, I don't want to say "hack" but a procedure or something that can be used in your videos to continue to command viewers' attention? Anyway, these are so interesting because it kind of feels like I'm in a sacred space with someone who knows about sacred things. Okay, not a priest but it's like, experience, but not throwing the experience in my face. It's like when my friend tells me stuff. So that to me is a really good presentation method.
cool stories.
I guess the guy with bad hearing listens to Def Leppard!
You are the Al Bundy of audio, go Polk High
Steve, I think you have a material for the book
You think audiophiles are weird... I worked at a gun store and shooting range for 10 years...
were the couples in the sound room playing 'bolero'
Awesome video.... am I the only one who thought you would say that you married the woman?
Steve rules!
So you were using sign language with a profoundly deaf customer? You really could have been earning a lot more as an interpreter.
I got rid of my records .... sob 😥
Has anybody told you that you look a bit like Roger Hodgson?
So how did you talk to the deaf guy?
this is funny
I see... you've had your fair share of audio wierdos in your professional life...
lol.
write a book
and your shoulder at the end of the videos looks creepy
Penis guy sounds deranged, not "eccentric".
Audio dealers are clueless idiots who got in the audio retail for decent commissions and easy life. Most of them are former real estate agents and car dealers. I stay away from them and shop on line. There are enough idiots and douche bags in my life. Please avoid audio salesmen. You will thank me later for it.
whats weird is you found it necessary to share this nonsense with us