How has high end retail changed? 

Thanks guys a great trip down memory lane. Back in the 70's the first system I ever bought was an $69.00 Sound Design 8-Track player. It was an all in one system that powered a pair of really cheap speakers. It was not totally awful, but damn close. That player had constant mechanical noise and hum as it played, but my 14 year old brain did not care. It was music, and back then that was all I wanted.

It’s always nice to reminisce about the good old days.

I enjoyed this because I remember that 1977-1980 hifi era very well. Aged 15 in 77 is when I and many friends bought their first systems. Calif Audio Systems in Visalia was our store. We all had speakers by Cizek(designed by a blind golden eared audiophile as he was known) or Polk 5,7 or 10s. Onkyo integrated amps were excellent. I had an English Connoisseur BD2a turntable with a Goldring cartridge. They sold Linn, Vandersteen and Audio Research for the adults. That was a great time for hifi but so is now.

Fond memories of those brands. Late 60s to late 70s. Toronto Hi-Fi, Radio City, House of Stein Radio Shack/ all audio store I remember in Toronto at the time. And a lot of audio parts stores. And stereo stores had technicians who would service your equipment. Spend the whole Saturday walking up and down Yonge Street from Bloor to King popping into all the stereo stores. Then came the bog box stores like Majestic Sound. And our sources mono LPs. stereo LPs, 45s, reel to reel. Then came cassettes and 8 -tracks. And four two years there was the EL-Cassette. I still have a DUAL 1209, A Realistic 8-Track Recorder/Player (no tapes), an a UHER Reel to Reel. Who remembers the CHUM Chart, Sams, A&As.

Very enjoyable guys. I worked as a student in the Selfridges department store TV and radio department around 1977-78, in London. You took me back there! I seem to remember Sony and Technics being the big brands and Aiwa being the big cassette player brand. I loved the top loaders back then. It was all around how smoothly the door to the cassette opened. Not the sound. And the big demo song was Best of My Love by The Emotions. Sanyo and Panasonic were the kings of the music centre which was the thing to have back then. Keep up the great banter!!

So incredible to hear you mention Peter Chui I worked for him and Jean Tan and Bill Jean thought me how to set up the Oracle and loved IAR

WOW, I remember my first CD player was the Mission DAD 7000 CD Player. I loved that thing. I was blown away in the mid-80s when I first heard the Acoustat 2+2s. The soundstage was incredible compared to dynamics at the time. I've been hooked on planer speakers since.

All I know is that if I lived in Toronto, I'd be hanging out at Audio Excellence! Once I could afford to actually buy something I'd bring Vilip some good coffee or tea and we'd discuss the esoteric aspects of classical music performance, harmonic theory, acoustic theory, etc. I'd even bring in my restored Victor Talking Machine Victrola Model 6 from 1914 and we'd spin some pre-1910 Victor Red Seal one-sided shellacs of Caruso. Dig that!

I remember going to the malls as a kid in the late 80's and 90's and saw tons of Hi-fi shops in the malls. My 1st system was a Sony rack system which sucked and I returned it as a preteen. I then got a Harmon K. PA2200, P304 integra, Klipsch Chorus Speakers, Integra cd player, and a dual Yamaha 3-head tapedeck. The rest is history.

Born in '65. Great memories of stores. Thanks!

Thanks for sharing. I got into audio in a big way back in the early 70s and enjoyed listening to you reminisce about the old days.

Very Enjoyable... Thank You!!!

Sold audio in early 80’s for Atlantic. Remember them? Harman Kardon, Bose, Sanyo, Sony, Dual, JBL, Boston Acoustic, Cerwin Vega, Pioneer. Kenwood was my first stereo in 1976.

Always interesting and entertaining to listen to some good ol‘ stories of Hifi/ HighEnd history and stuff. Cheers mates

Great stuff! My dad still has his Marantz 2335 from the late 70's. Loved going to the local stores to see the latest gear.

Your team is the best information source for audiophile gear. Thank-you for your support when I purchased the Magnepan LRS speakers from your dealer last year.

Rogers LS35A were the first speakers I bought in 1979. That’s when I fell in love with high end audio, made me discover all different genres of music.

I really like this history thank you please do this again 🤟🔊😎 a trip down memory lain for an old man

Really enjoyable. Reminds me of a class mate in high school who always had a new chev each year and the killer 8 track systems in them. You are all round good guys, so knowledgable , honest and thoughtful. Another great video.

perfect sound for ever!!!!!!!!

Always enjoy your conversations! Was lucky in 1983, in London Ontario to have a tremendous hifi shop. They knew their stuff, matching, etc. For 3 grand I went home with naim separates, thorens turntable, and castle speakers. Had never heard of any of those products before. That setup kept me happy for the next 15 years. Now getting back into it, the nearest store is 5 hours away here in Nova Scotia. Heck I had to get my lrs's from you lads online.

I have enjoyed this episode very much, it is very interesting to hear about audio products & retailer history and inside knowledge. This had been so much fun, I wish you will create more videos like this.

Great topic as it brings a lot of memories of the audiophile journey. Funny, I got hooked by the Linn lp12 and thus the hunger to get better sound. I think the reason people are reaching out to you guys is your passion in audio and the experience of trial and error through the years of all types of brands and comparing it to nirvana type systems that you guys sell. Fantastic content. My son graduated as an engineer out of Waterloo so I have a Dad hoody also, however I can't convince him to spend money into high end audio. hmmmm.

This was a great video. You guys had me thinking about my first systems and when I purchased my first CD Player. It was a Pioneer player that I purchased from Audio Advice in Raleigh North Carolina.

Captivating start to the end....takes me back to "the good old days" a little older than you guys..... 60s and then everyone in the 70s had a integrated HiFi system which today probably would be considered MidFi. It was all about the music more than the gear which had a gazillion buttons to play with.

I still have my JVC turntable and speakers from 1981 when I was in high school😂. The rest of my system was bought in Germany between 86-92 and I still have all of the pieces.

That was an enjoyable trip down memory lane. This hobby is like going on a journey on a raod that never ends - so many interesting, enlightening and sometimes also disappointing experiences along the way. For those of us who were lucky enough to be there at the start of the revolution and see it's evolution over the years, what surprises me most is that the passion never fades. I had my first HiFi experience (if you wanna call it that) in Australia way back in September of '74 - a Pioneer Prelude system and an Akai 400GX tape deck - 46 plus years on, the bug is alive and well. Nice one guys. Thanks

Adrian, this was a great video! My hifi journey began around 1972-3. My Dad and I went and bought our family’s Stereo at Tech Hifi in New Jersey. We got an ElacMiracord turntable changer, a Sansui 7 receiver and a pair of Ohm B speakers. I thought that system was great! Shortly after I got a system for my bedroom. I was lucky. I got a Philips GA212 turntable with those elevator light type touch sensors. My receiver was a lower end Sansui and a pair of EPI 120 speakers. That was a great system then! One winter break, I worked steam cleaning cookie sheets in the basement of a bakery. I would come home like I spent the shift in a sauna and then got covered in powdered sugar! I took my money from that work during high school and got the Technics cassette deck with the slanted platform where the cassette would go behind the clear plastic sliding door. I forget the model number. Those were the days...

Look at you all Maple Leaf proud! And why not. Auston Matthews is on fire! Oh thanks for the interview too. I still struggle with what’s more important, hockey or audio gear. Lol. Thanks again I love your channel and because of you I now own a lot of Hegel gear. Keep up the great work!

LOVED this edition.... was actually one of my favorites Man, Villip 's expert ethos just jumped 50 points... very impressive library of audio equipment/ brand knowledge.... You guys are awesome...was worth the stop by today on a Friday eventing. (Here on RU-vid that is.)

I miss going into cool stereo shops :-\ These videos from you guys are also a reason people come to you for advice. You fellas seem trustworthy and caring. I enjoy your videos. I'm glad you're successful and able to do something you love. And help people. Keep it up!

Nice conversation guys. You guys are fun to listen to.

In London in 80s I spent a lot of time looking at hifi shops on Tottenham Court Road. And Virgin and HMV record shops. The LP 12 is now pitched as open source as you can replace/upgrade most of the components.

Missed "Pioneer" Greetings from Western NY. Enjoy the posts...always.

Enjoyed the discussion🎶

This video brought back a lot of memories of happy times in the 70's and 80's going to audio stores. I was a pretty active buyer too within my budget limitations. My first pair of speaker were Lloyds with a Heathkit amp I built. Fond memories indeed!

Great discussion, and valuable insights both literal and implied, really enjoy this channel. I watch RU-vid reviewers of hifi gear - I am a bit of a gear head - and agree that some of those guys are definitively more accurate and unbiased than others. Caveat Emptor sadly. Gentlemen, FWIW, if I wasn't in Vancouver and was going to buy McIntosh or Wilson or Hegel, I would buy from you in a heartbeat.

That's a great video Adrian. Helps me stay in touch with things as I can't get around much lately. Hope to see you again in a month or three. Best regards guys. Terry. 🎼👌😉

The thing I miss the most is not being able to get product brochures

Useful trip down nostalgia lane, and also a good check on where the audiophile industry is today. This video is now 10 months old, and once the pandemic really subsides I hope you revisit this topic, as I suspect even more local outlets will be gone/transformed by 2023. I live in a major US metropolitan area and back in the mid 1980s there were many audio outlets to visit within a 30 minute drive. Only two blocks, walking distance, from where I lived was a custom speaker (cabinet) builder who also dealt in used audiophile gear. Bought from him a pair of demo speakers and a barely used NAD integrated amp (I believe it was the 3020) - that was back when NAD was actually affordable gear - for a friend. And just a couple more blocks to walk and there was a local "stereo" dealer offering the usual mass market stuff. Today, though, few places exist within 30 minutes that cater to audiophiles. And the one store that does (and is the only one left from the old days?) has not even updated their website in years. Even back in the 80's I always felt put off by their snobbery, and I don't know how they make it today by ignoring their online presence. As someone else noted, there is a need for affordable (under $1000) gear that delivers the high quality hobbyists seek. Young people today will just stick with their earbuds otherwise. You speak of the Magnepan LRS as a "gateway drug", and I'm sure it is great as such, but the industry needs similarly priced electronics too.

One of your best videos

I had a Dual CS515 as well. Used it for 23 years ! Bought it at Globe Discount in Hamilton. Bought a Sony Dolby S HX Pro Cassette Deck from Hill TV, and a Dolby C Auto Reverse Cassette Deck from East Hamilton Radio. I also bought on Layaway a Philips CD150 from Globe Discount. Great Video Guys.

Nostalgia at its best! Awesome

Adrian, what you said about people’s struggles with local dealers was so accurate. My closest dealer is 15 min away, and does not carry a single MC product even though he advertises as an authorized MC dealer. He then spent 10 minutes educating me why he won’t carry or even order anything for me to listen to. He didn’t even offer to order the product I wanted to purchase and advised me to drive over an hour further to another dealer. What happened to the stores of the 80s and 90s.

Nice one guys.

I have mused on getting a PE idler driver table and refurbishing/upgrading it. Kinda practice for finding an affordable TD124 or Lenco L75. I remember when the Oracle Delphi was introduced and how stunning it was. And I really, really miss Sam, Round Records and the others on/around Yonge Street. And as I've probably mentioned before, I bought my TD160 at Bay-Bloor. I still have it, but have "hot rodded" it - sounds good!

Had the SONY! Great relaxed video!

I miss the beautiful gear that Nakamichi used to make. Also remember how I drooled when the Oracle TT came out. I still have my B&O 4004. Don't use it. But I'm not getting rid of it either. This was a great video. Thanks all!!

Hi Guys watch your videos all the time. The lack of retails stores is exactly why there are not more younger audiophiles these days. If you can't see it it does not catch your eye or interest. Back in the late 70's is when i got the bug. Seeing cool receivers..Realistic, MCS sold at JCpenny, Sansui, Panasonic. It all looked so cool and peaked my interest. I remember working all summer in high school and saving for a MCS receiver from pennys. Then the journey started. Today the younger generation does not have the opportunity to see any of this that might catch their eye.

Wow im so happy I found you guys. & what you guys are talking about! There's only one store that I know of high end stereo aquitment that I won't mention the name. I been away from hifi for 8 years & im just coming back to it. Want to get rid of all i got & start from scratch but been having a hard time choosing cause now it seems it's all on line. But I need to actually listen in order to make up my mind. Anyway awesome that I found u guys. Need to find where u guys are at.🤔 great reminiscing 👌 I feel

This is such a trip down memory lane. I dj’d high school parties. My system? Dual 1245, nakamichi 700, cerwin Vega 311r, and for awhile McIntosh c27/28. But I upgraded to a son of ampzilla. It ran hot but was so much better than the old transistor Mac

Pioneer SX 1980 was my introduction to music. My brother purchased his first set up in 🇹🇹. Regrets when the volume control knob was acting up..... anyway. Thanks for videos.

Did you mention Pioneer? I had a Pioneer direct drive TT, and the CTF1250 tape deck from Toronto HiFi at Sherway. And a super tuner for cruising Yonge

Thank you guys, such a great conversation. i had no idea that V is such a historian. Well done Vilip! These type of discussions are the reason why we need to focus on tactile and emotional elements of audio, and not just the specs and purity

Back in late 60s after a glowing Stereo Review of a Lafayette AM/ FM tuner (remember those?) I bought one on a trip to New York City, the mecca of hifi at the time. It had great specs but couldn't pick up local let alone US radio stations. After university I sold my Garrard changer and bought, and still own, a Rega Planar 3 from a local dealer (Studio Sound). With demise of Planet of Sound, only Audio Shop remains in Ottawa with a storefront and sales reps that help customers who enter their store. RU-vid audio gurus and direct online sales have pushed local dealers to the brink of extinction. Niche high end dealers will remain to cater to those with deep pocketbooks. Thanks for reminescing the days of my youth.

I remember working at Good Guys audio and the many returned damaged Adcom amps when customers used Infinity (Kappa ?) speakers.

Good plug on local dealers! In regards to the high-end dealers.... A lot of problems I see is that, while a good number of them are in my area, they write you off if 1. they don't think you're going to spend $30k+ 2. don't buy on your first visit. I've also had high-end dealers not follow up with price quotes. Also, the going trend is up sell, up sell, up sell.... I had one dealer really try to push the multi-channel Mc amp with the meters vs. the more basic for $3000 less. So $3000 for meters!?!? Really??? A good, reputable dealer would have pointed out the difference, telling me to save the $3000 and put it toward something else. I was not happy to say the least.

Great video. There were also Canadian speakers like Energy, Sound Dynamics and Paisley Research made by the late and gregarious George Baker. He invited me to his home in Bayview to audition and buy a pair of speakers in the early 80’s. Some of the speakers were fine,and some were ok, but through it all there was a distinct sound that I loved. I asked him what kind of stereo system he was using, and he told me it was a McIntosh. I never heard of it before, but it was esthetically pleasing and sounded great and I was never at peace until I owned one 20 years later. Btw, I bought George’s Paisley Research speakers which I still have.

One audio chain I remember growing up with on the west coast was A&B sound they used to have the best boxing day sale for albums, we would stand inline half the night to get into that place, sadly they to folded about a dozen years ago. What I find interesting is where I live now (Vernon, BC) our populations is only 50,000 to 52,000 people but we have 3 high end audio dealers for such a small place, as well as a chain of drug stores called London Drugs that also sells stereo gear and vinyl albums, we almost have an over abundance for the population, I am not complaining but it's almost like the 1980' back in Victoria, BC where I grew up. I keep waiting for that bubble to burst. Loved this episode as you mentioned a lot of brands that I grew up with, keep u the great work.

Love McIntosh. Keep the Mac reviews coming.

While Vilip can sometimes have a slightly abrasive streak there is no denying he is articulate, thoughtful and, yes, philosophical. Adrian has great stories and is the most peaceful and relaxing person on RU-vid. My Sunday night cup of cocoa so to speak LOL.

some times I find the bickering annoying but today it was okay. Thx guys. Great discussion. my 2 cents - the main thing that separates brick & mortar from online is customer service. That's the differentiator but it seems many brick & mortar businesses are failing to recognize this. This from a consumer's perspective at least.

Still have a dbx 3bx dynamic range expander, also a Nakamichi RX-505 cassette player. I also remember Counterpoint, Spica, Tandberg. I built numerous Dynaco kits because I was an expert solderer. You bring me back to the time when wandering the streets of Manhattan going from one store to another.

pioneer 909 LD in champaign--picked up at mainz kastel px---laser discs were expensive though for a young E4.

In Hamilton, in the 60 - 70’s a go to stereo store was Schneider’s Hi-Fi, downtown on King St next door to LouBills hobby store and across the street from the Black Forest Inn. I depleted my limited resources on an Acoustic Research (AR Inc.) amplifier and AR 3x speakers with a Kenwood tuner and Thorens turntable. I was very pleased with the sound. Pricing was not cheap but a lot less than the exotics of today. Question, was the sound then as good as or better than available today? Remember the media was LP’s and a bit of tape.

I remember fairview mall having adventure/majestic electronics in the 90s

BIC Made some cool turntables, and also had a series of cassette decks that had dual speeds

First system ‘79 was Marantz 2252, Cerwin Vega 12TR’s, Dual 604(still have), Akai GXC-570D. Within a year upgraded the speakers to Klipsch LaScala’s(still have) but drooled over Luxman back then. Can’t remember if you mentioned Revox. I miss the brick and mortar big record stores like Tower Records and The Record Factory in SF. I’d buy albums for the cover art at times and I had no clue that there were multiple pressings of albums, some good, some bad. Good stuff guys!

That was fun

When i was 14 my uncle gave me his old lenco system with horrible 5 or 7 pin connectors. i also remember how i "broke" his lp12 by playing one of his records... If I remember right, i messed up the spring suspension somehow. It felt like destroying a priceless item. Lately this same uncle came to visit after ... almost 20 years, took a good look at my high end rig and said something like: "daaaamn, did you see that (aunt)? those are actually speakers! :)

I owned a phillips 920a cd player wonderful. Considered a a transport.

Lo-D/HITACHI also had a vertical mounting cd player called DAD-1000. Probably the coolest looking CD player made at that time.

We in the Netherlands mostly had Thorens,or German dual's record players ,and as most people then liked the black sansuis with cheap selfmade altec speakers,and the B&O record players of who they just made a small serie for 3000 € you can find on Catawiki ,not that expensive.And only the boys with work&money had sure element's.Later they changed to Denon and Kenwood,and today music fidelity and Creek and Rotel etc.So lot of music 🎵🎶 for not crazy money!We still like German speakers from companies like T&A etc.the companies who were used by Japanese speaker companies to get beter sound!

Harmon Kardon and RTR Speakers, Mind Blown

I would like you to review the McIntosh MX123 and explain how well it serves as a 2-channel preamp. Thank you.

22:22 I think Adrian is referring to the nakamichi soundspace 12 (vertical CD player)

Well as a waterbed more important than a car but a waterbed a good stereo and you were in heaven

Remember the""A R" manual turntable.with the Shure M95?

Adrian, the vertical CD player you mention ... perhaps Kyocera? I'll won't soon forget that CD launch, I was a college freshman and had just caught The Who live just a couple days prior to Sony's launch. Perfect Sound Forever ;) Also, ingrained into my musical soul, seriously... Donald Fagan's Nightfly was out, listened to it everyday. Those not around at that time may have difficulty grasping the importance of HiFi and musical releases to those ... at least in my circle. Just as Adrian(sp?) stated, everything revolved around getting a place, getting your tunes set up, etc. It was vital ... yeah scoring was always an objective, however simply music listening ... it seemed significant in ways that won't likely ever occur again. Socially, when entertaining or visiting someone ... oftentimes the first thing one would do would be flipping thru and perusing someone's record collection. Simpler times for sure ... that said, I wouldn't trade my phone and broadband internet for the alternative. But it's certainly fun recognizing the manner and direction in which changes have been made. At that time I read Stereo Review(meh), High Fidelity(meh), Audio(fantastic), Speaker Builder, and Mix. Thinking ... before magazines essentially went away, in addition to monthly subscriptions, I spent at least $100/week on magazines. A couple times a week head down to the Newstand ... (Speaker Builder, TAS, Stereophile, Perfect Vision, Photography, Rolling Stone, Penthouse, Mix, EQ, Auto Racing ... etc., etc). Then my US Robotics 14.4 dial-up modem, briefly bumped to 56k, then DSL, then broadband cable 200mbps. Point being broadband access to all largely supplanted my voracious magazine reading, once I discovered all my audio sources online. Thanks All the best

I borrowed the money to buy the CDP-101. Bought (I think) Paul McCartney and Wings.

Hello, I just want to add my 2 cents to this great discussion. I believe you both missed what really killed retail audio and it wasn't home theater, it actually is quite the opposite, home theater renewed interest in home audio for a substantial number of people, for one it had all us stereo people upgrading our gear. What killed retail audio is similar to what's killing print media and that is the availability to go online. In the case of print media most of us get our content on line now from various sources good and bad so why bother with anything that's printed. In the case of retail audio it was 2 things that has crippled it 1) you can buy online more so than ever before, ok yes you can't audition that way but if you do a little bit of research (again online not an audio magazine) you can make a fairly well informed decision and often you have a 30 day window to return products and you can often customize some gear like speakers from boutique speaker makers like Salk Sound etc. at often better prices than brick & mortar. But the biggest thing that has killed retail audio in my view is when portable personal audio equipment arrived in the late 70's early 80s' with the Sony Walkman and then later sadly digital mp3's and the Ipod. Convenience over quality and that's what killed retail audio. I feel there is a slight shift back to quality but that quality shift is focused on improvements in the quality of personal audio so I don't expect retail audio to benefit from it. Ok that's my 2 cents and I hope it is seen as a valid addition to the discussion. PS: in the list of audio companies Technics was also one of the brands from back when to add to the list . Technics has now resurfaced after years of absence and that was very gratifying to see because my first "real" stereo was a Technics rack system, (remember those?) geez that makes me chuckle.

Still have an Oracle mk1 bought it new in 78-79.

I have a question. Should I email it? I stream music from my tv via tidal. What’s a good setup for $2000 to use that as a source? I like rock, metal, folk, female vocals, some jazz and classical. I’ve played with my own combinations but none sound great.

Beside the mentioned brands I remember AIWA, Technics, Yamaha, Lenco, Philips, Grundig, Loewe, DUAL, JVC and even Siemens.

My desire in the 70’s was the Audio Research SP-3A.

Funny you should go down memory lane. I'd love to hear your opinions on quadraphonic systems

I was a child in the late 80's and I remember the most "high end" brand back in the day in my country: Gradiente. It was crap compared to the imported stuff.

Could be "Stereo Den" at Fairview Mall??

I live in Phoenix az and there is not that many stereo places the affordable audio seems to be gone why do we need to spend soo much

CerwinVega! Home recently got sold to CerwinVega! Mobile, and they are coming out with a new home line of speakers for 2021 that promises a higher quality than what they currently offer.

Oh yes.... Good friend of mine is a DJ and he used Nikko and Hafler amplifiers.... still has them Edit: a DJ in the 80's-90's

What is an derogatory name for Sansui? I don't know. Anyone got a list of brands? Could be fun.

How do you guys feel about PS Audio's switch to direct sales to customers? Is it really that bad that there are no dealers? I live near Chicago so we still have plenty. My dealer doesn't understand how they are going to sell speakers no one can hear or compare at one dealer.

Audio stores need to remember that fifteen year old boys grow up to be forty year old doctors or fifty year old hedge fund managers. Kudos to SoundScape and Gramaphone to name two places in Maryland that let a young man indulge his fantasies until he could buy Thiels, Hegels, Totems, and PrimaLunas.

Hey guys, I have been noticing, though I have not looked at your website, that I don’t think you carry any well know Canadian brands like Bryston or Simaudio Moon. Why is that? On one of my systems, I have a pair of Magnepan 1.7i driven by a pair of Bryston 24B3 monoblocks which give plenty of power to drive the Maggies. I also have a few phono stages in my collection. One is a Simaudio Moon 310LP and 320S Power Supply connected by a Revelation Audio Labs power umbilical. Very nice sounding phono preamp.

I would like to know at what point mono amps are justified compared to one single or integrated amp for the same price.

San Sewer, Fire Linear, Bad Lux, Realspastic,

I got better service in audio retail 25 years ago when I was twenty. Now when I go into the shops they try to pre qualify me. And before even showing me the products ask me for a commitment to buy.

I think the most people can not effort an Mac and big trans rotors,they should look for good great audiofiliac equipment that doesn't need to be that expensive!they should enjoy good sound that we all can buy for much lesser money,they should look around and read and don't let them get their eyes pull out by big money tech companies!

Rocking Chuck Mangione at the U of T sausage fest wasn't pulling any birds?