A frustrated Klipscher .. these are dark times

[boa12]

so why doesn't klipsch expand to include more dealers in their distrib chain, i.e., less exclustivity to the current dealers? wasn't this d-man's real concern?

i mean klipsch has great speaks, great marketing guys &

it sounds to me the more dealers u have the greater the chance you'll get salesmen that appreciate klipsch (it's a numbers game ).

the real problem seems to me to be that klipsch is being too loyal to these "authorized dealers" that (shown by d-man's example) may not be so loyal to them.

turn it loose guys! shot-gun marketing

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Klipsch KLF 30 (front), KLF C-7, Cornwall I (rear)

Velodyne HGS-18 sub woofer

Monsterbass 400 sub interconnects & Monster CX-2 biwire & Z-12 cable

Marantz SR-8000 receiver

Sony DVP-C650D cd/dvd player

Sony Trinitron 27" stereo tv

Toshiba hi-fi stereo vcr

Technics dual cassette deck

Scientific Atlanta Explorer 2000 digital cable box

Boa's Listenin Lounge:

Klipsch RF-3 (front), RC-3, cheap little Technics (rear)

Monster MCX Biwires

Sony STR-DE935 a/v receiver

Kenwood KR-9600 AM/FM stereo receiver (vintage 1975)

Russound AB-2 receiver switch to RF-3

Teac PD-D1200 5-disk cd changer

Technics direct drive turntable

Sega Genesis game player

Sub: None yet

rock on!

[Rusty]

I have lived in Sydney for 16 years after re-locating from the Denver area. We have only one dealer in Australia who is mainly in it to supply to the Cinima Industry. Until I got online I hadn't realized how extensive the Klipsh range had become. My last purchase was a pair of Kg1.2 for the spare room back in'92 a friend visiting Sydney brought them for me. I would love to own again the beloved Belle's I left behind, but could only manage to replace them with HeresyII (if you can call that a replacement).

My point is at least you guys can listen and compare the new products even if the sales guys aren't properly representing them. I did notice however that Listen Up in Denver, my old high end audio store, no longer supplies the Klipsh range. So there must be something in what everyone is saying.

How do I go about becoming a distributor for Klipsh Australia.

Rusty

[Jim Cornell]

My fellow Klipschers, SOUNDTRACK does keep on Klipsch about getting lines, and models in, at least here in Denver they do, check out soundtrack if you have one near you!

No one else basically here in Denver carries many Klipsch! Regards Jim

[Rusty]

oh man... Can't belive I spelled Klipsch wrong 3 times in my last post. sorry

Rusty

[HornEd]

PhilH and Polymon (Hmm, does that imply a hip multiple personality?) thanks for the insider in-depth (for a BB) reflection of the modern challenges of manufacturers and retailers. Those of us who have bought Klipsch products for decades appreciate hearing that "our" speaker company is sufficiently keeping up with the times to be available for future customer service and speaker buying opportunities.

Thought you might like to know that when your Klipsch "dog & pony" show hit the San Francisco Bay Area, I received excited reports from various sales personnel at local Klipsch outlets. Not only did some of the Klipsch message sink in... but a couple were really excited to meet personalities made famous by this BB.

Keep up the exhausting good work... and paraphrasing the slaves in official processions who were required to voice the sobering perspective, "Remember, Klipsch, thou art mortal!" HornEd

[Cruzer]

I Think that AAFES is going the same route. They are clearing the whole Klipsch/Denon inventory.

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Cruzer

[PhilH]

HornEd:

Thank you VERY much for the vote of confidence! It made my day! It's good to know that with the right amount of effort, you can make a positive impression.

Every little bit helps...as long as we keep making some progress!

PhilH

[boa12]

phil, sorry if i was overly critical above (i did preface that w/ some praise though ). just the $50k mba kicking in sometimes.

but i have a feeling it's the finance side of your llc that has a big if not final say in who gets to be an authorized dealer. if it were more up to guys like u, bobg, & polygon availability might be better.

i would think f.e. if there's only one klipsch dealer in an entire major metro area, every salesperson in that store should at the very least eat, sleep & drink klipsch. just upsets me to hear otherwise as i really like u guys.

though it's your co. & a just a case study to me. god's

speed.

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Klipsch KLF 30 (front), KLF C-7, Cornwall I (rear)

Velodyne HGS-18 sub woofer

Monsterbass 400 sub interconnects & Monster CX-2 biwire & Z-12 cable

Marantz SR-8000 receiver

Sony DVP-C650D cd/dvd player

Sony Trinitron 27" stereo tv

Toshiba hi-fi stereo vcr

Technics dual cassette deck

Scientific Atlanta Explorer 2000 digital cable box

Boa's Listenin Lounge:

Klipsch RF-3 (front), RC-3, cheap little Technics (rear)

Monster MCX Biwires

Sony STR-DE935 a/v receiver

Kenwood KR-9600 AM/FM stereo receiver (vintage 1975)

Russound AB-2 receiver switch to RF-3

Teac PD-D1200 5-disk cd changer

Technics direct drive turntable

Sega Genesis game player

Sub: None yet

rock on!

[decibel man]

I apologize for my absence from this topic. I left Sunday for a three day golf outing in Western Michigan. Nothing like 50 degrees and and three inches of rain to make a golf outing fun. I just got back last night and checked my email (45 in total). This BB is on my top five list of responses and the only non-work related one that will happen today.

I want to start off with the standard cliche`of saying that I am a loyal Klipscher. I think that the Klipsh Ref line is one of the best values available in the entire audio market today (electronics included). I did not know that this post was going to create quite this much discussion, but I am glad that it has. This board is a great median for both the manufacturer and the consumer to be heard. I greatly appreciate the response from the factory and field members of the Klipsch organization. I also appreciate all of the responses of my fellow BB members.

The experience I had was not a catastrophic debacle of customer service, it was just a very disappointing experience. It is my opinion (and obviously other BB members as well) that if the dealer is the only one in the area, they should try and represent atleast a couple of different products from each line. I would think that they would want to, since their competition would not have the same products. As I had mentioned earlier in this strand their Klipsch inventory was complete crap. The KLF-20's and 30's were not hooked to the same amp so you could not A/B them without major movement and niether of them was in a HT setup. There were NO Klipsch surrounds in the store. The only pair of Ref speakers were a pair of RF-3's and one had a dented driver (it really looked nice). They did however have several models of the various Paradighm, Def Tech, and Kef Reference speakers in various setups. I asked if they were clearing inventory for the new Ref models and was told "no." Then I asked when they would be getting the new line in and the answer was "eventually". And "no" was the answer to the question asking if they had even ordered the new line.

I realize now that this was my fault. I should have called the store first to find out if they were really a Klipsch dealer or if they just played one on the Klipsch website. It is almost as if some of these dealers are half-@*$ed mail order stores. You drive the hour away and order speakers that they don't have so you cannot listen to them first and then you drive back again in a few months when they finally get around to getting your speakers in. Reminds me of a J C Penny catalog store. I love my Klipsch, but no thanks if this is the hell I have to go through. Luckily for myself I travel so I can go to a city with a real dealer and just have a frieght carrier that we work with pick it up for me to deliver the product to my house. It is an out of state sale (no tax) and it is not mail order if I am at the store to purchase the equipment.

I guess my charge to Klipsch is; If you are having a problem with adding more dealers in secondary markets like mine then atleast let us know what products the current dealers carry. I know Klipsch can do that because you have the sales reports that show what products the dealers have bought. If the reps are actually calling on the stores then they should also know what products are on display.

Just my two cents,

JT

[HornEd]

Welcome back from your "reality-in-a-minor-key" golf junket, DecimalMan. Your well-worded "Strongville Manifesto" gets my "hear, hear" here! I do not envy the manufacturer's attempt to get display room... or the secondary market resident's problem in obtaining a fair hearing before plunking his/her money down.

It is too bad that a manufacturer couldn't afford to set up a regional listening room of its products with referrals to authorized dealers in the area. It sure would make it easier on the many "hinterland" folks to whom I have recommended Klipsch solutions to stimulate that magic place between their ears. HornEd

[forresthump]

It's not just the boonies here. It looks like big metro areas like Boston & Cleveland have only 1 auth dealer which just isn't right even if they have multiple outlets. gives the seller way too much power.

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go forth & hump the world

[Chris Robinson]

Erdric, I live in Worcester County so it's not quite Boston ... but Percy's in Worcester seems to carry a pretty good selection ... Haven't been in there in a while, so if you're out this way, stop in or call before you go.

PERCY S

19 GLENNIE STREET

WORCESTER MA 01605 USA

Phone 508-755-5269

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Denon AVR-3800

McIntosh MC-2105 (Fronts)

Toshiba SD-3109 DVD

Klipsch Cornwall I's (LF/RF)

Klipsch KT-LCR ©

Klipsch Heresy (RR/LR)

Klipsch KSW-12 sub

[Spider124]

I had a local authorized dealer, but I don't anymore. The closest dealer is over an hour away, and last I checked, didn't carry much.

I used to have just a horrible place called Sound World in Onalaska, WI. I'm now ashamed I gave them any money at all, but I really wanted those RF-3's, I guess.

I *LOVE* the sound of Klipsch speakers. I mean, a whole LOT. In the next year or so, I guess I'll give it a shot trying to find a pair of RF-7's for 2-ch listening (and keep my current Ref system for HT).

I don't expect it to go a whole lot better than my past experiences though. I see it as far more likely that I'll pick up an old pair of Heritage, although that's not really my first choice. (For a lot of reasons, which I don't have to go into here.)

Charlie

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"What's that noise?" "It's the carpet, it kinda mutes the speakers." "No, it sounded more like the chandalier falling."

[decibel man]

Thank you HornEd for the compliment. Just for the record, Strongsville is in the Cleveland area and the above mentioned store is not in Cleveland. It is about an hour southeast of Cleveland. I really think that the AudioCraft chain in Cleveland / Akron is the best opportunity for Klipsch. The one current dealer in the Cleveland area was not so nice to me when I bought my Klipsch system a couple of years ago. This dealer is still on the far northeast side of the suburbs and I live on the southwest side, so it is about a 45 minute drive. Since I was spending $2,000 plus and was treated like dog meat, I thought we would try the next closest dealer, because my friend only had $1000 to $1500 to spend. And just like the other dealer they wanted to sell us a Paradigm system. It was not the salesman's fault, he had no inventory of Klipsch.

AudioCraft used to carry Klipsch a long time ago, but not now. The sales people by far are not the most intelligent, but they are curtious and willing to help the consumer make choices. They did not seem to push any particular brand of product either. The problem is they don't deal much and their trade in is only on the front pair of speakers (not to mention they also carry Blose). The do have a nice selection of brands like: Adcom, McIntosh, Paradigm, Phase Tech, Def Tech, Pioneer Elite TV's, Yammy, Dennon and others. They also have four stores.

Another question is: If there are more than a half-dozen Paradigm stores really promoting the Paradigm lines in this area, than why does Klipsch only have two single locations? Klipsch has the better product at each price level, so I know product quality is not the issue. Def Tech is another manufacturer with good dealer support.

JT

[Guest BobG]

Hi gang,

I'm just back from a media visit in Manhattan where we wowed them with the new Reference models. Get the ball rolling on the review side. It'll be a little while till they get product, listen to it, write reviews and get them to print, but you'll be able to read some expert opinion in the coming months.

I feel compelled to comment on the topic of Klipsch distribution as it is always a hot topic. I used to manage an audio store in a university town of about 85,000 residents. My store was the best performing Klipsch dealer per capita in the world. Why? Though we carried lots of good brands, we felt Klipsch offered the best combination of performance and value and we were committed enough to learn to demonstrate that fact. We didn't always sell Klipsch, because that wasn't always the right thing for the customer. When it was, we were not too concerned that there were other Klipsch dealers within an hour drive who might have tried to take a deal by offering a greater discount. That's the nature of competition and we were prepared to live or die by the strength of our presentation and service to the customer.

Today, Klipsch has the best distribution of any specialty brand of speakers on the market. We have about 980 US dealers selling our brand (though not all can be called truly supportive dealers). Other speaker brands would trade for our dealer network in a heartbeat. Klipsch also enjoys very fine relations with most of our dealers, but like everything else in life, we can't please every body all of the time. Ultimately, businesses are run by people and people don't always agree. For example, Tweeter is one of our largest customers and they get bigger every day. As they grow, some dealers choose not to compete directly with them. Instead, they choose to offer brands which provide the dealer with the most protection and the highest profit. I completely understand the dealers decision to do so. Running a hi-fi store is a very risky proposition these days and you have to be half crazy to wrap up your money in one. There aren't many hi-fi nuts out there to hire as sales people either. Klipsch offers the dealer a competitive profit structure; more than many, not as great as some. It is no hardship for a dealer to sell Klipsch, in fact, Klipsch is the most successful specialty speaker brand in the US market. I promise you that if your dealer is failing to support Klipsch or is badmouthing Klipsch, it is not because of our product or people. There is some other issue.

One of these issues may be our high efficiency, horn loaded design. It can be intimidating for some sales people. They never learned why horns are better and they can't explain it to the inquisitive customer. Instead of trying to sell something better, they just sell what is easy. To the ininfomed consumer, horns are odd. So the salesperson has an easy time telling the customer to buy something typical. Something small and attractive. To this approach I say Bull#@!t (just like PWK would). Darn it, audio is Great FUN. When you buy teenie little boring speakers, you rob yourself of that fun. That's why there are so few hi-fi nuts today. Folks, do all of us a favor, tell your friends how much fun you are having with your audio and A/V systems. Better yet, SHOW THEM. Force them into your listening rooms and blow their socks off! Demonstrate what fun this hobby can be, then tell them to demand good brands and good service at their nearby audio store. I say this not merely in support of Klipsch, who pays my rent, but in support of all fine audio manufacturers. Have you noticed the general decline in amp quality? Do you truly believe that a $129 DVD player is a good thing? I for one do not!

This is a free market and demand runs the show. Go Be Demanding.

[erdric]

Chris,

Thanks for the heads up on Percy's. I've exchanged emails with them and they do, in fact, sell Klipsch cheaper than Tweeter. I think that they may have a new customer.

BTW, what's up with their showroom? The email mentioned that I should call ahead if I wanted to come check out a pair of speakers. What kind of store is Percy's? I've never had to call ahead to any other small A/V store. Do you know anything about the setup there? I do know that they do custom HT installations but that's about it.

[decibel man]

BobG, that is a very welcomed and intelligent post. I agree with your view of the audio world and your opinion on demand. I believe Klipsch would be a pretty easy product to sell though. I have two friends in the last year that have moved up from a Pioneer rack system and a bookshelf stereo system to the entry level hi-end audio sector. Do to the lack of Klipsch dealers and customer service in this area one of them bought a Paradigm system and the other a B&W system. Both sound great, but they aren't Klipsch, if you know what I mean. They took the plunge after a few movies on my Ref system. Both of these guys wanted to buy from a local dealer that would continue to give them good service, so Klipsch was not the answer and that sucks! I even contemplated selling my system to the later and wating for the new Ref line, but I then came to my senses after writing another mortgage check. I will be ready in about another 12 to 18 months, but what are my options going to be? I don't think you should support a dealer because they are the only one, I think you should support a dealer because they are the right one.

BobG, I don't want to sound negative, I just am a little frustrated. I know there are a lot of markets in the US that have this same problem. Likewise I am sure there are those markets where "audio bliss" occurs, the right product, the right service and the right price. The median income in this area has been increasing for some time, and the good audio shops are as busy as they have been for years, but no Klipsch.

Help us help Klipsch!

JT

[Guest BobG]

dBman

You certainly understand how frustrating we at Klipsch find it when consumers desire our products but the dealers will not allow them to audition or purchase Klipsch. Ohio has been an especially difficult region for distribution of our brand and we would welcome supportive and capable dealers. Our sales reps can work to tell dealers that they are missing the boat not selling Klipsch, but they only hear it as a sales pitch. Consumers however are a different story. You are the life blood of any store cause the money walks in with you. No $ no sales = no store. All I can suggest is that you make your passion known to your local retailer. Especially if he runs a good store. We would welcome contact from a quality store interested in selling Klipsch. It is true that in many cases our relationships with competing stores prevents us from adding distribution but that certainly is not always the case. In your area (and I am speaking here with insufficient knowledge) we would be open to talking to good dealers. You line em up, we'll knock em down and you'll wind up with better access to our products. In the process, the dealers gets to make money selling quality products. A win, win win deal.

[boomer9911]

BobG

You said it right there, that exact same thing happened to me over my Khorns. There they sat(93), sales guy knew nothing about them, except how "big" they were, pain in the butt to move around, corners only, nothing about the dynamics, and he stated how I should stay "mainstream" like everyone else and steered me towards Polks, CVega's,B&W, etc. I had to wait till the evening shift came in and a "16" year old kid(working part-time)knew everything about Klipsch(PWK fan) and swore up and down by them, you like "live" concerts, well here you go, and he helped compare them to the Polks, CVegas that were there. There was no comparision, and I appreciated his insight not having a clue what a horn loaded system was. When I bought them, he thanked me for the opportunity to strut what he knew since he was the only sales guy that really bothered to learn about them, and even he was going to be a horn owner one day.

But even today with the 3 local Dealers here, there is not one piece of Heritage on static display or in sound rooms for people to see and hear. Plenty of Legends, RF's, KSW, etc, but no Heritage, that is a HUGE set back for you guys on the HT high end side IMO. I know people who bought Ref's because thats all there was(they wanted to change, but I informed them to stay with Klipsch, they wouldn't be disappointed). They probably would have bought Heritages if they were available for their viewing and listening pleasure. I push Klipsch every opportunity I can, but like I told our Distributor (Chris) for up here in the West, Klipsch, the Distributors, and Dealers have to get together and get the Heritage lines out for John Q public to review, as an owner we can only say so much.

This message has been edited by boomer9911 on 06-09-2001 at 04:19 PM

[Guest BobG]

Glad to know you've been in touch with Chris Alexander. He's a great guy and very knowledgeable in his soft spoken way.

Klipsch has to take responsibility for the difficulty in finding Heritage. We have taken too long to modify our approach to distribution for these very special speakers. I very much hope we will have a new approach before the end of this year. The goal being to provide the public with opportunity to see, hear and learn about these products at dealers who cater to such listeners and products.