Sad Days for me and Klipsch

[Fish]

My local dealer Ovation has went belly up and I no longer have a place

to go see/hear/look at Klipsch.They closed several stores and the

one(if any) that are left are out of it.I called to ask about the

reference line and the guy said sorry we don't have it,huh?

Then I find another dealer about 50 miles away and they never answer

the phone.Its gonna be hard to sell anything but Synergy speakers in my

area with no good dealers,very sad.

[Speedball]

One of our local Ovations seem to be selling off all the Reference line.......probably for the new models comming out. I heard they were closing some stores and reorganizing a bit.

[Jim Cornell]

The same thing is going on here, we jost lost one of our #1 stores here in Denver Moondance second sound closed the doors last year.

Listen up audio used to sell Klipsch, they no longer do, this would be the only store that could possibly get Heritage into Denver.

Regards Jim

[Fish]

The thing that kinda bummed me out was Ovation has been a landmark(at

least for decent audio)in the area.I guess we all will adjust but its

like losing a good friend.They often ran sales,special offers for good

customers etc..They offered access to all the Klipsch lines and stocked

a good variety.Time marches on and I suppose it had to happen but I

always feel bad when a good business closes.

[BobbyT]

My local Ovation reorganized, changed ownership, changed thier business model, and moved. They are going to focus more on custom install work instead of retail. But the guy I deal with said we will still be able to come in and buy from them. And more importantly they will still carry Klipsch. My understanding is the original owner of Ovation filed bakruptcy. The stores that are still in business are now individually owned. The owners had to buy the rights to the name and the database.

[Speedball]

Individually owned..........ought to be interesting how they do from here on out.

[BobbyT]

I guess how they do will depend on each owner and how they decide to run the store. The guy I buy from turned out to be one of the new owners of the Louisville store. I think he and 2 other guys partnered up.

[oldbuckster]

I could be wrong, but; Don't you think the big stores (best buy; circuit city,etc.) are killing the market? Wives are also a big factor, they don't want big speakers in the rooms. They like those small little speaker systems that the Best Buys, and Walmarts sell. Small and inexpensive that's what they want. I think Klipsch or other brand larger speaker owners are in the minority on this one. I am lucky enough to have my own room for my stuff so I can have bigger speakers, some people aren't as lucky. So I guess my point would be; that Audio stores need customers that want their product, so they can remain in business. Seems to me that back in the late 70's there was an Audio Store on every corner, then the big stores started showing up, and it's been a down hill slide ever since, never mind the computer era, shop at home, never see, or hear what you buy. A picture and a price, and free shipping, there has to be more than that. Am I wrong about this?

[efzauner]

This has been discussed before: Consumer electronics is a mature market like many others. A handfull of big suppliers distribute thru huge retailers. The high fi guys go thru very small upmarket specialty stores. The middle guy gets squeezed. He wants to sell to the mass market but is outmanuvered by the huge chains, and the big companies dont want to deal with him. The middle guy gets squeezed on the bottom by the specialty store. Same thing with the manufacturers. You have the big guys, the little guys and the ones in between. I fear that Klipsch is one of the inbetweeners. They are not high end enough to be considered esoteric, yet too small to be very successfull in the mass market chains. They do not seem to get the respect of the HiFi crowd. You see several speaker companies including Klipsch introducing, or re-introducing high end products. Paradigm did it with Signature. Although Paradigm is really one of the big boys how.

A further problem is the house brand speakers. It is hard to cut prices on a HT receiver, but you can cut prices on speakers, better yet, put together a HT bundle with a big brand receiver and house brand, made in China speakers, and advertise at a huge discount. We all know people who buy Blose because they recognise the brand, but think that Polk, Paradigm, Klipsh, Monitor Audio etc are unknown brands. They therefore do not differentiate between a house brand ad a good quality name brand speaker.

Same thing in cars: You have the big three, and then the very specialized like ferarri etc. The Volvos, Sabbs etc get squeezed out.

Big electronics companies are at fault: They have commodized the market. Consumers are at fault as they refuse to buy unless there is a deal to be had! Only the retailers and manufacturers who manage to create consumer demand, and differentiate their product thru service (the small retailer concentrating on custom installs) technology or advertising(like Blose!, like it or not) are surviving. Of course you will always have a boutique market with high end gear and accessories, but that is tiny compared to the Sony/Pana/Samsung triumvirate.

Ha! the fun world of consumer electronics!

[Audible Nectar]

"I could be wrong, but; Don't you think the big stores (best buy; circuit city,etc.) are killing the market?"

They are "dumbing down" the market, along with the manufacturers.

Look, we all know that cheap plastic crap is king, but I profess that it's more an issue of poor salesmanship and display than it is "purely the customer".

These big box stores know how to do one thing: Put out product and let it sell itself. Now nothing against Best Buy or other big box store salespeople, but these operations are not set up to sell quality gear. Poor spaces to show gear, and a staff that is not trained in how to sell good high end gear (even if they had it). One must TRY before one will DO. It won't happen through osmosis.

It has also become an issue of "disposability". People now view these components as "disposable", as they are so used to inexpensive, throwaway items. The concept of buying a speaker built to last 30 years is foreign to them.

I have sold about 10 systems (not in the biz, just a hobbyist helping out friends) to people over the last few years - and not a single item was an "in stock" item. But I know how to show and sell the gear. If I can get systems sold in this manner as a hobby with friends in my spare time, why can't stores be more successful selling better gears? I think it is because these "big box" stores and manufacturers don't want to sell this kind of gear: They want you to buy a new one every 5 years - they don't have to fix it (because it is disposable), and they can sell you a new one.

BTW - this WAF stuff? I'm not buying it. EVERY ONE of the TEN systems I've set up in the last few years? ALL married couples, ALL with ladies who LOVE how these speakers sound. 6 Heritage setups, 2 reference, 1 KG4 system, and a Synergy system. Only ONE WAF related complaint - and they have an RF-7 system with RSW15!!!! BIG IS KING!!!!!! Big SUV's, big houses (all the better to put big Klipsch in), big portions at the restaurant.....BIGGER IS BETTER, and we're just the people to deliver! If you are an audio salesperson on this forum, and you restrict yourself to small speakers due to WAF, you are defeating yourself. First rule of sales: Never accept to first "NO". Second rule: show why the "no" really means "YES" (and helpful hint to the big box folks - I have a big advantage when I show my big Klipsch in a HOME environment).

And check out this WAF: of the 10 systems, 3 want bigger speakers. It's not the wife stopping them, though, it's the budget. Any guesses as to what these people will be buying? (I'll give you a hint: It's called Heritage).

It completely goes against what I was taught: Don't "half a$$" anything.....do it right the first time. If I did my job the way big box stores and manufacturers do business, I would be unhireable. I did 18 months time at Best Buy, and I know from experience: They want fast cash, and not "long term ownership experiences". They would rather sell you an item that sells itself and needs replacing every five years than to sell you an item that would last thirty. It's too much work.

There IS a market for good sound. But you cannot SELL what you do not SHOW. And that's "hi-fi's" biggest problem: getting shown, and SOLD in places where people will see it. If you want my take, it's the big box dealers who have missed the boat on this. They can sell big TV's without even trying - I'll bet they could sell better audio gear to go along with it. While it is true that smaller corner stores don't get the traffic in this get-it-all-in-one-place mindset of today, the big box stores do - and therefore, miss opportunities to sell better gears by not having those gears available - and shown properly.

And of course, the big box stores must be willing to pay qualified and dedicated people to sell those quality gears. That's the other mistake these big box stores make - they expect this stuff to sell itself. Anyone who has spent time in big box stores knows what this gets you - lots of cheap disposable stuff.

[Fish]

Wow,you guys are hittin' it dead on.The Ovation had a good

business/following and they educated customers,then came CC,a few years later HH and just recently BB.All

these stores are within rock throwing distance almost.These stores have

tons of stuff,almost everything electronic but good audio gear.If you

have all that traffic why not set up at least one good audio room with

some decent equipment?The setups/equipment they have at all big

box(here) stores are shameful.The term "disposable"and "dumbing

down"have never had more meaning in audio than now.

[TheEAR]

Sad,each time a real audio store closes this leaves more people to shot at mass market large surface dumpsters.

Since I started buying from a few high end shops 12 years ago I always support them and will NEVER buy the junk any WorstBuy or FutureScrap sells.And tell people to first check out the smaller stores where quality and knowledge prevails over mass market,mass produced low end.

[CAS]

The same is going for some of the stores in my area. They reorganize into a more custom install boutique. It could be the Walmart syndrome, which I'm really not against. Capitalism is best I suppose. It's hard to compete with others who are able to deal in such high volume that they can buy for dirt and sell for mint. Oh well. I guess I'm just jealous it's not me. Regulation would also probably mean that my grocery bill quadruples.

[jbsl]

Most people just want something they can hit play and forget it and they want it cheap, and out of the way.

Best Buy, Circuit City, etc stores provide the products that the majority of Americans want. Ipod, MP3 players and the next generation of products like these are giving the public what they want.

Only a very small percentage of people are willing to spend the money and time for a real audio system. Most people on this and other audio forums are the small percentage that do spend the time and money.

[MarkBK]

In a nutshell - its the Ipod idea. People want portable sound and readily accept good enough as the standard. The Walkman was a huge success because it offered good enough sound and portability for joggers, bikers, walks, etc. Today, music is just one more entertainment option and good enough is what most find satisfying. I see fewer audio stores in Chicago then in the the past and most have specialized to offer custom HT installations/ VERY high end audio. Even within those, I see poorly set up auditioning rooms and lackluster salesman - too bored to care about presentation. yet, there are more high end products offered than you usually see in most stores....serious listening to music is a limited audience - most treat it as background to other activities.

We're dinasaurs....bound for change or extinction ...... but a least we'll enjoy the ride!!![6]

[atomicskiier01]

Fish,

Are you talking about Lafayette, IN?