Insiders often say this industry has “devolved.” Once one of the richest and most exciting retail experiences, shopping for hi-fi in an actual store now seems for many to be, at best, an obsession with discounts and, at worst, a waste of time.
Not like the olden days. A few decades ago a couple would hear of the wonders of hi-fi from a friend or an ad, and start talking about upgrading the old tabletop radio. Like the refrigerator, the washing machine and the TV, stereo systems were seen as a feat of engineering designed to enhance peoples’ lives (which they are). So in “date night” fashion, this couple would go together late one afternoon to bring the modern luxury of musical bliss into their homes. It would be an experience complete with social interaction, learning, looking over and listening to various products, and more. The venue would treat them as guests, and take them through a curated process to help them take home something they’d love.
Why has the narrative changed? One reason is advancements in tech. There are a ton of decent sounding products which are smaller, sleeker, and cheaper. They really don’t sound as magical as a dedicated hi-fi system, but they’re good enough to shrink the specialist market. However, too many of the remaining enthusiasts who know the difference are still not planning hi-fi night with their spouse… and that’s largely due to the internet.
Hi-fi products are almost never exclusive to the stores that sell them. What a daunting business model it would be to try and put R&D, manufacturing, and retail under one roof in today’s world! Trouble is, with the internet one can browse products from home and choose a brand and model — albeit without seeing, touching, hearing or talking about it — and then shop around on price before any retailer can build trust and rapport with them. Since price is a nice, tidy, numerical metric, it’s easy to use as a filter. But it narrows people’s perception of value down to just that metric, sucking life from the experience factor. All of this is natural, of course.
On top of encouraging people to price shop a product they think they want, they can also get their education (or really, the perception of education) online as well. Blogs, YouTube channels and forums are filled with folks with various incentives who praise, condemn and describe products.
Make no mistake; I believe this is excellent information and doing some at-home research is a good way to get the ball rolling. But I don’t think it’s complete. There’s no feedback; no back-and-forth of one mind to another, exchanging questions, ideas, visions, opinions. So there’s no process for finding a personalised solution. And there’s no visceral data; no seeing, touching, and for-bloody-sake, HEARING. One’s experience of hi-fi is outrageously subjective.
Information is Power. And Responsibility.
These two internet-driven phenomena, I believe, do two dreadful things.
First they demotivate specialist dealers. The very things which make shopping in-store better than shopping online — and which even make paying full price worthwhile — have been suffocated and worn down. If your prospect believes 100% of the value in the transaction comes from the products themselves, then by definition they do NOT see any value in your showroom, your staff, your advice, your service, your support, your proximity. All the capital, the time, the effort, the genuine love and care you put into all of those things starts to feel like a waste.
And so enters the era where a person can walk through the doors of a hi-fi dealer, look over at the welcome desk, and see three people in uniform looking at phones or computer screens and, quite obviously, ignoring them. Sadly, this is often dealers who once ran brilliant showrooms and put countless hi-fi systems into peoples’ loving homes.
Second, they’ve hidden the wonder and magic of high-performing listening systems. Very few people are aware of how incredible an audio system can sound. Unconscious but true: when most people see a speaker, they expect it to sound like a speaker. From a “good” speaker they expect to hear bass, a bit of separation, a bit more life. That gives the good speaker a perceptual advantage. They see a few ads or reviews of a popular speaker, so it has social proof. It’s also pretty affordable, so it’s easy to say yes to. They go to whatever retailer is within driving distance and have it listed online at the cheapest price. They give it a quick listen, and as long as the sound ticks those boxes I just mentioned, they buy it. Done and dusted… and potentially missing out.
This process is excellent for those who prioritise simplicity and treat buying a speaker like solving a problem. “Just get it done.” Others who want richer, more exciting experiences — connoisseurs, if you will — they do this too, but only because they don’t know there’s an alternative. I’ve seen it a hundred times. A newcomer will enter our showroom to get a cable for an existing system they bought from a high-volume retailer. As we chat with them, we find out they really love music. We’ll take them into some of our listening rooms, so they can have a bit of fun during their visit. They’re visibly shocked to discover how much better hi-fi can get, and end up upgrading their whole system to something ten times the budget or more. Simply put, they had the budget and the desire for something more - they just didn’t know such performance existed.
Circling back, what we have in the industry today is that the experience-driven and interpersonal world of hi-fi has morphed into something fast, loose, and shallow.
What was a rich, exciting experience has atrophied because people can shop on price and feel as though they have enough guidance from forums and reviews all before setting foot in a retailer. Thus, price in all its shallow glory has become a primary concern for the consumer, and that has suffocated so much of what makes brick-and-mortar specialists so great. Dealers struggle to maintain the emotional drive to train, develop and maintain great service standards, and the revenue to afford excellent service people and consultants. And many consumers who would love to enjoy their music in full, vivid colour are sticking with ordinary speakers because they don’t know that dedicated systems make a big difference.
A sad scene, no?
The Value of the Retailer
What on earth could bring this back around? One thing would be if the industry would see what’s happening, and everyone would agree to adhere to rules about published pricing. Yes, every dealer would then have to invest capital, attention and emotion into getting customers through merit rather than having lower numbers - after all, if any retailer, in this industry or not, cannot offer quality of service, expertise and knowledge, the only thing left to offer a punter is a “better price”. But it could breathe life back into what was once an industry with culture and humanity.
The other thing is for the hi-fi dealers of the world to stand up against the urge to be resentful, grouchy, and fatigued… and instead, to run optimistic, energetic, cultured operations. To become great.
A great dealer is of course partly a retail store, but also partly a full-service dealership, an experience centre, a consultancy, and even a social meet-up space. It’s a place where a person can set the world aside and focus all their attention on their interest in music, electronics, technology, home design, and or other related topics. They can ask questions, learn, and have a complete solution carefully designed just for them. They can see and hear multiple products before they decide. And then they can source everything they need — and look forward to a long-term relationship of service, support, and genuine rapport.
What about the big name retailers who are clearly succeeding in today’s environment? Well, they tap into this challenging marketing environment by playing by the new rules. They hire mostly younger folks (not always) who are passionate about technology and give them narrow roles on fast-paced sales floors. These personnel are often trained through trial and error; they have to know a little bit about all the different departments. They know how to answer questions they’ve been asked before, so their expertise is limited to the questions everyday people already know to ask. Think of it like an echo chamber of sorts.
Conversely, a specialist at a great dealer will literally be trained by brand reps who know their products inside and out. Not only that, but they’ll have experience going much deeper in conversations about hi-fi, in critically listening to audio equipment of all kinds, in guiding clients through troubleshooting and setup, and often even in install and repair.
That’s important, because audio reproduction is delicate. It’s easy to go from poor sound (think default speakers in TVs or cheap computer speakers) to good sound (think popular wireless speakers or soundbars). But to go from good sound to amazing sound — where the music starts to sound real when you close your eyes, as if the artist is actually in front of you — is more challenging. The electronics must process delicate signals with minimal error. Materials must exhibit near-ideal properties for its role; cabinets must be dense to resist vibration and drivers must be tight yet dynamic to track the music signal. Cabling must preserve the signal. And so on.
It’s not on the music lover to dedicate attention to learning these nuances. It’s on the consultant, who asks from the client only a vision, a taste in music, a budget… and then designs a complete solution for them.
This is how a person can focus on their own life’s work and still reap the benefits of an expertly designed listening system. After all, we each have limited bandwidth in this life. For those who dedicate themselves to an area of expertise, it’s good to outsource a hi-fi project to someone who’s already put in years to learn the craft. Someone they know, like and trust.
Now with all that said, I’ll be the first to admit that a person may fall on either side of this debate. When the typewriter repair man saw computers with word processors coming over the horizon, he’d have been wise to adapt. So it may be here: If technology can get to a point where a product can deliver all of the perceptible quality of music in a neat, small, convenient and cheap package… then dedicated hi-fi will appropriately join the dinosaurs. And when that day comes, the best way to shop will probably be to wink at yourself in the mirror, and a 3D printer in your loungeroom will crap it out. Paying more for a friendly consultant may not make sense in that world.
On that note I offer a call to action. That world isn’t there yet, and when it gets there I hope we all find social and cultural experiences elsewhere… because they’re crucial to our wellbeing. Statistics suggest people are suffering from psychological ailments at alarming rates. Notably, this suffering is happening in places where resources are abundant and life is “easier” on average than at any other point in human history. Meanwhile, you don’t have to look far to see how technologies of convenience and entertainment rob us of much-needed social interactions and vivid, tangible, real-world experiences.
This is a personal phenomenon of course. But should business not be a personal enterprise? Wouldn’t it be a step away from those dire statistics for a person to appreciate the adventure of shopping for hi-fi? To have a real experience in the physical world, where you savour the process of discovering and acquiring a marvellous piece of engineering, and you establish a genuine relationship with those who dedicate their lives to purveying them? And when they walk through that door, for the dealer and their team to clamour over each other, eager to offer passion and service with this newcomer?
Not only do I believe a great dealer, even in today’s world, can find and maintain a strong market share… but I believe society itself is hungry for a world where business is conducted in this way. So here’s the call to action: next time you want to purchase something complex, costly, and well-merited, consider doing so in a physical location, one known for great service, or one in your own neighbourhood. Vote for that world with your dollars. And make it an adventure.
