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A visit to the (Audio) Doctor
Looking at audio equipment can be a painful experience, sort of like looking at new (or used cars) or a trip to the dentist. I spent 4.5 hours at Audio Doctor in New Jersey. It was a great experience. Dave left a meeting early to see me. He knew that I was not looking at his very high end stuff, but he spent the whole day with me. No pressure, changing speakers many times and going back to a couple of them repeatedly. I have it narrowed down to two speakers, Vivid 1.5 or Janszen Valentia with air motion. Leaning toward the Vivids (pending wife approval). The shop is full of lots of incredible audio equipment at all price ranges. Clearly this is a business that is run out of appreciation of sound rather than maximizing profits.I am hesitant to go to small intimate shops like this out of concerns or pressure. This was just the opposite. Highly recommended.
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I had a very unusual but wonderful experience visiting Dave, the Audio Doctor. Unusual by means of his home and business in a Victorian home in Jersey City. I arrived 15 minutes early for an 11am appointment on Sunday and was greeted by his down to earth and friendly wife. We spoke for about 15 minutes discussing this old Victorian home while Dave was getting prepared for my arrival. She offered something to drink and I asked for a cup of tea in which she complied graciously. The house was set up with a large variety of top named components in different rooms ranging in prices from affordable to very expensive. I didn't feel I was in a showroom but in a friend's living room which added to the experience. Next up, Dave himself, one of the nicest and enthusiastic person you want to meet. For the next 2 hours we spoke about audio equipment and his knowledge was quite impressive. He worked at some of the high-end audio shops in Manhattan I use to visit with my brother back in the 70s and 80s. I felt as if i was speaking to an old friend. I guess we both got caught up in our interest and enthusiasm of audio equipment that I almost forgot why I was there in the first place. Not once during this time period did Dave try to sell anything. The next hour we discussed music servers and Dacs and did some listening. But what blew me away, Dave offered to bring some components we discussed to my home to audition. Wow, talk about great service! After over 40 years of auditioning audio equipment at many showrooms in the New York area, I cannot recommend a better experience and the hospitality of the Audio Doctor. |
Stringreen, You should come over for a visit. Our shop is all about selection and finding brands which represent tremendous value. We have three of the top rated reference loudspeakers currently on the market, the Paradigm Personas, the KEF Blades, and the Legacy Aeris. One of the reasons many people who acutally visit the shop come away with a good impression is the fact that we have such a wide selection of state of the art products and in each catagory we usually have several choices, so for example in affordable speakers we carry KEF, Dali, PSB, Legacy, Rethem and Paradigm. Most stores in the New York tri state area have a very limited selection and usually feature one predominant brand as being the best in the price range. We love to be able to offer our clients a choice as each product brings something to the table If you would like to hear any of our products please feel free to contact us. Thanks Dave owner Audio Doctor NJ |
Stringreen perhaps you should come in for a visit. What people who visit our shop love is a true selection of products as well as having many of the best brands which consistantly outperform many much more expensive ones. Take Legacy for example a pair of Signatures costs 7k and you can compare that speaker to a pair of Wilson Sabrinas or a set of Vandy Quattros Ct which are both 14 to 16k speakers The Legacy Aeris at 24k puts most 62k speakers to shame In fact we have three of the top choices in reference loudspeakers from Kef, Paradigm, and Legacy. Our selection of digital products include Lumin, Aurrender,Naim,T plus A,Aqua Hifi, Light Harmonic, Mytek, NAD, Innios & Baetis servers. In the entire tri state area we have the widest selection of truly outstanding music making equipment, setup in a private home with acoustics that duplicate real world enviornments. Long story short if you are looking for a store which dares to follow its own path which offers in each price range a wide selection of truly amazing products give us a ring. Dave owner Audio Doctor |
I love it Stringreen, you managed to make a pitch for JR in an Audio Doctor post. Lets see if you want to see all the hotest brands and want an alternative to most of the other NY and NJ stores which have a very limited selection and tend to push only this one brand as the path to musical nirvanah compare our approach which is to seek out the most unique and highest performing brands in the market and offer people a choice of what product that they may like as many people have different tastes so we carry: ATC Legacy Rethem Paradigm Gradient Cabasse KEF Dali PSB T+A NAD NAD Masters Aqua Hifi Electrocompaniet Lumin Cary Audio Unision Research Nuprime Micromega Anthem Naim Cambridge Audio Manley Labs Conrad Johnson Parasound Sythesis Italy Light Harmonic the Davinci Innious Zenith Music Server Merrill Williams Real 101 Turntable Mytek These are just some of our lines and unique products on display, we have four sound rooms with one room being a dedicated Home Theater room. Stringreen you should really stop by and listen to a pair of Legacy’s Signatures, they put to shame many of the $14k loudspeakers on the market and cost $7k, and the new Rethm Bhava’s would shock you at how real and musical they sound and they are $4.2k a pair, and you can drive them with a 10 watt amplifier, the Legacy Aeris at $25k is one of the most amazing loudspeakers on the market, and comes with a room correction processor, preamp and dac, and boy do they give many highly regarded $30k to $60k loudspeakers fits. In fact we have three of the highest rated loudspeakers in the $20-40k price range, the Legacy Aeris Absolute Sound Recommended 2017, the KEF Blade, and the Absolute Sound Recommended 2017 Persona 9H. Perhaps the more you find out the better. Check out our video which was shot about 1.5 years ago to give you an idea of what our store is like, it is one big audio candy store with lots of really cool gear from $500.00 streaming speakers to Home Theater. This is why when someone actually comes to our store they rave over the experience. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NPIn3pEmI4 Dave owner Audio Doctor NJ |
rsf507, I don't know what your comment contributes to this discussion. I spent many hours at the Audio Doctor's shop, and wanted to show my appreciation for his patience, selection and knowledge. If the post was too long for you, you did the right thing by stopping reading. I find people (myself included) are quick to criticize. The other side of that coin tells me that when I get exceptional service, I should praise it. I have no connection to the store (other than being a potential customer). A shop like this is what will make brick and mortar endure. |
Rsf507, what are you questioning? Crwindy found us on these posts and decided to pay us a visit he lives in NYC and was on his way to his CT home and figured he would check us out. He has never been to our store. Many NYC audiophiles do not know about our store, they see our name at shows but don't necessarily put one and one together or didn't know that there was a store like us in the area. If you are visting NYC come in for a demo and see for yourself. We are a rocking store with many unique brands of gear not normally seen on display these include Light Harmonic's the Davinci, T+A , Rethem, Legacy, Aqua Hifi and many others. Dave and Troy Audio Doctor NJ |
Master cylinder, sounds like you think “selling” is some form of trickery, pushing you to buy. Some experiences are like that, granted. But it sounds like Audio Doctor is the other kind of salesperson, the kind who has done his due diligence and education and curates a group of products that he knows and understands how they interact. At that point, he’s sharing his knowledge and enabling you to choose the product that most appeals to you. You can self-educate and should, but finding a brick and mortar store owner who will help you on your path is fantastic. I’ve found self education to be expensive! |
mastercylinder, Yes a salesman's job is to sell but that is a crude understatement. In reality it is to help guide and provide data to enable the person to discover for themselves what qualities in what product is going to make the purchaser the happiest with the goal of what they are trying to accomplish. Dave and Troy Audio Doctor NJ PS Crwindy it was our pleasure hosting you. |
