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Audiophile 'Attitude'

Okay, we love our hobby: we love the music, the equipment, the esoterica, and the deranged quest for perfection the likes of which would make even the greats of classical composition shake their heads. But you've got to admit that there exists a certain 'attitude' among some of our group that can be..... difficult. Often this is sexist, arrogant, elitist, impatience, and so on. I think this would be a fertile ground for interesting stories, some humorous and some just jaw dropping. Would anyone like to share? Remember, there are many stories about those other folks outside the hobby who don't get our brilliance and force us to painfully tolerate their ignorance, I'm talking 'bout the other side: WHEN
AUDIOPHILES GO BAD!

I will gladly start: when my wife and I decided to sell our entire Vandersteen home theater (this is different tale of audiophile arrogance, btw) we started looking for a new brand and a new sound to replace my
formerly beloved Vandys. My first 'target' was Martin Logan. It just so happened that there was a ML dealership less than a mile from where I lived at the time in Champaign, IL. Wonderful I thought! So my wife and I toddled over there.

Now it should be noted that my wife has become quite an audiophile herself. She wasn't this way when we met, but she has become fairly well educated in matters of audiophillia, she has an excellent ear, and she is a brilliant woman (she is a vice president for Bank of America after all). So we choose much of our equipment together.

So we go into this ML dealership with about four CDs In hand to get a brief audition and ask to hear some MLs. Instead of going straightaway to letting us listen the salesman decides he needs to try and 'sell' us on the MLs, the very speakers we'd come to hear in the first damn place! So after tolerating his drivel for a few minutes my wife's asks a question. Instead of answering her, he answers me.... then he turns to my wife and, while pointing to that screen with holes that MLs have on so many of their speakers, he says, "now this isn't here so you can hang clothes to dry."

It honestly took me a second to realize what he had just said and I think my wife wafinally looted. After a couples seconds I said, "well, I guess we won't want these speakers then." And we walked out. We also scratched Martin Logan off of our list. No one treats my wife that way.

Okay, your turn....
aewhistory
tbromgard
787 posts
 
In a "high-end" shop several years ago, I asked if they carried any turntables. The response was "why would you want one of those dinosaurs-they're extinct." He then proceeded to tell me why cd sound was much better (plus his explaination on how a cd player reads information was incorrect). In hindsight, this was not a real "high-end" shop but a mid-fi-sell-you-whatever-I-can type of place. Its long out of business.

I wonder how many people were interested in the high-end, who were turned off by bad advice and/or arrogant behavior?
rdavwhitaker
173 posts
 
These are interesting stories. I guess the lessons I draw from this thread are (in no particular order):

1. This is sort of an elitest hobby, in some ways (and I know some folks -- mostly bicyclists and woodworkers of my acquaintance -- who would scoff at calling it a hobby, by the way -- too much focus on "buying" and too little on "making" or "doing"), and I suppose some salespeople play to that element. That's their choice, and the only time I resent it is if I have gone out of my way to visit the store, not realizing that I'm not welcome because I do not appear affluent enough (it has only happened twice, but boy is it irritating). We're not going to change those folks, so all we can do is avoid them.

2. Dissing the female of the species is ALWAYS a mistake (like that's news!).

3. Really good salespeople know that it is very dangerous, these days in particular, to judge a book by its cover. I once worked for a very, very wealthy man (you'll find him on the Forbes 400 list to this day) who drove a beat up, 10-year-old Chevy with a caved-in front passenger door that didn't open. It doesn't pay to assume too much based on clothes or age or gender.
minorl
740 posts
 
Don't cross Martin Logan Speakers off of your list just because a sales person was a real jerk. They did not own the company, just the store and there are several examples of store owners or dealers that were pompus or jerks. However, I simply searched and found very good stores and dealers that were "human" and treated me as I expect to be treated. If you like Martin Logan sound, then go audition them from someone else. Same is true for any other piece of equipment. Discrimination take shape in many forms. Race, sex, religious, audiophile store dealer discrimination, etc. I refuse to pay anyone for bad service. I simply go somewhere else. I experienced similar treatment from a dealer that sold Martin Logan speakers. They sold many other high end pieces of equipment also. that didn't turn me off to Martin Logan, just that dealer. I still bought my Martin Logan speakers and the Mark Levinson 23.5 that he also used in the demo. I just found a friendly dealer that I have been going to for many years now. Stereo Design in San Diego is great.
aewhistory OP
70 posts
 
I hate my iPad..... Where do some of these so-called corrections come from? "wafinally looted"? Wtf?!? She "was completely floored."

Ugh, anyway.... The switch from Vandys to another speaker was yet another example of Audiophile 'attitude' but this time from 'Dick' Vandersteen himself. I've mentioned it from time to time on different forums but I'll put the story in this thread as well. Suffice it to say that he was so offensive that he convinced me to never buy anything from him again and to sell my entire Vandy home theater. To this day I think that he is a second rate person despite having a first rate audio mind. Quite a shame.

Anyway, this was ten years ago that this happened. The Vandys are long gone and I've long since become a Magnepan 'ho, so I didn't wander too far from ML conceptually. But it is amazing how much impact one idiot can have. I'd have likely bought seven new MLs if not for this loser. After coming to watch movies my friends might have done the same. And now, ten years later, as my wife and I look to upgrade, instead of looking at Maggie 3s, we would be looking to upgrade MLs. So one fool cost ML $30k in guaranteed sales so far. That won't put them under but a long shot, but you do that enough times and any company goes from a great speaker manufacturer to an interesting piece of audio history.

So, I wanna hear YOUR stories folks..... And I'll type up my story with 'Dick' Vandersteen, I promise.
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
i don't think there is an audiophile attitude, rather there are ways of selling expensive depreciable assets, such as cars, boats, tvs, furniture, etc.

some people are supercilious, opinionated, and mean. it's a matter of personality and is not unique to audio.

i would not single out audio as a hobby that is conducive to rudeness .

what you call an "attitude" has no correlation to a representative of a sub group of the population.

what is to be gained by highlighting the boorish behavior of human beings?
rather than being critical, as we all have faults, it's more useful to cite the positive experiences associated with our hobby.
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