I will travell to New York, would be glad to meet members

Crossed from VT into NY and were disappointed by all the billboards lining the roads. 

Good point noromance, I lived in NY and VT and you do know the difference .  NY is still more scenic though.
Green Mountain valleys tend to be narrow and steep . One I lived in no sun after 3 PM . Few lakes in VT either except Champlain and that belongs to
NY as well .

Stefan- I am sorry that I will miss you-- I moved from New York a few months ago, but lived there for a long time, last in the lower Hudson Valley not far from a town called Nyack.
The city is a splendid place for a visitor. Among hi-fi dealers, Jeff, at High Water Sound is very good, but you should call for an appointment. (Much of his gear originates from Europe so it may not be too surprising). I haven’t spend much time in retail audio stores in the last decade or more, so I can’t really give you much more insight. I’d be happy to give you a few restaurant recommendations, though. :)

I have a long time colleague, Per Magnusson, in Stockholm. We worked intensively together on a series of matters in the mid-late ’90s. He was a top flight lawyer, very good in understanding people, including Americans (whose litigation style is a bit different from what existed in Stockholm at the time). I spent much time in your lovely city and would go back to visit gladly.

I would suggest you contact Audiogon member audioconnection. He runs a store in NJ not far from NYC and is a great guy and audiophile. He has lots of great equipment for audition.
If you think you could make it to Long Island, give me a shout.
Bob

Greg and chayro, i have send you pm but got no response 
Sadly there seems not to be any really high end stores  left in central NY city
(prove me wrong). I remember beeing told that in the old days Sounds by Singer
used armed trucks to deliver really high end gears to customers!,
Luckily we have still here in Stockholm one of Europes biggest  Audio Store
"audio concept"carrying some heavy stuff. I bought my Focal Grande Utopia Em there.
Whart I would be glad to see you if you ever go to Stockholm again (and please give me your best manhattan restaurant tip)