This might just be the end of brick and mortar

Zd 542, I totally disagree with you. They have a guy that works there named Bess. He probably knows more about analog than any other dealer in the country. I would bet music direct sells more turntables than the top 5 audio dealers in the country. Besides Bess they do have some other knowledgable phone reps. If you want to deal with reps that have no knowledge call Audio Advisor.

Music direct gives you a 30 day trial to try out the equipment and see if you are happy with it. Now they are offering you 60 days. I don't believe this has anything to do about warranty. I will call music direct tomorrow and ask them why they are now offering 60 day return policy. Then I will report back my findings.

Oblgny- I don't know if you remember what made the Stereo Exchange special in the early days- it was a bazaar of used high end- you could walk in and find the last flavor of the month at a decent price compared to retail or the usual discount. I bought tons of stuff from Dave in the old days- after the used market shifted to A-gon, the store lost that mojo. And, SE shifted to home theatre, as a lot of dealers did. I have fond memories of the place and used to enjoy some of the staff, who have moved on in different directions. I still speak to Dave occasionally- he is a good guy.

Home Theater and Computers, SmartPhones, ate up the income that used to buy audio.
For 90% of the buyers it was never the music, just what was kool at the time.

Schubert- true, and since my niece, a millennial, seems perfectly content to watch a film or listen to music on her computer with a small ancillary sound system, this stuff has functionally replaced hi-fi and even 'home theatre' gear, rather than just being a diversion to something else.