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In Reply to: RE: Does anyone remember these great old Chicago-based stereo stores from the 70s? posted by Jeff Jenkins on February 17, 2010 at 12:25:06
1976 - run by Jerry Bennett.
ARC, Levinson, Magnepan, etc.
And Viktor's Stereo (already mentioned) - Linn, Naim, etc.
Pro Musica - big FMI dealers.
Best regards,
Jim Smith
Follow Ups:
That's a blast from the past. I remember going into Paul Heath one Saturday in the summer of '77 and feeling like a kid in a candy store but being very turned off by the obnoxious salesman, presumably Jerry, wearing a white suit.
Alas, Paul Heath, Victor's, and others including IO Systems and Rosine Audio are long gone...
Brian Walsh
Ah, yes, Rosine Audio. I dropped a lot of money there over the years Larry was in business. He was everything a high end dealer should be and I always felt a lot better about doing business with him than with Pro Musica, Victor's or Paul Heath Audio. After I had moved away from Chicago, I decided to drop in while I was there on a business trip and was shocked to find out the store was gone. Any idea where Larry ended up after the store closed?
I never knew Larry but heard from others that he went back to building custom staircases for homes.
If you're ever back this way, come by for a listen.
Brian Walsh
It was the spring of '76.
I had accepted the job at ARC. I was driving across the country from Norfolk, VA.
They asked me to drop in on some of their dealers on the way - essentially unannounced and them with no idea who I was.
With one exception, it was my first experience hearing the sound other dealers made (other than our demos in Norfolk). In previous years, I had visited The Stereo Set in Washington, DC. They always had great demos, Infinity SS-1s, KLH-9s, Quad 57s, T-1s, IMF Monitors, ARC electronics, etc.
My biggest and most surprising issue was that most of the shops that I visited on that trip had nice facilities, nice lines, but their sound was disappointing. In those days, everybody advertised in the back of Audio, so they were all well-known. Guess I expected more from the "famous" (at the time) shops.
Sadly, with a few exceptions, some things haven't changed...
Best regards,
Jim Smith
I remember walking past that store around 1981 or so. They had a gorgeous Nak 1000 tape deck in the window that was gold plated. My dad glanced at it and asked me "I suppose that's going to be the next item of lust?"
Ah, those were the days. Toys in the window for audiophiles.
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