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In Reply to: RE: R.I.P. Lyric Hi-Fi posted by rossini61 on April 13, 2021 at 16:46:36
Back when I was in the biz (Take 5 Audio, CT) I wandered into Lyric one day, told the salesman I was in the business and asked if I could hear a particular speaker.
He replied that since I was in the business I was obviously asking out of curiosity and not because I was going to buy, so no demo for me.
I looked at him and said "So, its true."
He said "What's true?"
I replied "That you guys are fucking assholes."
That ended the conversation. I then perused the used section and left.
How they stayed in business for so long and did so well is a mystery to me.
Dean.
reelsmith's axiom: Its going to be used equipment when I sell it, so it may as well be used equipment when I buy it.
Follow Ups:
Reminds me a Seinfeld episode. The Soup Nazi
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My wife and I made an appointment to go listen to and purchase a particular turntable they had on display at their store in White Plains.
We drove for two hours to get there. As luck would have it, it rained almost as if a hurricane was passing through that morning. The water flowing in the downtown White Plains streets was most impressive.
We arrived, told the person inside that we had an appointment, whom we'd spoken with, and so on.
He pointed to the guy we'd spoken to and had the appointment with. That guy then said, "Oh! I'm going to go deliver some Silver Sevens now. Bye!"
The guy at the door then just turned around and walked away.
As did we. We never went back.
Was the guy at the door wearing a bad toupee?
Gosh, I don't remember that detail.
This was about three decades ago. You know - when Lee de Forest himself made and signed the Audion tubes you used in your hifi gear.
Dean, I'm 67 and live in Orlando, Fl but in my 20's and 30's I lived in East Hartford, CT, and my friend Rick and I would travel down to New Haven one or two Saturdays a month to check out Take 5 and if memory serves me correctly there was another high-end audio salon near you we'd also visit, but the name alludes me at this time...
Thetubeguy1954 (Tom)
Central Florida Audio Society -- SETriodes Group -- Space Coast Audio Society
Full-range/Wide-range Drivers --- Front & Back-Loaded Horns --- High Sensitivity Speakers
Hey Tom.
I was there from 1987 to 1993. At that time we were the only high-end shop in town, but there was a mid-fi shop a few blocks away.
I do recall talk of another shop that was once in town, but I've long since forgotten the name.
I miss those days. Take 5 was a wonderful place to work.
Being from Hartford I assume you've spent some time in the The Stereo Shop ?
Dean.
reelsmith's axiom: Its going to be used equipment when I sell it, so it may as well be used equipment when I buy it.
I *think* the store you might be thinking of was (drum roll...) David Dean Smith. (How'd you forget that??!?)
They were on the corner of Elm and York streets, pretty much, which placed them roughly diagonally across the street from Cutler's.
They were the local McIntosh dealer and also sold the usual stuff like KLH. Probably HH Scott and Marantz, too. When I was a wee lad, prior to getting interested in audio, my Dad used to go to J. Press once or twice a year to buy a shirt, a tie, and that sort of thing. The stores were almost next door to each other, so I got to glare into the window while we passed by.
I see from an online corporate database search that David Dean Smith was incorporated in 1933 and folded in 1980. Not a bad run at all.
The Hartford and New Haven areas were hot spots at some level for hifi way back when. Aside from the manufacturers that sprung up, a lot of hifi stores thrived in the area, at least for a while. Certainly The Stereo Shop has sold a lot of McIntosh gear over the years.
When Radio Shack decided to add a store outside the Boston area, the first was in New Haven. This was back when Radio Shack was a big store that carried a wide range of electronics. Later they added a store in West Hartford. I drove past that location a couple days ago. It's empty now. As is the pizza place that was next door.
Times sure change, eh?
Dean, of course, I went to The Stereo Shop, and "if' memory serves me correctly it was down on Farmington Ave. My friend Rick and I used to say " All McIntosh All The Time about them.
If Take 5 was the better high-end Audio Salon down in New Haven, then that was the place I saw the HQD speaker system with Hartley 24" subs all being run by a Mark Levinson JC2 preamp and six ML2 power amps! Was that Take 5?
I remember of the two audio salons I considered high-end down there one ran basically parallel to RTE 91 and the other was perpendicular. It's been well over 40 years now IIRC, yet I still remember those trips from Hartford to New Haven...
Thetubeguy1954 (Tom)
Central Florida Audio Society -- SETriodes Group -- Space Coast Audio Society
Full-range/Wide-range Drivers --- Front & Back-Loaded Horns --- High Sensitivity Speakers
...but before I got there.
I don't recall any talk of those speakers, but we were definitely Levinson dealers, although that too ended before I got there. I was told Mark was just too difficult to deal with. His shop was nearby and he was in the store all the time.
We later became Cello dealers ...which to this day is the best gear I've ever heard.
Take 5 was on Whitney Avenue, which runs parallel to 91. The business was recently sold and is now in Middlebury.
Dean.
reelsmith's axiom: Its going to be used equipment when I sell it, so it may as well be used equipment when I buy it.
Looks like just a couple of rooms in the back of a furniture store.
But they're one of only two places in New England where I can hear some new Dynaudio speakers I might be interested in.
We had a reunion at the original location the day it closed.
Lots of great memories.
Dean.
reelsmith's axiom: Its going to be used equipment when I sell it, so it may as well be used equipment when I buy it.
How well do they treat their customers?
They're under new ownership now at a new location in a different town. I don't know if the old staff moved with them.
Ralph (the former owner) retired.
The main sales guy (Bob) went along to the new shop.
Dean.
reelsmith's axiom: Its going to be used equipment when I sell it, so it may as well be used equipment when I buy it.
nt
ditto
They stayed in business because of rising real estate on Park and fifth Ave, high lawyer fees and Bernie Madoff . And laundered money from UN diplomats and staff
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