Yeah, the author of that article has been obsolete for the 10 years, and rightly so. There's a new type of audiophile that doesn't derive their information from a customer service rep at a B&M store -- they get it the same way we do -- from the internet through forums like audiocircle. There are tons of lurkers who research and learn from our mistakes and successes, but you'd never know they exist. Someone is buying good gear. That's how the internet dealers are staying in business. So if the obsolete dude wants to stay relevant and continue with his passion of educating people about all things audio, he needs to join AC. We'd love to pick his brain. Maybe one of his grandchildren could show him how to log on.
I think you should show a bit more respect to "obsolete dude". He spent decades gaining experience and trying to carefully guide customers towards better purchases, most likely at substandard pay, because he loved the industry, his job, and his customers. And now you want him to just join an internet forum in what little time he has left - or in his retirement - and give you advice for free?
I think that's all part of the systematic devaluing of the sales professional in the US market. What people seems to be saying with their wallet is that they value the lowest cost, most convenient sales experience over service (i.e. advice and after sales assistance). It's a downward spiral : we place less importance on it, we get less of it, and then we have the gall to complain & proclaim the death of B&M!
And part of the fuel for this is the rise of "internet experts", "forums" and online reviews, which is a cheap but poor substitute.
Personally I'd more value - and be willing to pay for - the assistance of someone who has decades of actual experience, is face to face with me with a reputation to uphold, and can make a custom recommendation to me vs. "online experts" shilling either their own product purchases or regurgitating comments from a handful of "netizens" or paid off audio "journalists".
I'll give you one prime example : we keep a famous monitor speaker at the store which is on every audio journalists "best" list - and which people parrot endlessly as such an excellent speaker. We get requests for it and I was tired of people thinking I was trying to "switch and bait" them by telling them that it is in fact a crap speaker - the "bose" of the audiophile world. So now I just let them come in and listen to it & say nothing. Invariably they ask to listen to an alternative, and when they do, they end up buying the alternative, unprompted by me. When they want to know more, I explain. To date over more than 2 years we've sold a grand total of zero of this vaunted speaker. But you would never know that from forums and hifi reviews. It's always amusing to see peoples faces : "this thing kinda sucks - but I don't understand, everyone says it's great!".
I've personally gained a lot of useful information on AC - and hopefully imparted some as well. But there is no substitute for real experience - both from sales professionals and your own (i.e. trying and listening). This experience is valuable and worth paying for.
What happened to Hi-Fi in the US: people don't value or care about high quality sales & service, and there's been a race to the bottom in terms of sound quality for the sake of economy and convenience, at least in the US. This is why first the big boxes, and now the internet aka Amazon have taken over. I believe this has happened to a much lesser extent in other countries, so hopefully we won't export that trend as well. To a much larger degree in Europe and Asia I think they more highly value hifi AND the smaller independent sales outlets and professionals. Have you seen how many more hifi shops there are per capita in the UK, for example? They still develop and value sales relationships. They have "their guy" whom they've come to trust and rely on. These markets, more so than the US, are what's keeping the high end audio market afloat.
How to address this in the US? Ironically for the high end I think manufacturers need to concentrate their efforts on LESS locations and focus on a shorter list of select brick and mortar stores and makes these "centers of excellence" for their brands vs trying to spread themselves thinner across more internet and big box stores in the desperate attempt to reach more customers. It's always a sign to me that they've given up when I see famous audiophile brands go to Best Buy - even if it's the somewhat better Magnolia (at a few of which I've actually found knowledgeable sales people). And Amazon? Total surrender.
People who value face to face quality sales professionalism will seek these places out and make the greater effort to go to them. When your looking to spend thousands, that's what you SHOULD do. Those who are a bit more lazy : phone consultations and mail order to these B&Ms.
Result : the high end audio companies can therefore devote more time and attention to cultivating a smaller number of channels and see that they are successful. Doing so means the B&M store can also have more volume and be a more sustainable business. Eventually if all goes well, this may eventually allow more space for more local stores to thrive. But the way things are going now, I think it's time to consolidate and reinforce the best vs spreading out to the worst!
Let's face it : in the US, high end audio is more than ever a luxury hobby for a diminishing and aging client base. Do as other luxury goods makers do : focus on select higher end physical sales outlets. Those places need to be open to cultivating a younger less affluent customer base, but focus on surviving by catering to their base.
Sorry guys : "internet audiophiles" brought them on themselves. They think they know everything, and it's price, but know the value of nothing. Enjoy now stumbling around in the dark - you won't even notice the lights are off!
How's that for a good ol fashioned rant?