[ggergm]

Hi, everybody!

My name is Gregg Mitchell.  I sold hi-fi for thirty years, starting at a Team Electronics store in Ft Collins, Colorado.  I found this picture years ago of that store.  Next door is the Catacombs Bar, where I had my job interview.  We'd go there on our late-afternoon dinner breaks, when they had hot food like mini-wieners for Happy Hour appetizers.  A drink or two was mandatory before going back to work, selling stereos.  But, hey, it was 1976 and the owner was an alcoholic, anyway.



I'm here to talk about my Amadeus Jr and setting it up.  I bought it to tame a Koetsu Onyx, which it does very well.  In fact, my set-up sounds golden right now, but that doesn't mean I can't learn a bunch from the knowledgeable people here.

The word of warning in the subject line is for real.  You know how many stereo salesmen it takes to screw in a lightbulb?

Three, but that's today only.

- Gregg

[FullRangeMan]

Nice shop 

[ggergm]

Thanks.  It was a great place to learn how to sell.  I was in charge of a stereo store staple, the parts wall.  We sold everything from CBs to the Dahlquist DQ-10.  Our speaker line was Polk Audio when they only had two speakers in the line, the Monitor 7 and the Monitor 10B.  I ended up getting to know the founders of Polk, Sandy Gross, Matt Polk and George Klopfer.  Sandy was a mentor to me, and a friend.

[mresseguie]

Welcome to AC, Greg!

I see you're in MN now. I bought my first (and second) audio system in a shop in Rochester back in '79.

[ggergm]

I worked at Sound World in the Apache Mall in Rochester from 1978 to 1981.  You either bought your stereo from us or Shaak Electronics, which was across from Sound World.  Sound World was a five store chain in southern Minnesota.  I bought the La Crosse, Wisconsin, Sound World store in 1985 and ran that for 21 years, until 2006.

[Phil A]

Welcome!

[dvdkitch]

Welcome! I am new here too and I still listen to my Dalquist DQ-10s at times.

[ggergm]

Welcome! I am new here too and I still listen to my Dalquist DQ-10s at times.

I purchased the DQ-10 twice.  Once was in the 1970s.  The second time was decades later when my store traded in a pair.  They were early models which could be improved by mirror imaging them and replacing the electrolytic crossover caps with mylar ones, jobs I had done before.  I took them home.  It was like running into an old girlfriend and deciding there's no harm in a short fling, remembering good times in the past.

But then, find me an audiophile who hasn't sublimated sex through buying a new amplifier...

[mresseguie]

I worked at Sound World in the Apache Mall in Rochester from 1978 to 1981.  You either bought your stereo from us or Shaak Electronics, which was across from Sound World.  Sound World was a five store chain in southern Minnesota.  I bought the La Crosse, Wisconsin, Sound World store in 1985 and ran that for 21 years, until 2006.

That's wild. We definitely brushed shoulders if not actually spoke with each other! I can only recall one salesman's face from that time, but not his name. He had a moustache, brown hair, and was <perhaps> 5'10". His name may have been Gary(?).

My second system consisted of a pair of Yamaha NS-500 speakers; an NAD integrated amp, a Pioneer TT, and a Nakamichi tape deck (not the Dragon). I loved the sound of the NS-500s.

Michael

[ggergm]

That's wild. We definitely brushed shoulders if not actually spoke with each other! I can only recall one salesman's face from that time, but not his name. He had a moustache, brown hair, and was <perhaps> 5'10". His name may have been Gary(?).

Gary Schad.  He was our best salesman and soundman for the store band, Night Shift.  I was the taper.  I have a cassette of a Night Shift gig I recorded at a theater in Austin, Minnesota, the proud home of SPAM.  My tape was mixed live to 2-track and came from Gary's board feed and my Nakamichi CM-300 mics on stage.

Michael, I'm sure we met.  That was a great staff.  We took care of each other.  If Gary was busy, I would have helped you.

My second system consisted of a pair of Yamaha NS-500 speakers; an NAD integrated amp, a Pioneer TT, and a Nakamichi tape deck (not the Dragon). I loved the sound of the NS-500s.

The Yamaha NS-500 rocked!  We sold bunches of them.  Using a beryllium dome tweeter and ported 10" woofer, they had slam and attack.  They were sexy with their piano black cabinet and affordable.  I remember them selling for around $400 a pair.



- Gregg

[Jazzman53]

Welcome Gregg,

Your post makes me nostalgic for days past when we could drop by our local hi-fi store and audition our dream systems.

Enjoy the AC!

Charlie

[ggergm]

Your post makes me nostalgic for days past when we could drop by our local hi-fi store and audition our dream systems.

Absolutely, or to even stop by a hi-fi shop simply because we were bored.  When I was in college, many afternoons buddies and I would go to the local record stores to see what albums had just been released and then drop by Pacific Stereo to see what was new.  As a stereo salesman, I always smiled when one of our customers came in asking, "What's new?"  A stereo store was a great place to hang out.

Enjoy the AC!

I will, Charlie, as I have been for the last twelve years.  While these are my first posts on the site, I actually joined the AC on the Fourth of July, 2013.  I bet I was looking for info on the wonderful Dynavector 20x2H cartridge.  That was my initial cartridge when I became an audiophile for the second time, after 28 years in the wilderness.  I've been back many times since 2013, always lurking, to research gear.

I'm here now to participate in the discussion.