[WEEZ]

Just for what it's worth;

A while back, I was seriously considering a B60 amplifier. I live in TN, and at the time my only dealer was 100 miles from me. I took a day off from work to go for a listen. When I got there, the place was basically a sound re-enforcement shop that did pro or semi-pro installs. They said they would order a B60 for me if I wanted one. humph...

On a trip to WI to visit my brother, I visited Audio Emporium in Milwaukee. Dave Holmes spent an hour with me auditioning a B60. He would have spent more time, but I had a time schedule..

I am not a Bryston owner. The B60 amplifier just wasn't a good match with my speakers. (Had a home demonstration with a borrowed unit from a guy I met who lives 40 miles from me). The B60 sounded wonderful with the B&W's that Dave played them on in Milwaukee- (805's).

I just posted this to say that for anyone who lives within a reasonable drive of Milwaukee- Audio Emporium is a class store with a class owner. If I worked for Bryston- I would be proud to have Audio Emporium represent my products. First class dealer for first class products.

As for direct sales, well, that is a complicated business decision for any company to make. The business models are entirely different, and not knowing very much about Bryston's structure- it would be foolish of me to comment. I DO, however, long for the old days when every town had a stereo shop (or two, maybe three) to visit and audition equipment.

Sadly, those days are well on their way to disappearing.

I don't care a wit about anything more than 2-channel. Most of the stores I visit nowadays are a real disappointment. Yeah, I'm willing to search out specialty companies that sell direct. Mostly because that's the way it is for us 2-channel guys.

Is there a retail store that sells more than one brand of turntables? And can demo cartridges? And can set them up if you need them to? Nope.

WEEZ

[Phil A]

My local dealer, who does not carry lots of Bryston, does have multiple brands of turntables.  While I'm not into that at this point (got rid of mine many moons ago), I do care more about 2-channel audio.  It would be nice to be able to hear a BP26 with the DAC so I could make an informed decision on what to with my system.  I currently plan to upgrade the 1.7 when the HDMI 1.3 issue is resolved.  Had I been able to hear it, I might have decided to keep the Sony TA-P9000ES multi-channel pre-amp I just got rid of for multi-channel music.  It is frustrating from the standpoint of the consumer when you want to be able to audition something and you can't.  In many cases, it leads to purchases of another brand of equipment.  If one has to pay for dealer support and there is none (either no dealer or dealer does not stock), it naturally makes it easier to purchase products that are supported and is a reasonable distance from home.

[guest2521]

The guy didnt buy bryston or have his mind set on it. He just paid for a system without knowing what the components were. The shop chose them thats the point. With that in mind your argument collapses as he would never order online and never order Bryston.

If Bryston bypassed the dealer system then no dealer would support them and the mags would ignore them and they would soon be direct sales only - followed by bankruptcy.

Sure the past cannot predict the future - but the point is that 99.99% of new appraoches fail so the calculated risk is not to do it for an established company.

[PorkpieHat]

This is too easy an answer, I suppose, but maybe the stand-alone DAC we have been hearing about would fit very nicely into this puzzle. Will not only solve an equipment configuration problem, but also a retail problem. I live in the Toronto area, which is pretty much ground zero for Bryston, and I too was unable to find anyone who could demo the BP25DA, although I did not put in the same effort as the OP. This had a big impact on my buying decision. I could not get a demo, I could not find any comments from other posters in forums like this, and I could only find a couple of reviews (on the Bryston web site), so I went with something else. Still bought the BP25, but without the DAC.

I think that the problem for the retailers is that there is just so much equipment out there. A stock investment in this sort of product is difficult for them to justify.

I note James' comment about informed audiophiles not being the bulk of his business, but knowledgeable enthusiasts in any consumer area do help to create buzz and authenticity around a product with good word-of-mouth. However, we need to understand the we are indeed a small select group. Just the fact that many of the posts on this and other forums come from a core group of members will attest to that.

[95bcwh]

The guy didnt buy bryston or have his mind set on it. He just paid for a system without knowing what the components were. The shop chose them thats the point. With that in mind your argument collapses as he would never order online and never order Bryston.

If Bryston bypassed the dealer system then no dealer would support them and the mags would ignore them and they would soon be direct sales only - followed by bankruptcy.

Sure the past cannot predict the future - but the point is that 99.99% of new appraoches fail so the calculated risk is not to do it for an established company.

So you're saying that the justification for dealership is to cater for guys like these, who had no clue what he wanted, he just know he wanted a HT system, and he just blindly walked into a dealer store and said: "Hey, build me a HT system", and it just happened by chance that the dealer sells Bryston, so Bryston got the business purely by luck?

I never said the guy will order online himself, I said the guy can "hire" people to do the ordering and set up for him, IF he knows what he wants.

I have never said that Bryston should go online and ditch all the dealers.  I just pinpoint some of the weaknesses in distribution many customers are facing and would like to see Bryston taking a more proactive approach to solve the problems. Going online is one of the way, but it's not the only way.

[bsmith15]

A question for James...

I know of several high end manufacturers that allow internet sales only if there is no local dealer available.  Conrad Johnson and BAT are two that come to mind.  The defination of "local dealer" needs to be defined and of course you are depending on dealer integrity to not sell into another dealers territory.  Also I have never seens "deals" as pricng is MSRP, but there are usually provisions for returns.  Does Bryston allow for such sales?  

This would not solve the demo issue but may be an opportunity to close gaps in distribution coverage area's.  While many do like to demo products there are also many who purchase based on articles, recommendations, chat sites such as this, AudioGon, Audio Asylum, ect., and may want to purchase Bryston but do not have the opportunity to go to a dealer.

Of course if Bryston already allows this please disegard; but if not it may widen distribution somewhat.

[135flyr]

I've lurked for quite some time, and feel passionate enough about this subject to finally register and post.  My first experience with Bryston was listening to some older B & W floorstanders powered by a B60.  At the time I knew nothing, and my friend educated me on the merits of Bryston's products.  I would love to make the leap from a receiver to the SP2 and 9B, but can't, because of cost.  When it comes to high dollar items, I am a meticulous researcher, as most of us likely are.  I knew more about the last several "big ticket" items I bought than the salesman, and resent that I had to pay more because of the middleman that contributed little, if anything to the buying process.  Nor do I mean to infer that quality Bryston dealers don't know much about the products they sell.  I also have a (difficult) 3 1/2 hour drive to the nearest Bryston dealer.  I am confident enough in the company, people, and philosophy that are Bryston to purchase their products sight unseen, if I could do it with a click of the mouse and without the dealer overhead.  I don't expect to get the product for nothing--real people handcrafting a premium product by hand takes time and is expensive, but I'd be interested to know what the average dealer markup really is.  So here's one person who would own the product if it were a little easier and cheaper to get into my rack.  As things are currently, it will be some time before I can call myself an owner.

[geldis]

I live in Sweden. The closest dealer is in Norway, about 650 km from my hometown to the border. I think I am the "salesman" for Bryston. My friends think that this is good HiFi-products but where to listen and where to buy?
So good products and nowhere to listen and buy....
There are so many "toygear" in the buissnes with a lot of dealers but not Bryston included.
Regards