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"The bottom line is that good hifi stores don't sell crap."

Whatever is your point? My point is most hifi stores sell equipment from manufacturers who volunteerily market their equipment through the magazines. It's almost guaranteed that any manufacturer that plays ball with the magazine will get a favorable review.

My point isn't that dealers sell crap - it's that they don't have to sell good systems inorder to make sales. All they have to do is stock equipment recommended by the magazines. I'm told and it seems to be easily apparent that the magazines "make" plenty of sales for the dealers. Readers read the reviews or study the recommended components list and then go buy - they don't listen. Why would a dealer stock little known equipment even if he believed it was best - few people would believe it was good unless a magazine confirmed it for them. And the magazine won't make such a confirmation until the manufacturers meets the magazines requirements and plays by the magazines rules.

If the magazines were truly interested in the audiophile they wouldn't skew the playing field with these "rules". They would review equipment without regard to manufacturers size, marketing policies or voluntary cooperation.

> > The bottom line is that good hifi stores don't sell crap.

Most hifi shops sell equipment expressly marketed through and recommended by the magazines* - and this is why they are most likely not good shops. A good shop will find the best equipment (regardless of how it is marketed) on their own and that is what they will sell. However it may be stupid for dealers to try to do this - as nobody will believe what they hear is good until the magazines, ie. the manufacturers marketing strategy, confirms for them that what they hear is good.

*And further if 90% of all equipment gets favorable or good reviews one has to conclude that the reviewed equipment could be barely medicre at best - as surely being better than 10% of reviewed equipment could hardly be considered exceptional. Yet dealers will stock this equipment and thus displace lesser known but considered "better" unreviewed brands from the dealer shelves.

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