Hi Fi Dealers in 2026

[davidf]

I knew I'd forgotten one for Birmingham city centre - Normal H. Field! A member of HiFi Markets (I think it was called) at one time, if anyone remembers that. A time warp back to the 70s and 80s. The place to go for any and all replacement styli and any discontinued Yamaha AV processors, no matter how old they were!

All the places I listed, all gone.

 

[Roger_A]

Islington Row would've been the AVI dealer?

Five Ways Hi-Fidelity if that's who you mean. They were certainly there in the 70s and stocked many of the main makes then and AVI came along later.

 

[nopiano]

I knew I'd forgotten one for Birmingham city centre - Normal H. Field! A member of HiFi Markets (I think it was called) at one time, if anyone remembers that. A time warp back to the 70s and 80s. The place to go for any and all replacement styli and any discontinued Yamaha AV processors, no matter how old they were!

All the places I listed, all gone.

Ah, yes, the place I worked was part of Hifi Markets. That gave them the best selling NAD range and adverts shared between the outlets in the comics, as the shop manager referred to Hifi Answers and possibly WHF. But there was Hifi for Pleasure, Hifi Sound, the original Hifi Choice and was it Practical Hifi? So many mags, pre internet.

 

[twinkletoes]

So on another thread, there's been a bit of a discussion around the role of the hifi dealer today compared to say the 1990s and before the advent of online buying.

I guess if you live in a reasonably sized town or city, you might have a few dealers around to choose from. Maybe not quite so many as there were 30 or 40 years ago, but still a decent number.

If you stay somewhere outside a city or town, your choice probably drops somewhat and depending on what you're looking for or how many items you want to compare.

Online shopping opens up in the late 90s and burgeons thereafter. Consumer protections kick in that allow buyers to open and examine products to afford the same luxury they have instore. The legislation requires them to take "reasonable" (always thought that wording was weak, but there it is) care of the goods while in their care and if they eventually opt to return it.

Before too long, some bricks and mortar dealers start going to the wall, consumer trends move away from traditional hifi to more portable audio gear, home cinema and in time, bluetooth capable kit.

Now, for me, online shopping has been a blessing. I haven't demo'd anything in a shop since 2012 (Tannoy DC4 speakers in case you're wondering). Everything since has been an online purchase. Sometimes brand new (hello Richer Sounds), often used (hello lots of other folk). I like to research what I need online from a variety of information providers or reviewers (not YouTubers) then draft my shortlist and then decide from there. Generally, it works a treat.

These days, I stay at best an hour or so and a fair bit more in some cases, from my nearest hifi shops in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Carlisle. And the shopping experience has vastly changed in the last 40 years. Where once you could walk in off the street and literally walk out with a new bit of kit an hour later has been replaced by "have you had a look at the website, it's all on there".

So where are you at in this?

Funny enough, I use HiFi Corner and usually speak to the guys in Falkirk. I’ve never actually been into the shop since I live in Suffolk, but they’re generally very helpful and often send things down for me to try out.

It’s a similar situation with cycling shops. If I walk into a local bike shop and ask for something specific, like GP5000 S TRs or Vittoria Corsa Pros, they’ll usually say, “Sure, we can order them in.” At that point I tend to think there’s no real advantage, so I’ll just order them myself at home and have them delivered next day from somewhere like Sigma Sports.

Very few places actually carry much stock anymore. Even shops with a physical presence are largely set up around e-commerce. Most of the time they either ship directly from the supplier to your door, or order it in, sit on it behind a dispatch time, and then send it out to you once they have .

It's a funny world we live in but then I remember being able to walk in to town and come back with exactly what I want. It really only cities that have that now. We have one hifi shop in Suffolk that I know of now, signals. but they dont stock every brand.

its a shame but its the way of things