I'm in the US and visit this site several times a day (though rarely post). Over the last few months I've grown increasingly frustrated because of what I believe to be a huge difference in access to high quality audio equipment (versus simply high priced) between the US and UK. I live in a mid-size city (about 2 million in the metro area), but there is only one audio store, other than the ubiqitous Best Buys or other mass market store. And, because there is only one, the prices are high and the selection limited to popular brands they know they can move.
A few US cities are lucky to have a mulitple stores, but if I want to hear most of the UK brands (Naim, KEF, Arcam, etc), I'm lucky if there is a vendor within a few hours and, even then, it's likely to be someone's house where they have limited inventory versus a real store. I guess I have two questions for my virtual friends on the site...1) In general, we've got plenty of discretionary money over here, so why aren't there more audio stores or am I wrong about the perception of more access in the UK? and 2) if you were in the US, are there any US brands that you would consider alongside the brands that I'm drawn to like Creek, Naim, KEF, etc.?
A few US cities are lucky to have a mulitple stores, but if I want to hear most of the UK brands (Naim, KEF, Arcam, etc), I'm lucky if there is a vendor within a few hours and, even then, it's likely to be someone's house where they have limited inventory versus a real store. I guess I have two questions for my virtual friends on the site...1) In general, we've got plenty of discretionary money over here, so why aren't there more audio stores or am I wrong about the perception of more access in the UK? and 2) if you were in the US, are there any US brands that you would consider alongside the brands that I'm drawn to like Creek, Naim, KEF, etc.?