Many audiophiles and serious music lovers are passionate about vintage. Vintage has become a popular "way in" to the hobby, especially popular among younger folks. Reasons vary. Manyperhaps mostare seeking more bang for the buck than you can get buying new. Others prefer classic sound and aesthetics: that special vintage vibe. At least a few inherit or receive vintage pieces from audiophile parents; others come across a beautiful bargain they can't resist. An important niche in our hobby thinks vintage equipment simply sounds better than the new stuff.
Not every vintage piece sounds good, however, and not every piece is a bargain. Some can be quite expensive. And most that aren't are in need of expensive refurbishment to look and sound their best. Even once restored, they usually require more care, maintenance, and patience than a new piece would require. It's a lot to take in for those new to the hobby.
Jeremy Irwin, owner and "stereo archaeologist" at the vintage-focused dealer Aural HiFi in Denver, has been there himself.
Before and since the pandemic, many traditional hi-fi dealerships evolved to expand the products and services they offerinto custom install and home integration, in particular. There has also been a bit of a multichannel/home theater resurgence.
Shifts in the market and personal interests led to changes at Adirondack Audio & Video, an established company with locations in upstate New York andas HiFi Loftin Manhattan. The company recently split into two separate entities. Under new ownership by a former partner/employee, just before Labor Day, 2023, HiFi Loft spun off from Adirondack and opened a new second location in Glens Falls, New York, about 45 minutes north of Albany. By all accounts, the separation was amicable, even favorable for each party.
McIntosh CEO Charlie Randall, pictured outside the company's Binghamton factory in 2006. (Photo: John Atkinson)
To remain profitable, many hi-fi companies have outsourced production to faraway countries with lower labor costs. That, certainly, is a legitimate way of doing business. Yet many other hi-fi makers have chosen to work with suppliers that are local, regional, or at least domestic. There are good reasons for doing so, those manufacturers maintain.
Some of the advantages are obvious. Local labor may cost more, but shipping what they make is much cheaper.
Years ago, as a side gig with a friend, I started a small business importing and distributing high-end women's garments from European makers: swimwear, hosiery, bodysuits, underwear. At the time, the consistent fit and finish, comfort, and manufacturing quality we appreciated was hard to find stateside.
I never thought I'd see these two interestswomen's undergarments and hi-ficonverge, until I started researching this review of the $4500 Audeze LCD-5 headphones, the company's current flagship.
New York City continues to have a rich hi-fi culture, but many of its fabled hi-fi shops have shutteredthink of Lyric Hi-Fi, which played a major role in the development of audio's high end before it closed in 2021. But recently NYC's hi-fi scene has experienced a bit of a renewal, with undertakings aimed at a wider, younger audience. One example is a new, niche audio showroom in SoHo, which opened in September, by former deejay and fashion designer, artist, and current audio craftsman Devon Turnbull.
Often it seems we're living at a time of hi-fiindustry contractionthat expansion in retail, if it exists at all, is online, and the number of real-world dealerships is shrinking. But at least two California dealerships, San Diego's Alma Audio (top photo) and Pasadena's Audio Element (bottom photo), are expanding in the actual, offline world.
Why expand? For the reasons you'd expect. The two dealerships want to expand their reach and capitalize better on the advantages that brick-and-mortar retail affords, especially when it comes to selling more expensive goods. They are aiming to reach more people in new locations with a more personal, experiential approachmuch different than reading specifications, looking at pictures, and clicking the "buy" button online. Both dealerships are aiming to sell higher-end stuff at their new locationsthe kind of sales that don't work as well onlineto new customers in new places.
Phaenelagh "Nel" Lenard Burnett is an outlier in a most basic sense: She's a woman who works in hi-fi. For the past several decadesessentially all her adult lifeshe has immersed herself in running her father's audio business.
Her father is John Lenard Burnett of Lenard Audio, a veteran designer, researcher, and educator whose work has crossed over from recording studios, concert halls, and commercial spaces to hi-fi for the home. The Opal 4-way active loudspeaker system is the senior Burnett's signature product and serves as the foundation of Lenard Audio's hardware and strategic designs.
"When I was a baby, Lenard was the largest manufacturer and supplier of concert PA systems and guitar amps and so on in the Australian market," Nel told me. "Some of my very first memories are of me sitting on his workbench. That was one of my happiest places to be when I was a kid, literally sitting on his work."
Many family-owned hi-fi companies have experienced generational leadership transitions over the last few years: Wilson Audio, Von Schweikert Audio, PS Audio, and VPI Industries, to name a few. In two of those cases, the founding father is still around. One of those is VPI Industries.
Harry and Sheila Weisfeld founded VPI in 1978. A succession plan? "Initially there really was none," VPI President Mat Weisfeld (above), who took over for his father Harry, told me. "They'd hoped to work to the last of their days. Unfortunately, my mom's days were cut short."
Even if Darren Myers's name isn't familiar, you still may have heardor at least heard abouthi-fi components he designed, including the PS Audio Stellar phono preamp, which garnered Stereophile's Analog Product of the Year Award in 2020.
After working on projects for Classé and Bowers & Wilkins, Myers was hired by PS Audio, where he ended his tenure as senior analog design engineer. Myers recently joined Parasound (footnote 1) following the company's acquisition by David Sheriff.
Several traditional hi-fi dealerships have shuttered in recent years: NYC's Lyric Hi-Fi and Chicago's Audio Consultants are prominent examples. A few new brick-and-mortar shops have opened, but it's rare to see a next-generation owner breathe new life into a long-established dealership. Christopher Brewer (above) is doing exactly that with New England Hi-Fi.