Hi - I am interested in making a home theatre setup. I live in NYC - who are the best shops that display all the top gear? Thank you.

Hi

I used to live in NYC and have a fondness for this special city... I had an extremely good relationship with Mike Kay of Lyrics Audio. I went there last year and did find good gears and knowledgeable people. I could be biased and the owner is far from the most diplomatic person on earth. The salesperson are knowledgeable and as a testimony to his competency you do not survive for so long (over 25 years) in NYC if you do not perform... There are definitely others but this is the one I know best..

I would advise to ask questions to this group here. The level of Audio and Video knowledge in this forum has not been matched elsewhere in my experience... I moved to a higher level in video thanks to this August group..

Thank you!

Decapad

They are in Manhattan and they also have a store in White Plains.

Web Site:

http://www.lyricusa.com/

Better yet take a short drive to Greenwich,Ct and visit Audiocom--great gear and all are very knowledgeable

Ask for Paul F who is an AVS member

And what happened to Andy S. the "indispensible component"? :D :D :D

And what happened to Andy S. the "indispensible component"? :D :D :D


as I said--take a short drive to Greenwich and save a pile of dough and get better service

Ask for Paul.

I too had great experiences with Audiocom. They had stopped selling Wilsons though the last time I inquired (fairly recently - at least in the last year). The only speakers they had on display the last time I was there recently, were B&W and AvanteGarde. Perhaps there was one other that I didn't recognize in the section for smaller speakers. Great staff though, very helpful and not pushy or manipulative like other dealers in the Greenwich area. They are also good about trade-ins if you decide to upgrade fairly soon after purchase (I think Paul was the one who sold me my Bryston gear and helped me get the trade-in on my 700s for the 802Ds, but I don't remember - it was awhile ago now).

I also found Lyric HiFi in White Plains to have considerate staff (also helpful, while not being manipulative or pushy), but they weren't willing to be nearly as generous right off the bat. Also another place without a large selection to demo unfortunately.

In terms of demoing speakers, I would go around to a lot of different places to listen so you can make a list of what you enjoyed the most. Then go around and inquire about prices from competing businesses.

Of course, neither is in NYC, so I'm sorry if that wasn't helpful.

Hi - I am interested in making a home theatre setup. I live in NYC - who are the best shops that display all the top gear? Thank you.

Inovative Audio and EarsNova

http://www.innovativeaudiovideo.com/

www.earsnova.com

Sound by Singer has arguably the best store in nyc....because no store has the sheer volume of interesting 2 channel gear than Singer. the big back room is the best sounding room in the city.

funny you mention Lyric Frantz, as i have consistently received aweful service there for years. i guess i was too young for those folks (24 at the time)

Bill and Jim at Audiocom are awesome to work with as well and i bought my first pair of Wilson Cubs from them many years ago when i worked in NYC.

John Rutan at Audio Connection in jersey is a great guy as well. 'steens and tubes mostly, but they sound great.

It's always interesting to dress way down when making a high end purchase to see how you get treated.

. Only once have I flashed a roll of cash when I got treated like crap at a high end store, making it VERY obvious that I was ready to buy, and I told the salesman point blank that he was very disrespectful and therefore lost the sale..:)

my favourite store is stereo exchange in soho. i have been to sound by singer in union sq and innovative audio in ues, and don't like either

Curt. How could you ever possibly dress down? Of course, I couldn't either.

It's always interesting to dress way down when making a high end purchase to see how you get treated.

. Only once have I flashed a roll of cash when I got treated like crap at a high end store, making it VERY obvious that I was ready to buy, and I told the salesman point blank that he was very disrespectful and therefore lost the sale..:)

Curt, are you giving us clues by your above wording? Do you "roll" your "dress way down". Its ok. Its cool to have a cross dresser in the forum. I bet your deep voice really impresses the high end audio salesfolks!!! :p

If you drive a few extra hours you'll find in Maryland, right outside DC, a great hi fi/home theater store called Soundworks!!!! The owner Mark Haflich will give you a free kosher salami sandwich for each $1,000 you spend. Plus soda/pop.

I dressed down as well, i.e. I went naked. I was shocked to find they not only wouldn't let me sit on the couches and chairs and listen to music, they also called the Police! The nerve of some of these high falutin audio dealerships....

I dressed down as well, i.e. I went naked. I was shocked to find they not only wouldn't let me sit on the couches and chairs and listen to music, they also called the Police! The nerve of some of these high falutin audio dealerships....

I betch that your private "Police" concert with Sting et al was better than the current tour!!!@@@ :D

I betch that your private "Police" concert with Sting et al was better than the current tour!!!@@@ :D

It was definitely more engaging, for both me and my wife. :o

We had strippers shop at our store. I asked one young lady stripper what she did (before one of my degenerate salesmen who frequents strip clubs said he knew her and that she performed frequently at one of his favorite clubs), and she said she was a message therapist.

Then there this was this really hot lady who came in during hot mid summer dressed in a thick leather skirt. When she was in a HT chair watching the Ruby, an inadvertent glance by me showed that was all she was wearing. She smiled and made it quite clear she had just gotten divorced and was looking for action. I told her I was a married stiff who didn't cheat but if I had been single it would have been a different story and one that she would have rembered the rest of her life with a big smile!. She was soooooooo hot.

Another woman customer had the hots for my then single partner. We walked into a demo room to help her and she thought only he was coming in and she was stripped down to naked. I quickly walked out and he walked out too but it was because he really didn't want to get involved with her. If she washot, there would have been a lot nore to this story from his point of view. Believe it or not, she had a very nive personality but was only a 5.

There are lots of other stories but that's enough for the internet!

We had strippers shop at our store. I asked one young lady stripper what she did (before one of my degenerate salesmen who frequents strip clubs said he knew her and that she performed frequently at one of his favorite clubs), and she said she was a message therapist.

Then there this was this really hot lady who came in during hot mid summer dressed in a thick leather skirt. When she was in a HT chair watching the Ruby, an inadvertent glance by me showed that was all she was wearing. She smiled and made it quite clear she had just gotten divorced and was looking for action. I told her I was a married stiff who didn't cheat but if I had been single it would have been a different story and one that she would have rembered the rest of her life with a big smile!. She was soooooooo hot.

Another woman customer had the hots for my then single partner. We walked into a demo room to help her and she thought only he was coming in and she was stripped down to naked. I quickly walked out and walked out too but it was because he really didn't want to get involved with her.

There are lots of other stories but that's enough for the internet!

Now I understand why Lee, your Sales Manager, left. It was getting TOO HOT to work there. (Lee is now National Sales Manager for Aerial Acoustics - Mark gave him a "hot" recommendation to Michael Kelly of Aerial.)

We had strippers shop at our store. I asked one young lady stripper what she did (before one of my degenerate salesmen who frequents strip clubs said he knew her and that she performed frequently at one of his favorite clubs), and she said she was a message therapist.

Then there this was this really hot lady who came in during hot mid summer dressed in a thick leather skirt. When she was in a HT chair watching the Ruby, an inadvertent glance by me showed that was all she was wearing. She smiled and made it quite clear she had just gotten divorced and was looking for action. I told her I was a married stiff who didn't cheat but if I had been single it would have been a different story and one that she would have rembered the rest of her life with a big smile!. She was soooooooo hot.

Another woman customer had the hots for my then single partner. We walked into a demo room to help her and she thought only he was coming in and she was stripped down to naked. I quickly walked out and walked out too but it was because he really didn't want to get involved with her.

There are lots of other stories but that's enough for the internet!


Uh, how much do you have to pay to work at this place, and when can I start? (j/k, I'm happily married - I know, that is an oxymoron to most people - it sounds like a single man's dream job....)

I have been in retail AV since 1983 and in a store front since 1986. I was a lot lot younger when fecal like this happened. These stories are mostly pre Lee, Steve. And there is a whole bunch of time over 21 years for a few "good' fecal stories to accumulate. The frequency of this stuff is low, but events do happen like this. At 62, nothing like this happens to me anymore.

Another woman customer had the hots for my then single partner. We walked into a demo room to help her and she thought only he was coming in and she was stripped down to naked. I quickly walked out and he walked out too but it was because he really didn't want to get involved with her. If she washot, there would have been a lot nore to this story from his point of view. Believe it or not, she had a very nive personality but was only 5.
We really don't need to hear about your potential encounters with 5 year olds Mark, but I am glad to hear you both turned her down.

We really don't need to hear about your potential encounters with 5 year olds Mark, but I am glad to hear you both turned her down.

You got it all wrong. The five year old turned Mark down!!!@@@ :D :eek:
egads!!!@@@

I didn't turn her down. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I exited. She wasn't offering herself to me. She was about 25. QQQ. Too bad you were never met at a door by a young lady holding a martinee glass and wearing a birthday suit. Sometimes a young the lady has to take the initiative. it might have worked. Roll the dice. No harm, no foul.

You got it all wrong. The five year old turned Mark down!!!
Holy cow Steve, I guess you were right...

I didn't turn her down.

All in fun Mark :).

Although this post is probably way too late to help the guy who started the thread, I have to give my vote for best retailer in NYC to Lyric hi-fi.

I bought my first peices of "high end gear" at Lyric in 1976,
(a G.A.S. pre-amp and Ampzilla, which I still own) and I continue to shop at their White Plains store.
I've found just about everything Franz and QueueCumber have said about them to be pretty much so.

I have bought stuff elseware but usually it's some kind of gear that they just didn't carry like my Theta Casablanca and my Casablanca III. If they sold that stuff I'd have bought it from them too!
It's not that often you find a dealer you can trust, count on if you've got a problem and has been in the same location FOREVER!

I read in this thread where someone had a bad experience there, something about is age.
I happened to be 24 the first time I walked into Lyric too, had long hair and worn out jeans on. I remember that because I still have long hair and wear worn out jeans and it doesn't seem to have made any differance to them from what I can tell and I can also tell you some of the same people still work there so I don't see that as bring a problem!

I never had a service problem that they didn't address although with my Cassablanca the dealer didn't last very long. I've had to deal directly with the factory since about 1998 and I had to find someone else recently to purchase my blanca III from.

All in all, as far as I'm concerned I hope Lyric is there for another 30yrs!

It would be nice if they'd pick up the Theta Digital line though.
Ohh well, one can't be all things to all people.

Sorry for the long post just to say I like these guys and this place, so I guess I must really, really like this place! And my wife actually likes a visit there as well from time to time. Us oldies require the salesman to work the wife factor for us, and they do!