[tomwoo]

 
whats the difference?
 
They are authorized dealers
 
Only difference I can see is;
 
There is no pushy sales men (commission based incentive for them to sell)
They discount  via amazon prime 5%
They will take back after 30 days no questions asked
They ship for free
I don't need to travel to a store. I can spend more time with my family.
Though you might get to try them at a dealer assuming he has a pair but how many people have actually auditioned these before purchasing. Reading all the posts I'd say a small percentage.  My buddy has them with a very nice DAC and amp.   I tried them at his house last night and he threw in a nice Belgium beer.
There are long waits.  Some people have been waiting for months.  I tried them Friday and  l ordered them today I'll have them Monday. In the events the beer influenced me, I can return them and all I am out is the price of shipping. 
 
I get everything shipped to me.  Some items are automatically delivered every month. Paper towels, toilet tissue and things used everyday, medications, etc.  
Groceries lists are maintained and all I do is point and click and it arrives the next day
I ask Alexia to resend items previously purchased. She is always friendly and is never on the phone with her friend while I wait on a long line with people who haven't showered in a few days. I used to spend my weekend going from store to store, looking for parking and carrying things up (cat liter used to be hard to find and can be pretty heavy if you have a few cats). Now it shows up and my doorman lets me know its here.  I do need to tip the delivery guys but that cost is nothing compared to the amount saved. I can choose from a wide variety and am not forced to by the brand or size the store decides to stock.
 
I haven't been in a store in a very long time
This works much better for me and my wife as we both work full time.
 
If ever there is a problem it is immediately addressed with an email and I am always given the benefit of the doubt
 
I also buy stock in Amazon every month through e-trade and have been doing so for years 
 
I respect your choice but I do not get the "Joke"

+1
 
Sales tax is mandated when buying from a local store. Not necessarily through Amazon.

 

[pedalhead]

Yeah I skirted around the availability issue with my rose-tinted post, but honestly I'd personally rather wait a bit and support my friendly bricks & mortar shop. The shop in question also happens to be the sponsor of our 2017 UK Headfi meet so I'm doubly happy to support them. Not saying there's anything wrong with using Amazon, everyone's preferences vary on this stuff.

 

[goldendarko]

Order from Amazon... and miss the joy and anticipation of visiting a proper audio shop, soaking up the vibe, chatting audio geekery with the staff and best of all, leaving with the best headphone in the world under your arm.

I'll always advocate making major purchases like these from your local bricks & mortar. Build up a relationship with them and that 5% Amazon discount will seem like chump change.

And what if your nearest audio shop is 10 hours away? No thanks I'll stick with Amazon or moon audio or another online retailer.

 

[pedalhead]

Order from Amazon... and miss the joy and anticipation of visiting a proper audio shop, soaking up the vibe, chatting audio geekery with the staff and best of all, leaving with the best headphone in the world under your arm.

I'll always advocate making major purchases like these from your local bricks & mortar. Build up a relationship with them and that 5% Amazon discount will seem like chump change.

And what if your nearest audio shop is 10 hours away? No thanks I'll stick with Amazon or moon audio or another online retailer.

Well, obviously there are perfectly good reasons not to use a local shop for many people. Just putting forward my position.

 

[tomwoo]

I can't agree more. But I don't have that kind of relationship with any bricks & mortar store. The truth is I don't even know if such store exists in my neighbourhood

 

[TWerk]

Brick and Mortars are like Blockbuster. Remember them?
 
The futures on the web, if you haven't caught on.
 
I pretty much buy all my stuff online besides food and clothes, and I save tons of money doing it that way.

 

[jamato8]

Order from Amazon... and miss the joy and anticipation of visiting a proper audio shop, soaking up the vibe, chatting audio geekery with the staff and best of all, leaving with the best headphone in the world under your arm.

I'll always advocate making major purchases like these from your local bricks & mortar. Build up a relationship with them and that 5% Amazon discount will seem like chump change.

None around me. Also I find it hit and miss with stores of the past. Often finding them not really customer orientated unless you had the money in your hand to show them. I will say that dealing on the web with a few, has given me better results and if they act like a . . . . I move on. So what is the difference between that and dealing with Amazon? Amazon has a good return policy etc. 
 
Well the Utopia are sounding excellent. Superb as a matter of fact. I like how they get the sound out of your head and in front and to the sides, but not plastered to the side and directly into your ears. Also no sound behind me like so many phones I have do. 

 

[pedalhead]

Brick and Mortars are like Blockbuster. Remember them?

The futures on the web, if you haven't caught on.

I pretty much buy all my stuff online besides food and clothes, and I save tons of money doing it that way.

OK this'll be my last post on the subject coz we're well off topic here. Sure I buy plenty of stuff online, but for big purchases I put my money where my mouth is and support my local shops. It'll be a sad day imho when all the hifi (and bike) shops disappear.

 

[Niaron]

By the way, for all of you audiophiles out there. Please watch some good quality trill movie with your beloved Utopia/Elear, and experience that intense moments!!! I am still recovering from it..

 

[TOPnut]

It's late Saturday night and I am going back now to listen to the Utopias after about 50 hours of burn-in.  Not sure if the "mistress" or the "hotter-looking wife" will show up but I figure either way I cannot lose because  . . . I . . . uh  . .  well . . . . . .  never mind . . .  I  better quit while I am ahead given my wife was the one who pushed me to buy these when I struggled over whether to buy them!
 
Frank

 

[TOPnut]

OK, OK, I get what all the fuss is about!   More to come.

 

[FLTWS]

  By the way, for all of you audiophiles out there. Please watch some good quality trill movie with your beloved Utopia/Elear, and experience that intense moments!!! I am still recovering from it..

 
Those extra length HP cables would be a plus for that situation.

 

[TSAVJason]

A valid point 

Still nobody I frequent has them in stock and wait time is a bit longer than I want and probably understated... 

If you find you're experiencing long waits, maybe you should look to another vendor. For example, we are seldom out of stock on most headgear product more than a few days. Cavalli is generally the only product we represent that has long wait times.

 

[John2e]

If you find you're experiencing long waits, maybe you should look to another vendor. For example, we are seldom out of stock on most headgear product more than a few days. Cavalli is generally the only product we represent that has long wait times.

ouch sorry Jason!!! I  did not realize you had stock on the Utopia...
 
As I said I would prefer to do business with a Head-fi MOT especially one as devoted as you 
 
I assumed everyone was out of stock on these. My apologies for not considering you.  Anyone interested in these awesome HP's, please consider TSAVJason!!  You can order from him online in your PJ's 

 and support Head-fi as well
 
John (Contributing Member since 2005)

 

[TSAVJason]

ouch sorry Jason!!! I  did not realize you had stock on the Utopia...

As I said I would prefer to do business with a Head-fi MOT especially one as devoted as you 

I assumed everyone was out of stock on these. My apologies for not considering you.  Anyone interested in these awesome HP's, please consider TSAVJason!!  You can order from him online in your PJ's   and support Head-fi as well

John (Contributing Member since 2005)

Thx! No offense or issue taken. We've never been out of the Elear longer than 3-4 days and I don't think we've ever hit a dry spell on the Utopia longer than a day or two. In the very beginning there were issues but since that was resolved it's been pretty much fast in getting them. Warranty replacements take a little longer. Recently we found 3 with a baffle problem and those replacements are slow in coming. Unfortunately they will no longer let me replace them from my inventory so it takes a week or so to get the replacements in after going through customs and such. It would take longer if we let the Canadian distribution center handle it so we go through France. With the help of the US factory rep we can get passed the slower response of Canada. To be fair, Canada is pretty quick when compared to other manufacturers distribution centers.