[Redcarmoose]

The OP's story here reminds me a bit of a time when I was in Vegas - shopping mid morning and went into the Versace store at Caesars Palace http://youtu.be/yv89Lb7mwQE (not my video, but gives you an idea of how highbrow a store it is).

I was just mooching around looking at their rags when I noticed one of the male staff staring at me in a snobby displeased way, so I just ignored him - couldn't think of any reason why he'd be like that with me, but noticed he kept this up following me with his glare around the store.

It wasn't till later in the day when I mentioned this to a friend that they said it was probably due to the fact that I was wearing Armani and dude didn't approve of me wearing a rival designers clothes in their store - like What?

If you go into a non specific store that sells a host of brands, you get a warm reception, but this dude in Versace was as uninviting as it gets - though he didn't throw me out like OP was at SE - lol

Snobby sales staff are everywhere, OP should laugh at SE's loss not his.
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I used to sell motorhomes. One day a guy came walking in wearing a very strange shirt and pants set-up. One pant-leg made out of a green piece of cloth, one out of red cloth. One shirt-sleeve made out of yellow cloth and so on. Almost like what a clown would wear but more like normal shirts and pants. He purchased a $75,000 motor home in 15 minutes. The getup was a deterrent for only the best salesman.

 

[cb3723]

I used to sell motorhomes. One day a guy came walking in wearing a very strange shirt and pants set-up. One pant-leg made out of a green piece of cloth, one out of red cloth. One shirt-sleeve made out of yellow cloth and so on. Almost like what a clown would wear but more like normal shirts and pants. He purchased a $75,000 motor home in 15 minutes. The getup was a deterrent for only the best salesman.

That's pretty deep.

Maybe the OP should return to SE dressed like a clown and see how things fare second time around?

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

edit: your post reminded me of this song - I'm off to listen to it on my HD800's and maybe even check the film it featured on soundtrack - now that's even deeper.

http://bit.ly/1ulnEWf

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[Schroeder77]

It's bigger than you now. How and where you tell your story is in your hands, but our response to it is not. You've started a movement, and the boycott is in effect.

 

[Schroeder77]

  Where does it say you got kicked out of Stereo Exchange? You just say you left. The headline alone shows me your rather biased and were perhaps expecting some sort of confrontation - and selected the aggressive headline to get site traffic. Words are powerful and your thoughtlessness in sharing this unfortunate (and likely exaggerated) experience is damaging the reputation of a noble NYC audio store just trying to stay on their feet when competing with the likes of Amazon. Most of the time Amazon sells at cost to force prices lower. The folks at Stereo Exchange may not be perfect, but they are trying… Pay the rent that Stereo Exchange pays each month in NYC and see how objective you'd be hosting an internet reviewer in your store.
 
I've know Stereo Exchange for decades and bought there when I can. I still have my Well Tempered turntable, Conrad Johnson PV-5 preamp, db systems db-6 power amp that were all bought there as used items… along with my newly purchased Ortofon 2M Red cartridge. 
 
Please visit the store. Stereo Exchange may not be perfect, but they are slowly becoming the only local alternative to online purchasing. Give them some room to be, well, human. They've suffered through decades of decline in the audio business and they are still with us offering a walk-in audio store experience. The headphone lounge is a brilliant concept. Where else do you find that? Online? Dave's wife doesn't work there often. You possibly caught one of their casual sales people on a hurried night with the headphone lounge opening.
 
Please visit the store.

This post seems as erratic as the women he describes stonewalling him at the store. If you're told to leave when you'd otherwise stay, that counts as getting kicked out. Last I checked, they are a business, offering product for a price, and your portrayal of them as a battered woman doesn't garner much sympathy. "Thoughtlessly" sharing his experience? It's his experience, and that's exactly what a business's reputation is based on, thousands of relayed experiences over the years. Your "likely exaggerated" claim is dubious as well, since you weren't there.
 
He spoke of seeing their point and seemed rather fair. However, regardless of what he did as a career (or hobby?), he was a customer there that day looking for product to actually buy. Imagine a store owner asking you what you do, and you say, "Stock Broker." "We lost all our investments some years ago to people like you, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave." Next person, "You're a teacher? Your unions are sapping our state of resources and you're buying high end audio equipment? I'm gonna have to ask you to leave." But by all means those people should remain tight-lipped so as not to damage that noble institution's stellar reputation.
 
I'm an awful human being in many ways, Amazon.com never asks me to leave.

 

[Schroeder77]

  It's worth noting that the original poster visited the place because, apparently, there wasn't any other place around that he could sample a well-equipped headphone selection. This is the very kind of place that we need and that people say they so often miss.  

 
Yes, it was the perfect place for him to listen and compare the equipment, right up until the moment they asked him to leave. The floor seems amazing. Customer service matters more.

 

[customcoco]

  I'm an awful human being in many ways, Amazon.com never asks me to leave.

But you can't visit Amazon either, can you ?

 
Don't get me wrong, I do get your point... Just trying a little humor this morning.

 

[mikemercer]

   
Yes, it was the perfect place for him to listen and compare the equipment, right up until the moment they asked him to leave. The floor seems amazing. Customer service matters more.

It really saddens me to hear about this BS.
 
Stereo Exchange used to be my favorite Hi-fi shop in Manhattan. Lyric was always cool, but a lil' snobby.
I used to really like diggin' through the used gear at Stereo Exchange.
 
What a dumb move by those guys...

 

[ctsooner22]

  It really saddens me to hear about this BS.
 
Stereo Exchange used to be my favorite Hi-fi shop in Manhattan. Lyric was always cool, but a lil' snobby.
I used to really like diggin' through the used gear at Stereo Exchange.
 
What a dumb move by those guys...

I too am in the market for headphones. I'm a high end audiophile with a very nice rig. I need anc, portable and hopefully BT.  I live in CT and will be in NYC in a few weeks. I was excited to read about this store, however I've had problems with them in the past and this just pisses me off.  Too bad as it's a great idea as I won't buy anything I don't hear first.

 

[rrahman]

I've also had terrible experiences at stereoexchange.  To be fair its just the wife of the owner/manager who is the rude one.  That being said, she has ruined the store for me and I will never purchase from them and I advise no one to ever purchase from them.  There are plenty of other dealers who are freindlier and more knowledgeable.

 

[JuanseAmador]

If it's worth anything, I was in Buenos Aires earlier this year, looked up for record stores around, and found an article on the top 5. There was this one called Miles, many said it was an amazing little record shop (it was, indeed). It was located on a very friendly and commercial zone named Palermo Hollywood, a lot of bars, restaurants, etc. So this place was a cafe/bar at first glance and had live jazz music, then you went to the back and you got to the actual CDs (80%) and vinyl (20%). I found some albums that I would have never guessed I could find. I had previously bought 5 CDs at a library for $7 a piece approximately, this ones were a little more expensive since they were imports, when the other were printed by Warner Argentina.

My point is, this guy around his 50's and a young man around his mid 20's were amazing, they were absolutely friendly (this applies for most small shops all along Latin America) they even mentioned that they shared my taste since I recognised they were playing Damon Albarn's last album. I liked them a lot. I ended up spending around $80 for 6 CD's (a little expensive, $13 for each) but I have no regrets. I payed for a great experience, flawless customer service, and a really nice time chatting with them. This is what local stores are all about.

 

[ibs63]

I had a great experience at Stereo Exchange who let me sit in the headphone lounge for 3 hours on a Sunday afternoon listening to whatever I wanted on my own and was fun to chat with as well. (I think his name was Michael). It was my first visit and I did walk in and asked for the Mojo and decided to buy in within five minutes of hearing it. The extra 3 hours was for fun and to debate about getting the LCD 3F ( which I had not walked in planning to audition). The staff was great, very friendly and funny and not snobby at all. I never met the owner. Also want to say I was dressed in jeans and hoodie and I am a Hispanic female to eliminate any assumptions about bias or snobbery. I read a lot of bias against females in this male dominated hobby so it was refreshing not to have a salesperson make assumptions about me. I guess everyone's experiences are different.

 

[rrahman]

Most of the sales people are very friendly.  Truthfully its just the store owner's wife.  If she was there when you were listening, I guarantee she would have kicked you out after giving a little lip.

 

[lord_tris]

After reading your post and then comparing prices, I don't think I could find myself at that store ever. Based on their prices and then their service. Example Amazon has the HD700 for 479.99 right now and their price is 799.99, Who in their right mind would spend that much more, I could see if it was like 10-20 bucks more but 300 is just way to much. And there are many ways to demo a pair of headphones nowa days. Like going to a meet, make a friend off of headfi and meet up, Do a demo trade, with someone on here. I have done all of these with great success. And I have been able to hear some high end gear. All the way from the 009 down to some 10 dollar jvc flat headphones. Even demo traded my Darth Beyers for an RS2 for 2 weeks, that worked out well. 

 

[mrip541]

I can't believe this is still going. The guys at SE are great. I've lived in nyc for 8 years and been to SE a number of times. They have always been friendly. They sell at msrp. So do a lot of places. If you want to support a local small business that will be there for you years down the road, it's worth it. Of course they're going to be touchy when you walk in and say youre going to leverage their store to send people to amazon, even if you come up with some mitigating proposal after the fact. It's absolutely nothing like walking into a store with a competitor's shirt on. Come on now.

 

[rrahman]

I can't believe this is still going. The guys at SE are great. I've lived in nyc for 8 years and been to SE a number of times. They have always been friendly. They sell at msrp. So do a lot of places. If you want to support a local small business that will be there for you years down the road, it's worth it. Of course they're going to be touchy when you walk in and say youre going to leverage their store to send people to amazon, even if you come up with some mitigating proposal after the fact. It's absolutely nothing like walking into a store with a competitor's shirt on. Come on now.

 
Have you ever interacted with Ann Wasserman?  She wanted me to put a down payment on a pair of HE1000s before listening to the HE1000 prototype (that Fang had invited us to audition) before it was released to the public or even a price was announced.  Ridiculous!
 
She is awful and not the type of small business I support.  There are tons of small hifi businesses and dealers in NYC that are more personal and reasonable.