avrosse
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Nov 9, 2012
- Posts
- 29
- Likes
- 26
Hi folks,
I don't need to convince you how much a good headphone store is worth. Over the past few years, I've been trying to find the best one in the German-speaking part of Switzerland (especially around Zurich). This is a freshly updated version of a list I put together a few years ago in order to help people find a great high-end headphone shop in the area. I hope this helps:
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stereotec
http://shop.stereotec.ch/
My favorite high-end headphone store in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, offering Audeze, Sennheiser, Grado, NAD and PSB headphones. Stereotec is one of the very few places in the country to sell not only flagship headphones but also amplifiers and DACs that actually do those headphones justice. Of particular interest to headphone enthusiasts is the entire AURALiC lineup as well as NAD DACs, the Sennheiser HDVD800 and Burson's lineup. All these products can be auditioned at a superb and quiet show room in Uster, ZH. Further, the guy who runs stereotec, Ralph, is just great! He is extremely friendly and very knowledgeable. He was willing to help me out in any way that he could. He's a true class act.
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K55
http://www.k55.ch/
I have somewhat mixed feelings about this personal audio store located in the city of Zurich. On the plus side, and this is a BIG plus, they have the best selection of headphones in Switzerland, all ready to be auditioned: Sennheiser HD 800/700/650/600, Audeze LCD-3/X/XC/2, Oppo PM-1, Grado PS1000e, GS1000e, RS1e, AKG K812, Q701, Beyerdynamic T1, Shure 1840, Ultrasone Ed 8 & 12 and many more. On the down side, the store is small, and it can be rather loud there with people coming and going. Because of this, I found auditioning open headphones to be quite difficult (I would definitely recommend going during off-hours). They've improved their high-end amp/DAC selection. The Chord Hugo, Sennheiser HDVD800 and Burson's lineup are of note. I also found that the staff, although very friendly, was not the most knowledgeable.
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muller & spring ag
http://www.mueller-spring.ch
Located in Brugg, AG, they sell a large range of headphones, including flagships, made by Sennheiser, Audeze, Grado, Oppo, Beyerdynamic, AKG and Denon among others. It's a rather large store that sells all kinds of AV/Hi-Fi gear, which can make the auditioning process difficult as other people are testing loudspeakers, etc. at the same time (Again, I suggest that you go there during off-hours). The employees are friendly, but as is the case with K55, they didn't appear to be the most knowledgeable. They've definitely improved their headphone amp/DAC offerings. The NAD M51, Oppo HA-1, Sennheiser HDVD800 and Burson's lineup would be of interest to high-end enthusiasts.
-----
Violectric
http://www.violectric.de/
Violectric is a German company that produces high quality headphone amplifiers. They are located in Konstanz, Germany, which is right on the border to Switzerland. They have an auditioning room, where you can audition all of their amplifiers in combination with a number of headphones. This has probably changed since I was there last, but when I was there in 2013 they had the following headphones for testing purposes: Sennheiser HD 800/600, Beyerdynamic T1, Audeze LCD2 and AKG K 701. If you're potentially interested in a Violectric amplifier, this is a very good place to audition both a wide variety of very good headphones as well as all their headphone amplifiers. Everybody there was super friendly. I was able to audition all the equipment in peace and quiet in a room by myself. The sales manager would occasionally stop by and chat with me. He was very nice and extremely knowledgeable.
-----
Erni Hifi
http://www.erni-hifi.ch/index.html
A very high-end Hi-Fi store located in Spreitenbach, ZH. In terms of headphones, they only sell headphones made by Ultrasone. You can audition Ed. 8 & 12, etc, there. They only sell two headphone amplifier brands: Transrotor and Lehmann. The owner was very professional and seemed to be a true Hi-Fi freak. For Ultrasone headphones, this is a great place to go.
-----
Dietiker & Humbel Multimedia
http://www.dietiker-humbel.ch/
Located in Winterthur, ZH, this store sells headphones, including flagships, made by Sennheiser, Grado and Denon. I talked to them a number of times over the phone but never actually went to their store. My father did go there once and told me that they were professional and knowledgeable. Unfortunately, I can't give you any more details than that.
-----
Fischer HiFi
http://www.fischerhifi.ch/
A very high-end store in Altwis, LU. They sell Stax, Sennheiser and Denon among others. I've only had little contact with them, but on the occasions that I did, I've found them to be unfriendly, to the point of almost being rude. Others may have had better experiences with them, but I cannot recommend this store.
-----
Audiovinyl
http://www.audiovinyl.ch/
This store is located in the city of Zurich and is one of my favorite all-round Hi-Fi stores in Switzerland. The owner, Herr Gratz, is one the most knowledgeable people I've ever met when it comes to high-end audio. His employees are all very professional, polite and friendly. I just love this place! If you ever get the chance, you should definitely stop by.
One caveat, although they do sell headphones, it isn't their forte. They used to only sell mid-tier Grado but have now expanded to sell Grado's whole lineup. They've also started selling Stax (when I was last there, I only saw lower-end models; I didn't ask whether one could audition the 007 or 009). This store wouldn't be my first choice for headphone needs, but when it comes to loudspeakers, amplifiers, DACs, CD-players, etc., this place ought to be right at the top of your list.
-----
Fostex
Audio Bauer Pro AG (http://www.audio-bauerpro.ch/) is Switzerland's general importer for Fostex headphones and amp/DACs. Their products can be directly purchased from them online. The last time I checked, they didn't have an auditioning space, but they were willing to send headphones to a store for an audition.
-----
HiFiMAN
Stereotec used to carry HiFiMAN and might do so again. Currently, however, there is no store that sells HiFiMAN headphones in Switzerland. You'll have to order them directly from China.
-----
What about headphone accessories?
There are no places to audition headphone aftermarket cables in Switzerland. There aren't even any places where you can buy them, except possibly in the case of Cardas, where you could order a cable through a Cardas dealer. Other than that, you have no choice but to order aftermarket headphone cables directly from another country.
-----
And other Hi-Fi accessories?
For interconnects, power-related components and other accessories, I recommend Audiovinyl, stereotec and Erni Hifi.
Please feel free to send me a message concerning anything that I have mentioned above (Also, feel free to write to me in German if that's easier for you).
Cheers,
Joel
I don't need to convince you how much a good headphone store is worth. Over the past few years, I've been trying to find the best one in the German-speaking part of Switzerland (especially around Zurich). This is a freshly updated version of a list I put together a few years ago in order to help people find a great high-end headphone shop in the area. I hope this helps:
-----
stereotec
http://shop.stereotec.ch/
My favorite high-end headphone store in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, offering Audeze, Sennheiser, Grado, NAD and PSB headphones. Stereotec is one of the very few places in the country to sell not only flagship headphones but also amplifiers and DACs that actually do those headphones justice. Of particular interest to headphone enthusiasts is the entire AURALiC lineup as well as NAD DACs, the Sennheiser HDVD800 and Burson's lineup. All these products can be auditioned at a superb and quiet show room in Uster, ZH. Further, the guy who runs stereotec, Ralph, is just great! He is extremely friendly and very knowledgeable. He was willing to help me out in any way that he could. He's a true class act.
-----
K55
http://www.k55.ch/
I have somewhat mixed feelings about this personal audio store located in the city of Zurich. On the plus side, and this is a BIG plus, they have the best selection of headphones in Switzerland, all ready to be auditioned: Sennheiser HD 800/700/650/600, Audeze LCD-3/X/XC/2, Oppo PM-1, Grado PS1000e, GS1000e, RS1e, AKG K812, Q701, Beyerdynamic T1, Shure 1840, Ultrasone Ed 8 & 12 and many more. On the down side, the store is small, and it can be rather loud there with people coming and going. Because of this, I found auditioning open headphones to be quite difficult (I would definitely recommend going during off-hours). They've improved their high-end amp/DAC selection. The Chord Hugo, Sennheiser HDVD800 and Burson's lineup are of note. I also found that the staff, although very friendly, was not the most knowledgeable.
-----
muller & spring ag
http://www.mueller-spring.ch
Located in Brugg, AG, they sell a large range of headphones, including flagships, made by Sennheiser, Audeze, Grado, Oppo, Beyerdynamic, AKG and Denon among others. It's a rather large store that sells all kinds of AV/Hi-Fi gear, which can make the auditioning process difficult as other people are testing loudspeakers, etc. at the same time (Again, I suggest that you go there during off-hours). The employees are friendly, but as is the case with K55, they didn't appear to be the most knowledgeable. They've definitely improved their headphone amp/DAC offerings. The NAD M51, Oppo HA-1, Sennheiser HDVD800 and Burson's lineup would be of interest to high-end enthusiasts.
-----
Violectric
http://www.violectric.de/
Violectric is a German company that produces high quality headphone amplifiers. They are located in Konstanz, Germany, which is right on the border to Switzerland. They have an auditioning room, where you can audition all of their amplifiers in combination with a number of headphones. This has probably changed since I was there last, but when I was there in 2013 they had the following headphones for testing purposes: Sennheiser HD 800/600, Beyerdynamic T1, Audeze LCD2 and AKG K 701. If you're potentially interested in a Violectric amplifier, this is a very good place to audition both a wide variety of very good headphones as well as all their headphone amplifiers. Everybody there was super friendly. I was able to audition all the equipment in peace and quiet in a room by myself. The sales manager would occasionally stop by and chat with me. He was very nice and extremely knowledgeable.
-----
Erni Hifi
http://www.erni-hifi.ch/index.html
A very high-end Hi-Fi store located in Spreitenbach, ZH. In terms of headphones, they only sell headphones made by Ultrasone. You can audition Ed. 8 & 12, etc, there. They only sell two headphone amplifier brands: Transrotor and Lehmann. The owner was very professional and seemed to be a true Hi-Fi freak. For Ultrasone headphones, this is a great place to go.
-----
Dietiker & Humbel Multimedia
http://www.dietiker-humbel.ch/
Located in Winterthur, ZH, this store sells headphones, including flagships, made by Sennheiser, Grado and Denon. I talked to them a number of times over the phone but never actually went to their store. My father did go there once and told me that they were professional and knowledgeable. Unfortunately, I can't give you any more details than that.
-----
Fischer HiFi
http://www.fischerhifi.ch/
A very high-end store in Altwis, LU. They sell Stax, Sennheiser and Denon among others. I've only had little contact with them, but on the occasions that I did, I've found them to be unfriendly, to the point of almost being rude. Others may have had better experiences with them, but I cannot recommend this store.
-----
Audiovinyl
http://www.audiovinyl.ch/
This store is located in the city of Zurich and is one of my favorite all-round Hi-Fi stores in Switzerland. The owner, Herr Gratz, is one the most knowledgeable people I've ever met when it comes to high-end audio. His employees are all very professional, polite and friendly. I just love this place! If you ever get the chance, you should definitely stop by.
One caveat, although they do sell headphones, it isn't their forte. They used to only sell mid-tier Grado but have now expanded to sell Grado's whole lineup. They've also started selling Stax (when I was last there, I only saw lower-end models; I didn't ask whether one could audition the 007 or 009). This store wouldn't be my first choice for headphone needs, but when it comes to loudspeakers, amplifiers, DACs, CD-players, etc., this place ought to be right at the top of your list.
-----
Fostex
Audio Bauer Pro AG (http://www.audio-bauerpro.ch/) is Switzerland's general importer for Fostex headphones and amp/DACs. Their products can be directly purchased from them online. The last time I checked, they didn't have an auditioning space, but they were willing to send headphones to a store for an audition.
-----
HiFiMAN
Stereotec used to carry HiFiMAN and might do so again. Currently, however, there is no store that sells HiFiMAN headphones in Switzerland. You'll have to order them directly from China.
-----
What about headphone accessories?
There are no places to audition headphone aftermarket cables in Switzerland. There aren't even any places where you can buy them, except possibly in the case of Cardas, where you could order a cable through a Cardas dealer. Other than that, you have no choice but to order aftermarket headphone cables directly from another country.
-----
And other Hi-Fi accessories?
For interconnects, power-related components and other accessories, I recommend Audiovinyl, stereotec and Erni Hifi.
Please feel free to send me a message concerning anything that I have mentioned above (Also, feel free to write to me in German if that's easier for you).
Cheers,
Joel
