So I have noticed a recurring phenomenon when I contact a audiophile store to buy something (say a cable, or a table, or whatever) and we discuss my setup… As I’ve quickly learned, in this hobby, everyone has strong opinions about what’s good and what’s not… and nobody has any absolute proof as to why… that said, I rarely get any grief for choosing McIntosh for my Amp/SACD Transport but when I say I have PS Audio for a DAC, I get all this “they aren’t worth it” or “I have a much better DAC to sell you” type stuff… and I can’t help but wonder if this is largely due to the FACT, that they have no way to sell / make a profit from PS Audio whereas the brands they distribute they have a vested interest in selling… meaning they’re not necessarily objective…
It’s common sense, dealers want to push what they sell, and in many cases they sell what they believe in… in this case, nobody in the US has any vested interest in selling PS Audio and thus there are few fans… I found even the few good reviews on PS Audio equipment have all come from over seas dealers.
All dealers will always try to sell you what they have, just like any salesperson in any industry. Whether PSA uses dealers or not largely irrelevant to that I’d think.
@kzk my ex wife was a realtor… I recall she said that when a person sells their house as “For sale by Owner” … all realtors shun trying to show the home, as they see it as cutting into their business racket… just saying, that there is probably significant and unfounded criticism out there from what I’ve been able to garner and it’s probably fueled by the dealer networks feeling they have no reason to speak well of PS Audio equipment (even if on its merits its as good was what they push)…
But yes, I also have seen a dealer who (for example) sells Parasound tell me that I should return my McIntosh and go with what they sell… it’s not unique to PS Audio, but they have 0 dealers out there putting out the good word is what I’m saying.