Stopped in a record shop and holy crap!

Only at AK could a guy post about a genuinely cool stop with a shop full of vintage gear and the theme from that point on is - his prices are crazy.

SMH ...


Or I keep waiting for the usual suspcect to drop by and tell us how stupid we are for liking old stuff. If people don't like vintage stuff then that is fine, but those that crap on threads about it, are really tiresome.
 
Sweeeeeeet. I'm not old enough to remember Pacific Stereo or other hi-fi stores of yesterday like some of the advertisement I see. I love reading about others experiences when there were plenty. This pic is about as close as I'll get to it.
My very last true shop I remember was Audio FX here in Sacramento. Cool place, cool people and they let me always listen to gear whenever I came in.
I remember once when they were taking care of a customer and his speaker crapped out probably cranking it a bit loud and needed repair. They asked if he would like another pair to listen to while his was being restored. Obviously used but a thoughtful gesture.
If I had a time machine this would be on my list of stops. Yup. High platform shoes, feathers in hats, peace symbols and muscle cars galore. Oh and a real barber shop to listen to a ball game and a real shave.
 
Sweeeeeeet. I'm not old enough to remember Pacific Stereo or other hi-fi stores of yesterday like some of the advertisement I see. I love reading about others experiences when there were plenty. This pic is about as close as I'll get to it.
My very last true shop I remember was Audio FX here in Sacramento. Cool place, cool people and they let me always listen to gear whenever I came in.
I remember once when they were taking care of a customer and his speaker crapped out probably cranking it a bit loud and needed repair. They asked if he would like another pair to listen to while his was being restored. Obviously used but a thoughtful gesture.
If I had a time machine this would be on my list of stops. Yup. High platform shoes, feathers in hats, peace symbols and muscle cars galore. Oh and a real barber shop to listen to a ball game and a real shave.

Where in Sac was Audio FX? I grew up in Sac and still live in the area.
 
Cool place! My father still lives on the North Shore. I will have to check out Welfare records when I next visit.
 
My very last true shop I remember was Audio FX here in Sacramento. Cool place, cool people and they let me always listen to gear whenever I came in.
It was a Hi-Fi store, we sold Hi-Fi, we always had music playing, part of the rules. When someone came in and there weren't other folks actively selling some system it was never a problem to let the customer, possible customer, tire kicker or husband of the wife next door at the plant store listen to whatever they wanted to listen to because we usually played the same rig in the sound room. Of course, that rig was some turntable hooked up to any of a number of preamps going to a choice of power amps and then to the selection of speakers. Not being a high end dealer that meant The Luxman Laboratory Reference Series preamp 5C50 driving a 5M21 from a PD-441 tt/some tonearm and a nice cartridge. Speakers, we picked the more expensive ones most of the time.

So when someone wanted to listen to a Kenwood amp, or whatever, we would haul it into the sound room and hook it up. Use the same tt and speaker selector and drive whatever speakers. You were right, cool place, fun times. In a town of less than a half million we couldn't sell enough true high end gear to justify carrying the lines, yet.
 
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If CD70's store dropped the prices it might clear the shelves. With no steady resupply line. The store would have no gear selection for record buyers looking for that "back in the day" shopping experience with only time for one stop shopping. It would also lose a lot of it's record sales prompted by the over all character appeal of the store. It would also lose some record buyers that drop in to look at gear, then walk out with a record. The gear is a draw. In order to keep the gear from selling it's priced tall. If it sells that's ok, it made a dollar.
4-2-7 appears to be rather pleased with the prices at his local shop. But a different shop.
 
The resolution is not high enough to tell but that Gibson Les Paul custom looks suspiciously like a counterfeit with the light rosewood fretboard.
With a price tag of $2500, apparently the owner doesn’t agree.

I love that Kyocera system.


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Howe Ave. Next door to what used to be the Verizon store and across from Red Lobster. :)
They moved from there back downtown to their original location (I don't remember where that was). They were only open for a short while, maybe a year, then closed. I liked that store on Howe, and bought a traded-in 5 channel Adcom amp from them. Currently in Sacramento there is Delta Breeze records and Audio Advisor on J St. Luis at Audio Advisor has some cool stuff for sale in his shop. He's a good tech too.

Enjoy the music,
-Mark
 
They moved from there back downtown to their original location (I don't remember where that was). They were only open for a short while, maybe a year, then closed. I liked that store on Howe, and bought a traded-in 5 channel Adcom amp from them. Currently in Sacramento there is Delta Breeze records and Audio Advisor on J St. Luis at Audio Advisor has some cool stuff for sale in his shop. He's a good tech too.

Enjoy the music,
-Mark

I am in Delta Breeze a few times a month. Ben, one of the partners just re capped my Pioneer CS88s for me. They sell equipment on consignment from a local guy that restores it. Saturday I am picking up a Marantz 2245 from them. You can try anything out before you buy and get a 30 day warranty.

I never heard of the store on Howe but I never lived in the Arden/Carmichael area.....I have always lived in the Foothill Farms/Citrus Heights area.
 
Only at AK could a guy post about a genuinely cool stop with a shop full of vintage gear and the theme from that point on is - his prices are crazy.

SMH ...
Agreed, the guy has a business, with all of the associated overhead, rent, taxes, utilities, employees (if any), may have to pay his own healthcare, so on and so on... GIven that and the fact that the gear looks to be in good condition and displayed well, I think it would be a good alternative to on taking a chance on ebay, etc. where a buyer can inspect and hear the gear before they buy. Negotiations would also be easier.

I have rarely. if ever, seen such a large selection before in one brick and mortar store.

If you took a gamble on such a slim margin business, would you charge goodwill or garage sale prices? One can always find something decent on the cheap if they actively hunt, thrifts, flea markets, etc. but that does not automatically make the price paid the "market rate" for that piece of gear.
 
A lot of smaller record store like to have equipment in their store that will play records. Many people walking down the street and seeing the store for the fist time and go in to reminisce or curiosity. Well they see records and then start asking questions on how they can play them at home. A record store with equipment can show them and set them up. The new customer now leaves with some equipment and a few records, but the point is they will come back for more records.
 
Cool place! My father still lives on the North Shore. I will have to check out Welfare records when I next visit.
Hey George!

Definitely check it out. I wish I had had more time to spend there.

Glenn
 
I wish the rents around here were sensible enough to allow a business like that to survive...
Yes. A friend asked me for a business opinion on opening a record/stereo shop. The core of my response was; you can't pay rent and survive. If you can finance buying the real estate, then you have a better chance.
 
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