Re-Tales #61: A Tale of Two Walters
A common theme in this space in Stereophile is the need to reach new audiences and generate broader interest in the hi-fi hobby. At a time when traditional hi-fi buyers are becoming scarcer—as older generations pass on—the need becomes more critical to the industry's survival. Recently, two industry stalwarts—who both happen to be named Walter—have come together to form "an audio distribution and marketing superpower."
Re-Tales #62: Sticking With It, 36 Years of Accent on Music
David and Alma Wilson must be doing something right. They've been married for 50 years, and for 36 years, they've owned and operated Accent on Music on Main Street in Mount Kisco, New York, about an hour north of New York City.
Re-Tales #63: Audio Concepts, Kind of a "Pinch Me" Situation
In these days of industry transformation, acquiring a brick-and-mortar hi-fi store is not for the faint of heart. That's just what 41-year-old Brandon Bartee did in August 2025. Bartee acquired Audio Concepts from Mark Ashworth, who was celebrating the store's 40th anniversary, all 40 years under his ownership.
Re-Tales #64: L.A.'s Common Wave Hi-Fi Attracts a Younger Audience
Hi-fi dealerships need to find creative new ways to get customers into their stores—to stoke their interest and to help new people feel welcome. Special events are the obvious way to get them through the door and keep them coming back.
Re-Tales #65: Albany, New York dealer Hippo's Gets Hip
With the hi-fi business, arguably, at a critical juncture, keeping it fun is more important than ever. Hi-fi salespeople play a key role in that—they're the boots on the ground. If anyone is going to foster interest and imbue the hobby with fun, it's salespeople.
Re-Tales #66: Introducing Florida's Sound Attic
In some ways, the Sound Attic, a new dealership in Tampa, Florida, seems like a traditional brick-and-mortar hi-fi store. It does what such stores do: It sells a selection of hi-fi gear across a range of prices. But there's more to the story, according to Sound Attic founder/owner Charles Weiner, who Stereophile interviewed by phone and email.
Re-Tales #67: Bart Stephens Creates a New Music Ecosystem
Hi-fi listening bars have expanded far beyond Tokyo, which was their Ground Zero. They can be found in cities from Miami to London, from Brooklyn to Berlin. Recently, in Birmingham, Alabama, Bart Stephens opened High Dive, a listening lounge and restaurant that does things a little differently.
Re-Tales #7: Clicks'n'mortar
"I'm going to be making as much of a commitment to the brick-and-mortar [dealers] as we can," says Bryston's James Tanner.
In Re-Tales and in Industry Update, I've written about some of the ways the pandemic has accelerated changes in the hi-fi business. Government-mandated safety measures, the absence of audio shows, and a marketplace that was already changing have combined to force companies to get creative about how they reach customers, both to sell products and to provide service.
A few established dealers have closed or are preparing to. Some can no longer afford inventory. Some have just retired. Others, though, report that 2020 was an extraordinarily good year.Re-Tales #8: A Lyrical Denouement
New York's Lyric Hi-Fi & Video is one of high-end audio's longest-standing and most legendary institutions. In a recent telephone conversation, Leonard Bellezza, Lyric's owner and president, confirmed what many in this industry have long heard rumored: Lyric is closing.
Re-Tales #9: Mind the Gap
To borrow Lyric Hi-Fi owner Leonard Bellezza's words from last month's Re-Tales, the traditional audiophile customer base "is graying."
That doesn't mean the future is bleaknot necessarily. Many in the industry have hope for hi-fi's future. For that potential future to be realized, however, audio dealers must adapt. Interest in better sound seems to be rising. Consider vinyl's resurgence; regardless of your views on vinyl's ultimate fidelity, it's a big step up from the earlier fashion for MP3s and cheap earbuds. (There's good news on that front, too: Those earbuds morphed into Beats headphones, then Beats into good-quality headphones.