Speaker Research Do's and Don'ts

[Mike V]

I live in Houston, 4th largest city in the US, and I am having a difficult time finding higher-end audio stores that will allow me to listen to speakers before I make a decision. I have a few questions for all you experts out there:

1. Best way to locate the better audio stores? Online searches are not working well for me. I would think Houston has a much bigger and better selection of stores than I am finding on Google searches.

2. What music do I listen to - what the store has to offer, or should I bring my own music to the store?

3. I assume dealers do not want me to use them for listening, and then buying online. I would like to buy from the dealer, but do they offer reasonable prices? Is comparing their price with the Amazon.com price fair?

4. Buying floor model speakers - if I pay full price, I want new speakers, not "used ones." Do dealers offer discounts for floor models?

Thanks in advance!

 

[slipperybidness]

I live in Houston, 4th largest city in the US, and I am having a difficult time finding higher-end audio stores that will allow me to listen to speakers before I make a decision. I have a few questions for all you experts out there:

1. Best way to locate the better audio stores? Online searches are not working well for me. I would think Houston has a much bigger and better selection of stores than I am finding on Google searches.

2. What music do I listen to - what the store has to offer, or should I bring my own music to the store?

3. I assume dealers do not want me to use them for listening, and then buying online. I would like to buy from the dealer, but do they offer reasonable prices? Is comparing their price with the Amazon.com price fair?

4. Buying floor model speakers - if I pay full price, I want new speakers, not "used ones." Do dealers offer discounts for floor models?

Thanks in advance!

1) I would also *think* that Houston should have better and more stores than most any other city. Of course, you may drive an hour and still be in Houston to get to the store. But, yeah, I would be using Google. Unfortunately, you may find that some of these are by appt only ($$$$) or that they are really just custom installers with no show-room.

2) Take your own music! Music that you know well, and "know how it should sound". In general, vocals and acoustic music is a good idea, to get an idea of how lifelike the speakers actually sound (there is no true reference for synthesized music and how it should really sound).

3) Please do not listen at a show room, then go home and order them online! That is what makes businesses go under! If you decide that you want a set of speakers, and the salesman has been straight forward and honest with you, then you are obligated to purchase from that salesman! Period. It is poor etiquette to use his time and then purchase elsewhere. If everybody did that, then there would be no show rooms left. Be aware, that dealers can often give you pricing below MSRP, but it may not be as low as Amazon or elsewhere online. That extra cost is the value that you get from a show room! If you don't see the value for the $, then don't go to the show room and then return home to order online.

4) Yes, if you take a demo unit or a floor model, then I would expect a bare minimum of 20% off the price of new, and I would be looking for 30% if I could get it. Regardless--demo speakers are NOT new speakers, so do not pay full price for them!

 

[KEW]

I live in Houston, 4th largest city in the US, and I am having a difficult time finding higher-end audio stores that will allow me to listen to speakers before I make a decision. I have a few questions for all you experts out there:

1. Best way to locate the better audio stores? Online searches are not working well for me. I would think Houston has a much bigger and better selection of stores than I am finding on Google searches.

2. What music do I listen to - what the store has to offer, or should I bring my own music to the store?

3. I assume dealers do not want me to use them for listening, and then buying online. I would like to buy from the dealer, but do they offer reasonable prices? Is comparing their price with the Amazon.com price fair?

4. Buying floor model speakers - if I pay full price, I want new speakers, not "used ones." Do dealers offer discounts for floor models?

Thanks in advance!

Any audio store should be willing to allow you to listen to speakers before buying! Perhaps if they do not have a speaker in house, they will not buy one to stock just for you to listen to it, but that is a different issue.
!) Call and ask their return policies if you don't like a pair.
2) I would bring my own music and make sure you have a wide variety. Most of us record our own "Audition CD" to take.
3) Of course not! Pricing depends much on the brand of speaker. Some like Bose have price controls and the on-line price would be the same. Other companies allow dealers to get bulk discounts such that a place like Cruitchfield or BestBuy can get speakers for less that a single store located in your town. Of course, the "mom & pop" stores will usually select the companies that protect them from competing with mega stores.
4) It all depends, there are no rules of thumb on this. Some stores may only have their show room units for inventory, some will demo from the floor and pull your purchase from inventory, and others demo from the floor and order your purchase from the manufacturer.

If they don't want you to listen to the speakers they have on the floor review your appearance and manner! It helps to be well-kept and well dressed (or at least not T-shirt and cut-offs), and it doesn't hurt to smooze a bit.
I have always preferred to audition at home and have had good luck with the shops allowing me to purchase the speakers with the expectation of a return. Assuming they are closed on Sunday, I will pick up on Saturday before closing so I can have all of Sunday (and maybe Monday). That way the speakers are gone during low traffic periods and they are less likely to lose a sale on my account. In one case, the guy never ran my card, he just took the information in case I didn't return them so he could then charge them against my card (I didn't know this until I returned them and asked how long before i would see the refund on my card).
IME, if you come in there with a CD of a wide range of music, it lets them know music is important to you and they will give you more attention than if you show little or no preparation.
Fair or not, if the store owners are older, and you go in there with screamer music and listen loud, they will probably cut your time short.
But, most importantly, with a small shop, you are dealing with an individual (or two) and how thing unfold is a reflection on how you present yourself.
Last, I find my auditions are much more beneficial if I am comparing two speakers as opposed to listening to one alone. Making relative judgments seems to improve my awareness of the different characteristics.

Good luck, and enjoy the process - it should be fun if you do it right.
If you are so inclined, please share your experiences here, but you will need to have a little thickness of skin - if you decide you like speaker X better than speaker Z, there will likely be owners of speaker Z who will be upset.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

If they are authorized dealers for the brands, they better let clients listen to the speakers if they have the speakers.

Demo speakers should definitely be cheaper than brand new (10%-50% off).

As far as pricing brand new, some speaker brands will allow more discounts than other brands (0% to 35% off). So if you are able to listen to the speakers and you find that they all sound equally good, go with the brands that allow the biggest discount.

 

[slipperybidness]

@KEW
You offer good advice in your response, but I have a completely different viewpoint concerning this comment:

If they don't want you to listen to the speakers they have on the floor review your appearance and manner! It helps to be well-kept and well dressed (or at least not T-shirt and cut-offs)

I'm a real "come as you are" type person. If a salesman ignores me or treats me differently due to my appearance, then that is their loss! If I get that type of treatment, then I'm done, and will never even consider giving that business a single cent.

I can tell you that in my experience, the vast majority of my auditions have gone well even if I was simply in shorts and a T-shirt. To me, I think it is more of my attitude (i.e. I have done some research and now I'm ready to listen) and being prepared with a demo disc that clearly shows that I'm ready to spend the $ if I like what I hear and the salesman gives me some time.

However, I have definitely had a few encounters with salesman where I simply walked away, just due to the salesman either being a snob, looking at me like I could not possibly afford this item (even though I obviously-to-me make much more $ than the salesman), or talking down to me for one reason or another.

I will also qualify my experiences--I do live in Austin, TX. A town that is known to be a little bit "out there", our motto is "Keep Austin Weird". So, if you are a douche salesman in a town like this, you won't be a salesman for very long! The majority of your customers WILL be more educated than yourself, and WILL likely have tattoos, piercings, etc.

 

[slipperybidness]

@Mike V

1 other item to mention: Be sure to ask the salesman if he works on commission! If he does, and you don't make the purchase that day, but come back for a purchase later, then be 100% certain that the salesman that actually did the work will make the commission!

I can tell you from my experience, the commissioned salesman will really appreciate this! Just tell him, "I need some time to consider, and maybe listen to other speakers, but if I do come back here for a purchase, then I will continue to work with you, so that you make the commission."

 

[panteragstk]

I like to confuse the salesman and show up dressed very poorly then nice when I come to purchase or another demo. They don't know what to think at that point and any initial impressions are pretty much gone. If you look at me and make assumptions, then I don't want to buy from you anyway.

However, I have never had this happen because I just start talking about what I like and have listened to and they figure out real quick that I know what I'm talking about.

One way to find dealers is to go to the big brands websites and look at their dealer page.

B&W is a good one because TONS of dealers carry this brand. They'll also carry tons of others or at least more than just one. Then you will be able to tell who has a showroom and who doesn't.

In DFW we had Starpower that was HUGE. They carried a lot of brands, but were somewhat stupid. Guy told me "well, it seems that you like the best" and proceeds to show me high dollar MAC monoblocks and Dahli $25k per pair floor standing speakers. Their demo was a movie. Meh.

 

[KEW]

@KEW
You offer good advice in your response, but I have a completely different viewpoint concerning this comment:

If they don't want you to listen to the speakers they have on the floor review your appearance and manner! It helps to be well-kept and well dressed (or at least not T-shirt and cut-offs)

I'm a real "come as you are" type person. If a salesman ignores me or treats me differently due to my appearance, then that is their loss! If I get that type of treatment, then I'm done, and will never even consider giving that business a single cent.

I can tell you that in my experience, the vast majority of my auditions have gone well even if I was simply in shorts and a T-shirt. To me, I think it is more of my attitude (i.e. I have done some research and now I'm ready to listen) and being prepared with a demo disc that clearly shows that I'm ready to spend the $ if I like what I hear and the salesman gives me some time.

However, I have definitely had a few encounters with salesman where I simply walked away, just due to the salesman either being a snob, looking at me like I could not possibly afford this item (even though I obviously-to-me make much more $ than the salesman), or talking down to me for one reason or another.

I will also qualify my experiences--I do live in Austin, TX. A town that is known to be a little bit "out there", our motto is "Keep Austin Weird". So, if you are a douche salesman in a town like this, you won't be a salesman for very long! The majority of your customers WILL be more educated than yourself, and WILL likely have tattoos, piercings, etc.

I 100% absolutely agree with you!
However, my comment was in reference to the OP's first sentence:

I live in Houston, 4th largest city in the US, and I am having a difficult time finding higher-end audio stores that will allow me to listen to speakers before I make a decision.

That is the weirdest thing I have ever heard! What audio store is going to expect customers to buy speakers without listening to them!
I try to cover all of the bases.
Texas has a reputation (with Austin being the notable exception) for being less tolerant than most areas of the US and I was trying to think of a reason he is having trouble just listening to speakers. Since most higher end shops are privately owned (and often managed by the owner) a customer is subject to the owners judgement of whether he is a "good customer".
Let's put it this way, when I go to court to get a speeding fine reduced, I do my best to look like I could be the solicitor's brother.
My normal garb is t-shirt, cargo pants, and flip-flops. The audio stores around here are generally good with that, but I recognized that my being allowed to take speakers home from smaller high-end shops were very dependent on the rapport I built with one person - the owner/manager (who often was the sales guy as well).

Interestingly, one of my favorite audio sales guys was a shop owner in his late 60's. We were in High School and would, on occasion, skip school and drive to Augusta, GA to go to Thompkin's Pianos and Organs, who had the best selection of speakers around. He just shared the passion for good sound and enjoyed our enthusiasm as well as hearing our comments. My best friend and I were both in band and knew what instruments sounded like. My older brother played in the Augusta Symphony and my friend and I would often ride over with my brother to listen to the rehearsals.
The "sales guy" knew we couldn't afford to buy anything, but he always had a smile and was anxious to show us anything new or a song that was especially interesting to hear speakers recreate (Quincy Jones "Theme from Sanford and Son" comes to mind)! (unfortunately YouTube quality is not up to snuff).

But that is a rare exception, in some ways he was retired and we were not "in the way" of another sale. He had others to take care of paperwork, etc, so we were not a "problem" for him!

 

[lovinthehd]

What price range of speakers are you wanting to audition when you say high-end? Revel Ultima 2s, JBL M2s, Focal Utopias, etc?

 

[Mike V]

1) I would also *think* that Houston should have better and more stores than most any other city. Of course, you may drive an hour and still be in Houston to get to the store. But, yeah, I would be using Google. Unfortunately, you may find that some of these are by appt only ($$$$) or that they are really just custom installers with no show-room.

2) Take your own music! Music that you know well, and "know how it should sound". In general, vocals and acoustic music is a good idea, to get an idea of how lifelike the speakers actually sound (there is no true reference for synthesized music and how it should really sound).

3) Please do not listen at a show room, then go home and order them online! That is what makes businesses go under! If you decide that you want a set of speakers, and the salesman has been straight forward and honest with you, then you are obligated to purchase from that salesman! Period. It is poor etiquette to use his time and then purchase elsewhere. If everybody did that, then there would be no show rooms left. Be aware, that dealers can often give you pricing below MSRP, but it may not be as low as Amazon or elsewhere online. That extra cost is the value that you get from a show room! If you don't see the value for the $, then don't go to the show room and then return home to order online.

4) Yes, if you take a demo unit or a floor model, then I would expect a bare minimum of 20% off the price of new, and I would be looking for 30% if I could get it. Regardless--demo speakers are NOT new speakers, so do not pay full price for them!

Part of the problem is I live just south of Houston, and it seems most of the audio dealers I find online are on the northside, and I am only finding a few... maybe I am googling the wrong search words.

I always have music on my iPhone / iPod. Guess I will grab a few CDs and keep them in my car for these moments, too.

I always buy stuff from the dealer, but I do check their price to make sure they aren't ripping me off. I always let them know I am aware of the online price just say they keep the prices they v=charge me within reason.

20% or more on floor mode discount - check! Thanks!

 

[Mike V]

Any audio store should be willing to allow you to listen to speakers before buying! Perhaps if they do not have a speaker in house, they will not buy one to stock just for you to listen to it, but that is a different issue.
!) Call and ask their return policies if you don't like a pair.
2) I would bring my own music and make sure you have a wide variety. Most of us record our own "Audition CD" to take.
3) Of course not! Pricing depends much on the brand of speaker. Some like Bose have price controls and the on-line price would be the same. Other companies allow dealers to get bulk discounts such that a place like Cruitchfield or BestBuy can get speakers for less that a single store located in your town. Of course, the "mom & pop" stores will usually select the companies that protect them from competing with mega stores.
4) It all depends, there are no rules of thumb on this. Some stores may only have their show room units for inventory, some will demo from the floor and pull your purchase from inventory, and others demo from the floor and order your purchase from the manufacturer.

If they don't want you to listen to the speakers they have on the floor review your appearance and manner! It helps to be well-kept and well dressed (or at least not T-shirt and cut-offs), and it doesn't hurt to smooze a bit.
I have always preferred to audition at home and have had good luck with the shops allowing me to purchase the speakers with the expectation of a return. Assuming they are closed on Sunday, I will pick up on Saturday before closing so I can have all of Sunday (and maybe Monday). That way the speakers are gone during low traffic periods and they are less likely to lose a sale on my account. In one case, the guy never ran my card, he just took the information in case I didn't return them so he could then charge them against my card (I didn't know this until I returned them and asked how long before i would see the refund on my card).
IME, if you come in there with a CD of a wide range of music, it lets them know music is important to you and they will give you more attention than if you show little or no preparation.
Fair or not, if the store owners are older, and you go in there with screamer music and listen loud, they will probably cut your time short.
But, most importantly, with a small shop, you are dealing with an individual (or two) and how thing unfold is a reflection on how you present yourself.
Last, I find my auditions are much more beneficial if I am comparing two speakers as opposed to listening to one alone. Making relative judgments seems to improve my awareness of the different characteristics.

Good luck, and enjoy the process - it should be fun if you do it right.
If you are so inclined, please share your experiences here, but you will need to have a little thickness of skin - if you decide you like speaker X better than speaker Z, there will likely be owners of speaker Z who will be upset.

I do not think my appearance is the problem - I just have not found the right stores to visit, due to my poor search methods, apparently. I went the nearest Klipsch dealer to listen to Heritage series speakers, and they said they are too expensive to place on the showroom floor - but then he tried to get me interested in a pair of Vienna Acoustic speakers for $6,000!

Thanks for the good advice. I will definitely share my experiences here.

 

[Mike V]

@KEW
You offer good advice in your response, but I have a completely different viewpoint concerning this comment:

If they don't want you to listen to the speakers they have on the floor review your appearance and manner! It helps to be well-kept and well dressed (or at least not T-shirt and cut-offs)

I'm a real "come as you are" type person. If a salesman ignores me or treats me differently due to my appearance, then that is their loss! If I get that type of treatment, then I'm done, and will never even consider giving that business a single cent.

I can tell you that in my experience, the vast majority of my auditions have gone well even if I was simply in shorts and a T-shirt. To me, I think it is more of my attitude (i.e. I have done some research and now I'm ready to listen) and being prepared with a demo disc that clearly shows that I'm ready to spend the $ if I like what I hear and the salesman gives me some time.

However, I have definitely had a few encounters with salesman where I simply walked away, just due to the salesman either being a snob, looking at me like I could not possibly afford this item (even though I obviously-to-me make much more $ than the salesman), or talking down to me for one reason or another.

I will also qualify my experiences--I do live in Austin, TX. A town that is known to be a little bit "out there", our motto is "Keep Austin Weird". So, if you are a douche salesman in a town like this, you won't be a salesman for very long! The majority of your customers WILL be more educated than yourself, and WILL likely have tattoos, piercings, etc.

I was in Austin last week as a Harvey flood refugee, and I almost went speaker shopping - should have! My daughter goes to school there - great city!

 

[Mike V]

@Mike V

1 other item to mention: Be sure to ask the salesman if he works on commission! If he does, and you don't make the purchase that day, but come back for a purchase later, then be 100% certain that the salesman that actually did the work will make the commission!

I can tell you from my experience, the commissioned salesman will really appreciate this! Just tell him, "I need some time to consider, and maybe listen to other speakers, but if I do come back here for a purchase, then I will continue to work with you, so that you make the commission."

Good advice - I always try to deal with the same salesperson - but I never asked if they are on commission - good idea - I just just ask!

 

[Mike V]

I like to confuse the salesman and show up dressed very poorly then nice when I come to purchase or another demo. They don't know what to think at that point and any initial impressions are pretty much gone. If you look at me and make assumptions, then I don't want to buy from you anyway.

However, I have never had this happen because I just start talking about what I like and have listened to and they figure out real quick that I know what I'm talking about.

One way to find dealers is to go to the big brands websites and look at their dealer page.

B&W is a good one because TONS of dealers carry this brand. They'll also carry tons of others or at least more than just one. Then you will be able to tell who has a showroom and who doesn't.

In DFW we had Starpower that was HUGE. They carried a lot of brands, but were somewhat stupid. Guy told me "well, it seems that you like the best" and proceeds to show me high dollar MAC monoblocks and Dahli $25k per pair floor standing speakers. Their demo was a movie. Meh.

The last time I bought speakers solely for home music listening was in 1987, when I could finally afford to get something nicer that what I could previously afford - I bought Polk Monitor Series 11T speakers and a Carver 6200 receiver. I just listened these speakers (different amp) and they do not sound as bad as I thought they would... but I want something better. I think I will give the speakers to my son. He doesn't want the Carver - doesn't have the outputs he wants.

 

[Mike V]

I 100% absolutely agree with you!
However, my comment was in reference to the OP's first sentence:

That is the weirdest thing I have ever heard! What audio store is going to expect customers to buy speakers without listening to them!
I try to cover all of the bases.
Texas has a reputation (with Austin being the notable exception) for being less tolerant than most areas of the US and I was trying to think of a reason he is having trouble just listening to speakers. Since most higher end shops are privately owned (and often managed by the owner) a customer is subject to the owners judgement of whether he is a "good customer".
Let's put it this way, when I go to court to get a speeding fine reduced, I do my best to look like I could be the solicitor's brother.
My normal garb is t-shirt, cargo pants, and flip-flops. The audio stores around here are generally good with that, but I recognized that my being allowed to take speakers home from smaller high-end shops were very dependent on the rapport I built with one person - the owner/manager (who often was the sales guy as well).

Interestingly, one of my favorite audio sales guys was a shop owner in his late 60's. We were in High School and would, on occasion, skip school and drive to Augusta, GA to go to Thompkin's Pianos and Organs, who had the best selection of speakers around. He just shared the passion for good sound and enjoyed our enthusiasm as well as hearing our comments. My best friend and I were both in band and knew what instruments sounded like. My older brother played in the Augusta Symphony and my friend and I would often ride over with my brother to listen to the rehearsals.
The "sales guy" knew we couldn't afford to buy anything, but he always had a smile and was anxious to show us anything new or a song that was especially interesting to hear speakers recreate (Quincy Jones "Theme from Sanford and Son" comes to mind)! (unfortunately YouTube quality is not up to snuff).

But that is a rare exception, in some ways he was retired and we were not "in the way" of another sale. He had others to take care of paperwork, etc, so we were not a "problem" for him!

Thanks for your reply! My problem so far is I only found 1 dealer close (still 30+ min drive for me each way) and he was a Klipsch dealer and did not have any Heritage series - these are the ones I am interested in first. Not snobby - I just cannot find the dealers that have the better speakers on their floor to listen to - I think they are out there, I am just not finding them online.

Funny you mention Quincy Jones - I have had a strong urge to listen to Strawberry Letter 23 on high fidelity speakers. Quincy Jones production, just before his Michael Jackson super-selling albums:

 

[Mike V]

What price range of speakers are you wanting to audition when you say high-end? Revel Ultima 2s, JBL M2s, Focal Utopias, etc?

I want to look at the Klipsch Heritage series, and I am hoping the Heresy IIIs are what I am looking for - I do not want to pay the Forte IIIs or Cornwall IIIs - but I might if I listen to them and find they are exactly what I am looking for... I am going for a 70s old school feel for the music room and for the sound. Back then, I was listening to my albums on my JC Penny stereo - it was all I could afford and was painfully aware of much better sounding systems.

 

[lovinthehd]

I want to look at the Klipsch Heritage series, and I am hoping the Heresy IIIs are what I am looking for - I do not want to pay the Forte IIIs or Cornwall IIIs - but I might if I listen to them and find they are exactly what I am looking for... I am going for a 70s old school feel for the music room and for the sound. Back then, I was listening to my albums on my JC Penny stereo - it was all I could afford and was painfully aware of much better sounding systems.

Can appreciate that, have heard some of the old school big Klipsch and liked them. Don't know what price ranges any of these have now, tho. I'd think Klipsch dealerships in your area are going to be limited in any case....

 

[slipperybidness]

I was in Austin last week as a Harvey flood refugee, and I almost went speaker shopping - should have! My daughter goes to school there - great city!

The comment about using the speaker websites to locate dealers is a good idea!

In Austin, I bought my GE T2 from AudioSystems. I like this place, very laid back, a few different listening rooms, etc. When I went here the first time (shorts and T-shirt, by the way), I saw the T2 set up across the room and I told the guy (Rice), "I'm here to listen to some speakers, starting with those right there". He handed me the remote and said "knock yourself out"! Now, that's what I like to see. After my session, I told him there were a few other places that I needed to go audition, and his response was "OK, just FYI, we have those T2 in stock and ready to go". When I had an amp go out in my T2 about a year ago, they replaced it 100% free (no labor, no parts), even though the amp was at least 1 year past the warranty!

Now, just 1 item to mention.....the owner (not this guy Rice) seems to be a believer in snake-oil cables, or at least he has fooled himself into believing it to try to make more $ on cable sales. But, to be fair, what he told me was "start with normal cables, but we will lend you high end cables for you to try out in your system". Yeah, "no thanks".
http://audiosystems.com/

The other place here that I really like is A&B TV. I have never actually done business with them, but I was very close to buying from them a couple of times. Again, very laid back, and a couple different listening rooms. But, what I really like is that every time I have gotten a quote from them, it was a pretty good discount below MSRP!
http://www.abtvaustin.com/

 

[Pogre]

@KEW
You offer good advice in your response, but I have a completely different viewpoint concerning this comment:

If they don't want you to listen to the speakers they have on the floor review your appearance and manner! It helps to be well-kept and well dressed (or at least not T-shirt and cut-offs)

I'm a real "come as you are" type person. If a salesman ignores me or treats me differently due to my appearance, then that is their loss! If I get that type of treatment, then I'm done, and will never even consider giving that business a single cent.

I can tell you that in my experience, the vast majority of my auditions have gone well even if I was simply in shorts and a T-shirt. To me, I think it is more of my attitude (i.e. I have done some research and now I'm ready to listen) and being prepared with a demo disc that clearly shows that I'm ready to spend the $ if I like what I hear and the salesman gives me some time.

However, I have definitely had a few encounters with salesman where I simply walked away, just due to the salesman either being a snob, looking at me like I could not possibly afford this item (even though I obviously-to-me make much more $ than the salesman), or talking down to me for one reason or another.

I will also qualify my experiences--I do live in Austin, TX. A town that is known to be a little bit "out there", our motto is "Keep Austin Weird". So, if you are a douche salesman in a town like this, you won't be a salesman for very long! The majority of your customers WILL be more educated than yourself, and WILL likely have tattoos, piercings, etc.

That how I am. I don't care what I look like. In fact when I know I'm looking a little grizzled is when it's the most fun. Salesfolk might make assumptions based on appearance and if they do, it's so much easier to disarm them! I let them finish, then tell them what I'm looking for. That look of surprise puts a smile on my face every time.

That's when I bust out Tool and Pink Floyd to demo and start listening.