Now defunct stores of the '80s,'90s to present

  This was certainly the most exciting and active period for me, I often took equipment home instead of paychecks!

     The  '80s saw many a chain store go in and out of business, Sun begat Silo begat Yes electronics, Revelations begat Sounds Great and we certainly can't dismiss Lechmere. These were the pre-cursors to the modern day Circuit City and Best Buy stores. Successful for a while, the true enthusiast wanted a higher level of information and more sophisticated choices than the local big box stores could give. Radio Shack eventually became the "Rat Shack" as the quality of their products diminished over the years.

   There were many respectable Hi Fi Salons in Rochester. To name a few:


           Ron's Discount Stereo aka  RDS Audio aka T.H.E. Audio Threshold aka Esoteric Audio (Their high end shop).  T.H.E. stood for Total Hearing Environment.

These could be closer to '70s than '80s, but I will include them here.

       I worked there from about the mid to the late '70s, the owner Ron Yestrebi was a tyrant. About 5' 4" in his platform shoes he made going to work a real chore every day! Six days a week, and you would call him with the store figures at the end of the day. Our fault if nobody came in the store that day. He was almost forced out of business by a scam artist he partnered with that promised him the sun, moon and the stars. He was going to be on the board of directors for Maxell tape! Basically trying to assume his assets he won because the guy never had a license to do business in New York state.


  Three locations, Greece,Pittsford, and Palmyra with another partner store in Geneva and Esoteric in Webster.

   Major lines were Cerwin Vega, Philips, Presage speakers, Miida turntables, Acoustiphase speakers, MX receivers (Magnavox, fire hazards!) , Audiolab/Impact (Polish speakers with a ridiculously high mark up), Onkyo and bits and pieces of whatever else he could get his hands on. There were a pair of large Advents on display that were modified to sound bad compared to the store's speakers. He also did bogus modifications to DCM Time Windows. They sounded way too good for $660., he figured out a way to get them up to $800.

  Esoteric Audio was a fascinating and arrogant store run by Lee Perkins. They had Quad, Dayton Wright, Gale, Linn Sondek, Tannoy Sae, Hartley and Radford amongst other things. I inherited this store after it closed and had a field day with selling what was leftover!


   The Sound Chamber

  Owned by Nick Desidario , they also had locations in Greece and Pittsford. Some good friends worked there, and a few other dealers got there start working there. More on this later.

   Their major lines were Crown, Bose, ESS, Dual, Sony and Advent. Pretty much the mortal enemies of T.H.E. Audio Threshold.


  J.B. Sound

This was my longest tenure in the business, owned by John Vella and Bill Kelliher. Known as the nice guys, we didn't have any battles with anyone.
  I was there right up until the late '80s,as the store manager for the last couple of years.

   We were large dealers for Klipsch, Bang and Olufsen, McIntosh, Yamaha, Nakamichi, JBL, Dahlquist, Kenwood, Onkyo, Denon,  Advent and Technics. Other smaller lesser known brands like Cizek, Apt Holman, Avid, and Phase Research Speakers. Flirting with some high end- Sota turntables, Threshold, Forte, Perreaux,  B&W, Tandberg and Snell speakers.

   I mentioned earlier in this blog how the name was decided upon, Bill basically ran the Monroe ave. store and John the West Ridge rd.. They flipped a coin,whomever won became the president. The other had his initial come first.Sadly, Bill passed on a few years back and the funeral was a venerable "who's who" of ghosts of HiFi past. Many reps that I had not seen in years were there. John was like a father to me, and I visited him many times after I left.

   A few of the previous JB employees are still in the business, more on this later.

    Stereo One

    A small specialty shop in Brighton owned by John Warren.

   Dealer for Audio Research, Dahlquist, Rogers, Hafler, Linn and Acoustat. I bought quite a fair amount of equipment from him, always gave me a great deal.


   Gala Sound

      Probably put the biggest dent in other dealers pockets in the high end segment, very aggressive!

    Jim Gala's claim to fame was as a jazz pianist and certified acoustician. Manic Depressive, he also had    trouble keeping help. Many of the people I worked with had previously worked there.

   A huge Kef dealer, he also had B&W, Nad, Tandberg, Oracle,Luxman, Belles  and his own house brand of speakers, Soundwave. He actually did quite well with the Soundwaves, later selling the brand to a Canadian company Vero Research.


     The Sound Concept


   Probably my favorite store of all time, owned by three former Sound Chamber employees: Art Perrielo, Jim Pennell and Bob Cesarini.  They had a very successful niche early on with high end car audio and installation, and grew to  very upscale and diverse product offerings. I bought a LOT of stuff from them!

   They were dealers for Audio Research, Mark Levinson, Linn, Nad, Apogee, Aragon, Acurus, PSB, Wilson Audio, Thiel, Mirage,Revel,Sonus Faber, JM Labs,Nakamichi, Project turntables, Chord electronics, VTL,Theta digital, Vidikron projectors , Proceed, Martin Logan and probably another dozen or so that I can't remember (gasp!).

    Art sadly passed on a few years ago, Jim is selling cars, and Bob is working at the Stereo Shop.


   Fairport Soundworks

             Or just Soundworks as they were known the last eight or nine years they were in business.


                Owned by Gary Gratzer and silent partner Bob King, the only real competition for the Sound Concept.

                  Gary had a bare bones basic NAD amp sitting there with the cover off as kind of a slam to them. I would swear he took even more parts out of it!

Dealers for B&W, Rotel,Classe, Marantz, Onkyo, Atlantic Technology,Integra, Totem, Cary tube amps, Musical Fidelity,Rega, Velodyne, Monitor Audio and quite a few other brands.

   Some very obscure stuff like the Scientific Fidelity Teslas and the Spica speakers made this a very interesting place. Physically the largest of the stores, a huge floor plan and three big sound rooms. Many Rochester veterans worked there through the years.



   Paul Heath Audio

             Paul was probably in the business longer than anybody, starting in the '70s and ending in the 2000's.

                 I don't think there is a product line he didn't have at least one of a one point or another! Each week you would find something new, better than what he had shown you the week before. Usually two or three of everything, then poof! Gone. Many of the products I have owned over the years had come from his store originally. Starting on State st. across from the Kodak office, he had several locations in  the area including Henrietta and eventually on Monroe ave with Mike Stroether , this is the last location I can remember. He was an importer for many of the products, and definitely a salesman. Didn't matter who you were, I was in the business and still got "the pitch" every time I went in there!

   He formed an early collaboration with Bob Palkovich with Merlin speakers when the company was in its infancy. These were extremely successful and continue to do well today.

  Paul is still kicking, still has stuff, and you will still see him around town from time to time.

                                     Ahhhhh, if only I could bring them all back.........
        

Mesa Baron

150 wpc amp with incredible build quality. Switchable triode/pentode/halfway between. Cool to look at, they should have stuck to guitar amps though.

Music Reference RM9

Had two of these, Roger Modjeski (Ram tubes) brainchild. 100wpc, EL-34 based but you could substitue 6550/KT-88s. Very nice amps.

McIntosh C-26

Built like a Shick Brithouse! Sounded worse than the cheapest Circuit City receiver money could buy! Lackluster, lifeless, anti- climactic.

McIntosh MC-250

 Looked like tubes, 50wpc solid state. Sounded really bad!

McIntosh MR-73

  Mac is still the last word in tuners. This was the first stereo solid state tuner, and I am proud to still have it in my collection.

McIntosh MC-275 MkV

For years I scoffed at McIntosh, over priced old man's gear. Bought this in December 2011 and I haven't stopped smiling since! HUGE difference over the original (which I borrowed and tried from JB back in the '80s when I worked there.) Rowe Audio had a great sale, and I said if I didn't buy this someone else would.Resides in my system as my main amp today. 

Fosgate Fap-V1 preamp

 Number 26 of 50 made. 7.1 pass through, so it integrates nicely with my whole system. Bubinga wood, copper chassis. Tube analog pro logic II. Jim Fosgate's invention amongst many. Clever old bird. My main pre, don't really use the surround features other than the pass through. Matches great with my Mac 275 Mk V.

Cary CAD 300B Signature

The only 300B based amp I ever owned. 22WPC single ended class A push-pull. Doesn't make sense to me! How can it be single ended class A and push pull? Looked better than it sounded. Sold it to a guy in Italy. Used Moneygram, blew me away that I could go to Wegman's and pick up that kind of cash! Needed it converted to 220, so I sent it to Cary who gaffed me on a tube they said was broken on arrival and charged me $40. for a $6. tube!  Wasn't in a position to argue. They shipped it from  there to Italy.

Mod Squad Phono Drive

Steve McCormick's earlier work, my main phono eq , had two of these and love the flexability! Especially the MC loading......

Audio research SP-9

 This was the last famous highly regarded integral phono section pre. A hybrid, though. Not as "tubey" as the tubeys. I had a lot of respect for this.

Audio Research SP-6 CA-1

Last incarnation of the then famous SP-6B. Not sure the "send your gear back with the $$$" thing always made sense. Had a friend explain it to me once. " You buy a piece of Audio Research and you just hope and pray they don't come out with an update!" I could tell by the look in his face that he felt stupid explaining it to me.........

ARC PH-1

While on the subject of Audio Research, one of my favorite phono sections. Also the only solid state one they ever made.Still use this on a regular basis.

Art Quintet mono amps

 One of the best sounding pairs of amps I have ever owned. 12WPC, absolutely musical. Drove these so hard the original brown EL-34 bases turned black!

Now defunct stores fom the '60s and '70s.

Many quality audio retailers have come and gone from the Rochester region. Going back to the early days names like Jake Ouriel of Hudson Ave. in Irondequoit carried reknowned tube gear including the famous Marantz models 7,8, and 9. Dynaco, HH Scott and several others to name a few.

  Also in Irondequoit Dave and Judy Craig ran Craig Audio Lab and catered extensively to the members of the Rochester Philhamonic orchestra. I was working at Lafayette down the street at the time and would often stop there on my way home to see what was new. They would send me people on a regular basis who were looking for less expensive equipment than what they carried.   They specialized in McIntosh, Bose, Advent, Thorens, Stereotech ( a working man's McIntosh), Bozak, Revox tape recorders and other brands.

  Across town Bob Hyatt was a household name and had a reputation as the "goto" guy for the majority of mainstream audio gear. He also gave many other dealers their start as a wholesale supplier. He still operates a video rental store in East Rochester today. A huge Pioneer dealer, he carried virtually everything else available in the day. EPI (Epicure) speakers, Burhoe Acoustics, and Dual turntables  were some of his major lines. I went there when I was 18 and bought a Soundcraftsmen equalizer. Interestingly enough, I always got a huge discount even though fair trade laws were in effect at the time.  

   DLK was in Henrietta. David L. Kendig modeled the store after Lafayettes where he also got his start. He  carried numerous mid-line products and had a line of private label speakers bearing his stores name. He later went on to open The Speaker Place in Henrietta, as a replacement part and diy kit center. This later migrated into a primarily automotive stereo source,and is still run today by his son, also named Dave.

  Rochester Radio Supply downtown started in the '60s. Audio was a small part of their business, but they did have a small sound room crammed full of huge Altec and Electrovoice speakers. A large outlet for technicians and hobbyists, they had several floors and electronics galore.


   Maynard's Sound World was on State St. next to Maynard's Electric and was absolutely huge! I remember hearing Klipschorns there for the first time at ear splitting levels. They specialized in home multi track recording for the home studio enthusiasts with the Tascam line.  They also carried Teac, JVC, Micro Acoustics, Philips and several other lines.

Luxman tube amps

  This was an MQ 68Q that used wierd output tubes. Converted to use El34s by Don Stepka of Gala sound.

  Cool amp, class A, very finicky.

Mentmore M100 EL-34 mono blocks

100 watts each, uninspiring sound. Another Paul Heath one offer, they "meant more" to Paul Heath than anybody. British, made well, a lot of character and supposedly used McIntosh patents.

Audio Reserch

  Caveat Emptor when buying this stuff used! Tubes, anyway. Biased so high and runs so hot that a ten year old amp almost certainly will have all the capacitors dried out. This was a D76A that I spent a lot of money refurbishing. Some of the solid state stuff is great though, have a PH-1 phono that is amongst my favorites.

The Amazing Bob Carver

I have always been fascinated by Bob Carver, very enterprising and marketing surpassed by only Amar Bose! My first power amp as a teenager was the Phase Linear 400, used it with a Marantz 3300. I bought the combination from a guy downtown.

Tried a couple of the Sunfire products, this Theatre Grand and also the five channel Cinema Grand. The amp leaked DC on one of the rear channels and this was the last time I actually blew a driver in a speaker! Curious little shock every time I made a change in my system, finally tracked it down to the amp which the factory confirmed that they inverted polarity!  

Carver Amazing Loudspeakers

Had to show these right next to the Apogees. Much nicer cosmetics, much glossier,actually bought these unseen/unheard. Onkyo rep at the time got me a pair on accomodation. Bob Carver was famous for his marketing snafus, and I have to admit these impressed me! One of the most resourceful designers I knew of. Resale worth about one tenth of the Apogees, but I had fun. 

Ming Da aka Miexing

MC-805 single ended triode class A tube monoblocks. Bought these right from China. Showed up in firecracker boxes! You pays your money and you takes your chances. Two bad tubes, blew resistors. My friend Joe D'Angelo was the go to guy to straighten these out. Fourty watts each, powered by 805 ham radio transmitter tubes.Magical, warm, but not sparkling. Great with horn speakers and electroststats. Meixing is one of the largest factories in China. Surprisingly quiet, not good if you have young children or pets. Very hot, and if you urinate on these they will kill you! A lot of bang for the buck for a couple of grand!

 Pictured below them is the 767 phono pre- also gorgeous! Didn't quite have enough gain for my system.

About me

I worked for four different local dealers in the Rochester area during the'70s and '80s. These were some of the best times for this hobby and the area was rich with options and competition.

During the '70s I started at Lafayette when I was 18 and they carried (unlike Radio Shack) many brands other than their own store brand.
We had Dynaco, Marantz, BIC, Dual, Pioneer, ESS and others.

From there I moved on to a small relatively unknown store in Penfield called The Sound Cellar. It started out in Schoen Place and later moved to Penfield Rd. Owned by John Bickle,we sold Bang and Olufsen, Accuphase, Nikko, Rotel, Sonab (still a huge personal favorite of mine, I still have a couple of pairs of OA-14speakers), Denon, Dokorder, JVC, Setton, Mirsch and other unique products.


In the mid '70s I worked for a place called T.H.E. Audio Thrshold, AKA Ron's Discount Stereo AKA Esoteric Audio. With the exception of Esoteric this was an audio whorehouse. Bogus modifications to DCM Time Windows, no name Polish speakers with ridiculous mark ups and a few quality brands like CerwinVega, Philips and Pioneer. The owner Ron Yesterby was a tyrant and treated his employees like dirt. My final stint for them had me clearing out the remnants of Esoteric Audio, products like:
Quad, DaytonWright, Radford, Infinity, Tannoy, Lecson, Hartley, Linn, Naim, Fons and numerous other items.

After about a year off I entered my longest stint in the business with JB Sound Systems in the Greece location where I eventually became the store manager. Owned by John Vella (the"V") and Bill Kelliher (the "B") ,this was by far the classiest company that I ever worked for, with the most exciting products. Heritage has it that they flipped a coin and whomever won, their initial came first and the other was president. Thank goodness it didn't end up being BJ Sound! Full line Yamaha dealer, McIntosh, Bang andOlusen, Nakamichi, Denon, Klipsch, Dahlquist, Tandberg, Apt, JBL, Cizek, Koss, Kenwood, Sota, Dual, Phase Techology, Snell, Forte, Perreaux ,Onkyo and more. I was there for about nine years, and it still represents some of the finest memories I have had in the field.
Everything had character and looked unique.Not your typical black boxes with knobs. I was there until 1988, about nine years.

I will also address other local dealers that were in the area, their products and marketing.

Greetings from beautiful Rochester NY!

Upstate NY has seen a wealth of high end audio gear through the 60's to the millenium, this blog focuses on the gear, dealers,manufacturers, and individuals that gave us our unfair share of exciting and still existent components.Geared mainly to two channel audio,with a strong emphasis on analog.We will be providing many useful links and additional resources.