PS Audio going to direct sales only

PS Audio will give full list on the gear you're trading in up to a certain percentage of the overall price of the gear you're purchasing.

When I bought my Stellar stack from them, I sent them a Denon 3802 I had in a box sitting in my attic, and they knocked off almost a 1000 bucks. I was very happy with this.

The other cool thing is, they don't make you send the old gear in till after the 30 day trial period. Customer service is also top notch ...

 

I’m basing that on the owners’s comments in the link in the OP’s opening post.

 

I was told by a PS Audio dealer that the plan is to keep their prices the same and just sell direct. Funny, the deal with direct is usually you get a better deal than from a dealer. But PS Audio wants to do it so you get a worse deal. Considering who is running their company this does not surprise me. Good God he needs to retire.

 

Still one of the best companies I have ever dealt with.
Both product and service leave little to nothing to complain about.

Not having to buy from a dealer is just icing as far as I am concerned...of course, there are no dealers of any high end audio anywhere near me.

 

Keep prices the same may mean same as MSRP or same as street price. Who knows?

People who have dealt with PS Audio seems to have a high opinion of them. I am extremely happy with my Dectet. But of course, that's an affordable power conditioner. Still, it's great, the manual is excellent, and if I have any issues I have confidence PS Audio will come through. I'm not really interested in their audio equipment.

Seems to me if people like the equipment and prices, they will buy. If the prices are too high, they won't, and PS Audio will have to adjust. Anyone not interested in the products or company, well, why does their opinion matter?

 

On the theory that this kind of harsh personal animus and invective tends to indicate undisclosed bias and unreliability, I’m disregarding these posts.

 

Or you could just watch his narcissistic, idiot you tube video's to understand.

 

I think Schiit and Emotiva are partly successful because of their sane pricing. If PS isn't planning to lower prices initially, they may find out that they have to, later on, to move enough gear to call it a business. How they do it is up to them - holding periodic "special events" like Polk, offering "b-stock" like Cary, or some other combinations, but offer it they will. With no dealer network to showcase their gear and prices higher than competition unsupported by anything other than their own opinion of themselves, it will be tough otherwise.

 

Which PS Audio Gear have you owned and A/B'd with competitor pieces?

I'd love to know.

 

Was this a gear A/B comparison thread, or a thread asking for opinions/predictions on their upcoming business model?

You seem to think I'm trying to knock their gear - I'm not.

I will elaborate - eliminating their dealer network will mean that they will have to rely mostly on people who already know the sound of PS Audio and believe the prices justified. Those people alone will not sustain a business, let alone growth. Even people who love PS gear and are brand loyal do not buy new gear often enough to support their business model.

But new buyers, who have never heard their gear and now have no chance to, will have to take a huge leap of faith paying these prices based on nothing but written description available on the website - yes or no? But those prospective shoppers also have access to the competitors' websites, Schiit's, Wyred for Sound, Emotiva, Parasound, Odyssey, you name it, and ALL those websites similarly extol the virtues of their gear and boast of TAS awards and positive reviews by Stereophile or whatnot.

So, you're a new customer, and you have a choice of a $2,000 amp from, say, Odyssey that is "superb" and "nothing can touch it for the money" (if you choose to believe what the website says), and then you read a similar superlative description, using pretty much the same combination of words in a different order, and you find a similarly-"worded" amp at PS website, but the price is now $6,000. What do you think that new prospective customer will chose, if he is a mere mortal without deep pockets?

I can tell what I think will happen. I consider myself a fairly seasoned audiophile, and I'm not new to gear. I also admit to never having heard either Odyssey or PS. If I were in the shoes of this new customer, relying on nothing but the similar verbiage of their websites, I'd probably go for the $2,000 amp first. Especially considering that both offer an in-home trial period and an opportunity to return it if I don't like it. If the $2,000 amp wasn't to my liking - I'd send it back and say "what the heck", let me try the $6,000 amp then - perhaps it is better. But, if that $2,000 is as good as the description says it is, and I'm happy with it - what do you think the chances are of me buying that $6,000 amp from PS?

So that's my take on this new business model, and that's why I think they will have to adapt, if they plan to survive and succeed. And sound quality here is secondary to the price, as in any situation where you pay first and hear second.

 

It will be interesting to see how this works out. PS Audio might think every dealer that shaved thousands of dollars of MSRP represents money left on the table they’d like to claim.

However, this sounds a lot like thinking every Metallica album downloaded from Napster represents a lost sale. It seems the brand’s most devoted customers weren’t paying full price, and I wonder if they should have been. I love my DirectStream DAC but it’s not worth the MSRP.

 

The quote I pulled sounded like you were. I appreciate your response and where you are coming from...

however, you are leaving out Pro Reviews, Consumer Reviews and Trade Shows for Demos. Just to name a few avenues you didn't address.

I have no doubt that PSAudio will have to be very nimble to navigate the channel they are choosing. But I have owned quite a few pieces of their gear over the years and I can definitively say that their product and services have always rated at the very top of the heap.

Color me confient that they will be successful with their new model .

 

I have to disagree with two things.

First, who relies on nothing but marketing copy on a manufacturer's website to make their purchasing decisions? People will pull up reviews and forums to gather most of the information they need. With that in mind, I wouldn't even dare buy anything from Odyssey, based on what I've read here.

Second, sound quality isn't secondary if you need to pay first and hear second. If that was the case people would never go up market and only buy entry level gear online. How could Music Direct and Audio Advisor sell higher end gear to people who don't visit their stores? And even when you do visit a store (any store), how many times do they have what you want to buy ready to demo? Often they don't. They need to order it for you and you have to hope you like it (and of course, even if they have it, your room and system are different). People have budgets and they consider gear within those budgets, and they then consider user and pro reviews, and finally they make a choice.

 

I periodically check out the audio versions via a podcast app. They’re brief, fun, and often informative.

 

With a direct to consumer only model, I wonder if PS Audio will add a 30 Day Trial/Money Back Guarantee to their products.
exaSound has that with their DACs and it is part of their marketing appeal.

 

Haha! Harsh
I stopped watching then mostly because he’s got to be biased.

 

How many of his videos have you watched After you decided they were idiotic and annoying? Ridiculous.

 

Man he’s got millennial kids with kids, can you imagine the bucks he has to make just to support their Colorado lifestyles. It’s about the kids man

 

Would like one of their BK amps... or two at direct prices... I won’t hold my breath.

 

I imagine that Wilson, Audio Note, MSB, or any high-end cable manufacturer has a similar or higher profit margin between cost of manufacturing vs retail price. The economics of scale in order for any business to stay operational means the fewer items items they sell, usually corresponds to a higher markup... My guess is that many expensive audio components that have fewer sales then PS Audio, have larger markups. It sounds like a person can buy PS Audio at less then full retail. Does Wilson sell their $685,000 speakers at a 30% discount, how about MSB Technology and their dac with a retail price of more than $80,000?
Just seems to me that this approach to pricing is unfortunately common in audio and PS Audio is being called-out while the others aren't. Hopefully, companies like Schiit, Bottlehead, or Blue Jeans Cable that have reputations for good quality vs price, will continue to expand... I don't own any of their gear and don't care how they structure their business model. Seems to be a lot of animosity towards him personally. What little I know about him, makes me like him more than most of his peers, he does not come across to me as soaked in snake-oil as many audio companies do.

 

They have had a 30 day trial period for some time for purchases.

Security and Returns

PS Audio provides free shipping, via FEDEX economy, to any US resident (including Hawaii and Alaska) when you order through our web store. Once you receive the product you have a full 30-days to enjoy and evaluate it in the comfort of your home. Should the product not live up to your expectations we offer a no-hassle return policy. Simply call or email us and we’ll gladly give you a return authorization as well as a prepaid FEDEX call tag for the return shipping.

As long as we receive the product in like-new condition and it was returned in the original packing material you will receive a 100% credit back on your credit card. It’s that easy and we’re that confident you’re going to love what you get from PS.

 

Another factor is that, like me, a lot of potential customers across the US do not live (in practical terms) anywhere near a PS Audio dealer. If I were to order a product, I'd almost assuredly order direct from PS Audio. Thus, the no-dealer reboot (if it happens) will make no difference to me.

On the other hand, competition will have the final say. For example, Parasound has just come out with its new Class D integrated stereo amplifier.

 

With computer related products, I would rather have tech support directly from the manufacturer for specifically those reasons.

 

Like a couple others have opined, I'm really surprised at the personal animus toward Paul M, I guess, based on really bad youtube videos & too high prices?

I really enjoy his videos mostly because he's entertaining & we're of a similar age. I'm not looking for gospel or cutting insights when I watch, although I do think there is wisdom there for newcomers to hifi.

As for the value of PSA products I own a couple their old low end power procucts which, for me, are of excellent value & it's hard for me to understand how anyone can get too worked up about "too high prices" for any audio product.

Every company has its own trajectory or evolution if you will. Some companies reach a level of scale that is just right for them, they know enough about their customer base & the industry that they aren't trying to constantly grow. Sometimes enough is enough. Sometimes a slight scale back or segue can have big rewards for staff & the owners.

I wish them all the best & hope they continue their independent journey for many years to come.

 

Which, apparently, you keep watching just the same in order to form your opinion?

I’ve only ever bought their products from the factory, and their trade in policy is generous, so I don’t see a change, but it will suck for many dealers.

My experiences with customer service have been exemplary, and their trial period kind of makes a test kind of a no-brainer if you’re interested in one of their products.

John K