InTERvIEw
Len Wallis says the hi-fi industry has been turned on its head by recent developments including the introduction of high-end components, the rise in audio streaming products, and the fact that hi-fi buyers no longer shop the same way they once did.
Len Wallis says the hi-fi industry has been turned on its head by recent developments, but that streaming audio has re-invigorated the entire hi-fi market, driving consumers back to true audio.
Greg Borrowman: When you first opened Len Wallis Audio, ‘way back in 1978, there was no such thing as the ‘high-end’. What was the first product you can remember that you thought was different enough to be truly ‘high-end’?
Len Wallis: I’d say that both the Nakamichi 700 cassette deck and the Acoustic Research AR9 speakers were products that I thought were ‘way superior to anything else available at the time. My customers obviously agreed, because we had a very good run with both these products.
GB: But it wasn’t actually called the ‘highend’ back then… what was it called? LW: It was just called hi-fi! GB: So what makes a high-end product ‘highend’ these days? Is it the price?
LW: No, price isn’t a good indicator, because I have heard many inexpensive DACs and headphone amps selling for around $500 that clearly sound better than models at more than two or three times their price. So if you were to go solely on price, the more expensive products would be considered to be ‘high-end’ for these categories whereas the opposite would be true. The problem is that in many cases high-end products are expensive, so customers tend to associate ‘high-end’ with ‘high price’, but it’s not actually the cost that makes them high-end, it’s their performance. The one thing I can say for certain about the high-end is that you instantly know a high-end product when you hear one.
GB: Do you find that customers buying highend products are particularly concerned about where a product is made, or who designed it?
LW: Absolutely not. All they’re concerned about is sound quality. If they like the sound, that’s what informs their decision to buy.
GB: Surely price has to be a factor in the buying decision?
LW: Only in the sense that high-end customers really do their research and know exactly how much products sell for in other markets, such as the UK or the USA. If a product I sell is priced more than about 15 per cent above what they can buy it for overseas, they won’t buy. These days that isn’t usually a problem, because most Australian distributors now aim for parity pricing, but with some of the smaller manufacturers in the US who sell direct to the public via their own online stores it’s impossible to be competitive.
GB: Surely the appearance of a high-end component has an influence on buyers?
LW: No, when it comes to the high-end, it really is sound quality that is paramount. Customers really don’t care what it looks like, how it’s built… or where… so long as they’re happy with the sound. The only time appearance might come into it is if a customer is
There’s now an enormous gravitation towards streaming audio—from a computer or a NAS drive—but for me one of the greatest surprises about music streaming is that...
trying to decide between two different components whose sound quality is so similar that it’s difficult to tell them apart, in which case they do start to consider the relative size and appearance of the products.
GB: So if someone is auditioning two amplifiers that sound the same, and one is a small black box and the other is a huge silver monster bristling with heat-sinks and VU meters, I shouldn’t bet on the black box? LW: No, that would be unwise. GB: Buying high-end gear is a significant investment for most audiophiles. Is the typical high-end buyer a solo shopper, or do they bring their partner?
LW: It’s really rare for someone to shop for a high-end system by themselves, but it’s equally rare for them to bring their life partner along. Usually they bring someone who is as interested in good sound as they are and knows a lot about hi-fi so they can help with the buying decision. It’s different when someone comes in to buy a modest hi-fi system, because in that case the person does usually bring in their life partner to help with the choice. Probably this is partly because someone buying their first system doesn’t know anyone who might be knowledgeable about audio, whereas someone buying high-end gear will usually have like-minded friends to consult.
GB: What type of music do high-end buyers bring in to audition equipment?
LW: You’d be surprised at how many don’t bring their own music at all. It happens so often that I’m now fairly used to it, but what I still find bizarre is that when we ask what they’d like us to play, they don’t ask for audiophile favourites like Diana Krall or Jennifer Warnes, but instead for bands like Nine Inch Nails… and although some request jazz pieces, no-one has asked us for classical for years. I think the last time I was asked for a classical work was back when Telarc’s 1812 was all the rage.
GB: If they do bring their own music in, what format do they use?
LW: LP is certainly all the rage at the moment, so quite a few people bring in vinyl, but CD hasn’t really gone away, so we see lots of those as well. We have had people use an iPod or portable player as a source, but if the source is going to be a digital file, it’s far more likely they’ll bring in their laptop. GB: So streaming audio is popular then? LW: Absolutely. There’s now an enormous gravitation towards streaming audio—from a computer or a NAS drive—but for me one of the greatest surprises about music streaming is that it’s across all generations, from people in their 20s right up to retirees. In fact my latest sale was to a gentleman buying equipment in order that he could kick off his retirement by digitising his LP collection. He’d travelled all the way up from the south coast just to buy from us.
GB: So how long does it take the average high-end customer to make a decision to purchase a piece of equipment from you?
LW: It depends on what they’re buying. One guy spent an entire day comparing tonearm headshells, taking time out only to get himself some lunch. What is a given is that high-end customers will always make multiple visits, partly because they’re also visiting many other places, but also because they’re doing lots of research into what they’re buying. There is also a fair bit of peer- to-peer equipment trading between high-end customers, so we’re also competing against the second-hand high-end market as well.
GB: Speaking of which, I see you’ve ramped up your second-hand high-end offerings quite dramatically. You’re currently listing a Mark Levinson No 26 preamp, Halcro MC50, Musical Fidelity NuVista preamp, Mystere Pre/Power valve combo, Linn Chakra, Lexicon RT-20, Meridian G96, and a magnificent Magnum Dynalab MD801, just to name a few.
LW: Our second-hand section has taken on a life of its own. We now list all the second-hand products on our website, but we have regulars who come in and walk straight into the second-hand section to see what’s new so they can buy it before we’ve had a chance to list it.
GB: So if you see something listed, it would be advisable to be quick?
LW: The really hot stuff can go straight away and most of the gear gets sold within a few days, but some of the gear has been there for more than two years.
GB: I guess one advantage of buying secondhand from you is that customers know the equipment is working properly.
LW: All the second-hand equipment we sell has been checked and re-furbished by our service department, but it also comes with a full 90-day warranty.
GB: Len Wallis Audio is one of the only hi-fi dealers in Australia that has its own service department. What’s the reason for this?
LW: It’s really so we have total control rather than having to depend on local distributors. By doing it ourselves we achieve faster turn-around times and save money we’d otherwise spend on couriers to ship heavy,