Re-Tales

In the e-commerce era, brick-and-mortar dealerships must give customers compelling reasons to stop by. Los Angeles hi-fi dealership Common Wave's owner Wesley Katzir keeps customers coming through the door with a simple idea: that music matters in our everyday lives and that what he enjoys, other people will enjoy, too. That extends not just to music but also design, which is a particular preoccupation of Katzir and his business.

"I wanted to create a hi-fi space for people who were interested in the same sorts of musical and listening experiences as I am, which is much more communal," Katzir told me in a recent phone conversation. "We have enough screens in our face. I'm trying to get people away from that to a more meditative, peaceful experience with music."

By hi-fi–hobby standards, Katzir is young. He attended college in the 1990s, studying environmental design (footnote 1); think of it as a kind of experiential architecture. He also worked at Circuit City. His after-school work was almost as much a part of his training as college was, because several of his colleagues had been laid off from Rogersound Labs, which had gone out of business in 1992 (footnote 2). "I got this pretty rare tutelage," he said. "Here I am 17, 18 years old. You have people who are 40, 50, 60 years old who have a wealth of knowledge. I was obsessed with hi-fi, and obviously they were too." He learned a lot about turntables, tube amplification, and other components that (seemingly) were on the way out then.

Katzir started his business in 2016, then opened the first Common Wave showroom in 2018. That first store was about the size of a largish house, around 2600ft². Recently, Common Wave added a reference listening room, reaching the current 3500ft². Katzir says they were after "almost a skate-shop feel." Common Wave offers everything we've come to expect from a traditional hi-fi dealership: equipment sales, system setup and calibration, and a few repairs (turntables, not electronics). There's also a record store up front.

Common Wave hosts events. That's hardly unusual: Most hi-fi stores host events, at least now and then. But Katzir goes beyond traditional manufacturer demo–type events; he aims to put on events that are fun—that he finds fun. He hosts as many experiences as he can, including live music, album listening parties, and DJ sessions. This past Father's Day, Common Wave put on a pop-up event, inviting other vendors to set up shop, including five specialty record sellers and a specialist in Japanese ceramics and crafts. "It started off as an effort to give people something tangible to play around with or look through from the get-go, as opposed to looking at exotic equipment," he said. "When we designed the space, my whole idea was to make the systems approachable."

"I really want it to feel like your hi-fi clubhouse," he said. "You can come in here and have an experience, and it doesn't cost you a penny." At such times, "we're not selling you anything; we're here to [let you] experience music."

Common Wave does, of course, sell hi-fi equipment. Katzir believes in a hands-on approach: He wants customers to do more than see and hear equipment. "I want them to go around and touch and feel and imagine how it would be in their house," he said. "Because at the end of the day, this should be an object that's used, and I want them to want to pick up that tonearm and use it." Katzir regards hi-fi equipment not as ornament but as functional sculpture. As such, he thinks it should last a lifetime, assuming you maintain it well.

Common Wave's location—between Boyle Heights and L.A.'s downtown arts district—means that their customers come from a range of means. Many hi-fi customers are on a budget. Katzir wants to accommodate them by carrying as much entry-level gear as he can. He can, he said, put together an analog separates system for under $1500. Sometimes that's just the right choice for the client and their space. "I want people to start there. We want them to feel like they have an option here," he told me. "We are planting the seeds for people to live with music for the rest of their lives."

Common Wave doesn't skimp at the high end, however. The dealership carries equipment across the whole range of prices up to high-end brands including Acora Acoustics, DeVore, Esoteric, Kuzma, Nagra, Nordost, Piega, SME, and YG Acoustics. "We have incredible equipment here," he said.

Katzir's background includes designing and building furniture, and he continues to build custom speakers, turntables, and various custom built-ins. As such, his interests and his business's activities go beyond conventional home hi-fi. About 20% of its business comes from commercial clients such as yoga studios, stores, bars, and restaurants. "I think there's a lot of interest in creating that secondary experience," he said. "Where if you are going to go out and you spend some money on a drink or some food. ... Hi-fi is my favorite way of adding that on, but I think people love it, too." Common Wave has also been receiving requests to install hi-fi systems in design studios at major corporations, "so that people can ... decompress and regroup with themselves," Katzir said. Despite these other activities, Katzir maintains that two-channel hi-fi is the store's primary focus. "We're a hi-fi showroom first and foremost. We just try to provide services for as many different avenues as we can."

In an era that continues to shift to online sales, Katzir remains optimistic about brick-and-mortar hi-fi dealerships' viability. "There are a number of great shops across the country," he said. "They're all kind of getting in the groove of serving clients."

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Footnote 1: The Encyclopedia of the City defines environmental design as seeking "to create spaces that will enhance the natural, social, cultural and physical environment of particular areas." That's from Wikipedia.

Footnote 2: Rogersound Labs has since reopened and currently manufactures the RSL line of affordable loudspeakers.