Re-Tales

Since it started in late 2020, this column has emphasized the imperative for bricks-and-mortar hi-fi dealerships to evolve if they want to survive and thrive in the current era. They—indeed, the whole industry—need to attract new customers as they give existing customers reasons to keep coming back.

In its current form, Houston, Texas–based dealership 3mA arose from founder and majority owner Johnny Yip's connection with Luis Miranda, a customer. The two became partners when Miranda bought into the business in 2017 (footnote 1).

Yip and Miranda have a knack for helping new customers select their first-ever hi-fi systems. As much as half of their current business comes from first-timers, Miranda told me. "They're being introduced to what stereo/two-channel can do. They never even knew this stuff existed." Once exposed, they're in. "They just can't unhear what they heard." Another 30% or so of 3mA customers are upgrading their first systems to something better. That's a fun group, since they're still exploring, figuring out what they like best.

That's where Miranda was just before he joined 3mA. He was ready for a system upgrade, but he had a bad experience with another Houston-area retailer. Rather than give up and choose a new hobby, he tried again. He had a good experience with 3mA.

"Johnny took the time to explain it all to me," he said of his initial visit. "And not only explain it, but to demo every single thing he was talking to me about." Miranda was trained as an electrical engineer but had grown tired of working in a manufacturing environment. He was ready for a change. So he joined Yip and 3mA. Yip's first hi-fi love was 300B tube amplifiers, which he'd first experienced at an uncle's house.

Experienced audiophiles account for some 20% of 3mA's customer base. Those customers already know what they like, and often they have it already. That's a big, heartening change from just a few years ago, when most dealerships depended on repeat business from longtime audiophiles, especially older generations, splurging on what might be their last turntable, DAC, or amplifier.

Wherever a customer is on their hi-fi journey, 3mA aims to provide an exceptional experience. "We're not just pushing products out the door," he said. "We are customer service–oriented first and foremost—over a sale, even." The secret is to forge connections, to the hobby and the dealership—to "look at the longer haul or the bigger picture, and even if a customer is starting out with a budget system, how you can, over time, maintain those relationships and that level of service to keep them coming back." In their just-opened location, they've sought to create an environment people want to return to, to explore and spend time in. They've added some touches atypical for a hi-fi store, including a cigar and whiskey bar. The main areas and some of the listening rooms display original artwork, some of it local. The furniture is stylish but comfortable.

Yip and Miranda take sonics seriously. The 4000ft² space, which previously served as a Pilates studio, needed work, including adding walls to make six sealed listening rooms. They enlisted the help of John Hunter from REL Acoustics. The two reference rooms use "golden ratio" dimensions to avoid overlapping room modes. The walls are purpose-built to act "like speaker cabinets" with "quiet glue" applied to every stud and nail and a layer of MDF both glued and screwed onto wood studs. "We have another layer of quiet sheetrock that is glued and screwed onto the MDF," Miranda said. So there are two layers of carefully chosen materials to minimize wall resonances and facilitate proper room pressurization. They wanted the listening rooms to sound live the way a concert hall or a rock venue might—to recreate an emotional connection to the music, perhaps evoking early concert memories. "A lot of these products are very costly, and you've got to provide an experience for a customer."

It's not all bricks and mortar (or studs and sheetrock). 3mA rebuilt its website to facilitate online sales, especially of preowned components. Details are still being sorted, but Miranda told me that 3mA plans to crosslist preowned gear currently listed on eBay and Audiogon on their website. The hope is to make sales and lead prospective buyers to 3mA's website or even to the store. Customers who buy preowned gear receive the same treatment and service as those who buy new, Miranda said.

"The trade-in [program] has allowed us to gain a broader customer base because of the outreach," Miranda told me. "And when you have a customer that's out somewhere where there's not a brick-and-mortar dealer, then all of a sudden you have the opportunity to gain a customer."

3mA—like most bricks-and-mortar dealers—works with the manufacturers and distributors to determine which products are permitted to be sold online and which must be sold in stores. Succeeding in their quest to bring new people into the hobby hinges on working in partnership with the manufacturers and distributors whose goods they carry—and also other dealers.

"With the journey and evolution that we have had, we've been able to experience multiple things and know that we're able to build a system no matter the budget," Miranda said.

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Footnote 1: See Industry Update in the August 2024 issue.