A dealer who treats the curious like buyers

Before I owned McIntosh, I thought of it as a cult. Something like a Bugatti: you need a special invite before they let you buy one. Everyone I met who owned the blue meters gave them a room of their own.

Years ago I walked into Dubai Audio, McIntosh's dealer in the Middle East, to ask about some Klipsch speakers. One of the owners, Mr Amir, was there. Passing the premium display I saw the blue meters and asked whether they were for sale and what such an amplifier goes for, because I did not think I had the budget.

He did not look me up and down. He said yes, they carry the brand and are proud of it, and took me into their dedicated listening room to hear an MA12000 with Sonus faber Amati G5 speakers and a HiFi Rose source. Then he told me the price, the equivalent of a small family car, and we went on talking about something else.

That is what real connoisseurs do. They are open and friendly to every single person walking in, existing customer, prospect or just curious. I was the curious one that day, and years later I was the customer.

The cult was in my head. The welcome was at the door.