Ethics
What follows on this page might well be entirely irrelevant to you. There’s quite a bit here that you might well think after reading it, “So what?” But not all of it I hope.
I was asked recently, "Why should anyone bother coming to your place H. No big high-street showroom, no massive advertising, none of the usual brands? So, why?"
A shallow response from me might well have been “no rent, no parking wardens, no stress, no hassle” and so on. Clearly the questioner was somewhat disappointed by my mumbled response. It wasn’t what she wanted to hear I suppose.
In fact I did have solid marketing reasons to offer, but in the nanosecond rehearsal I sometimes remember to use (“engage brain before engaging mouth”), all those solid reasons did seem a bit tired; a bit stale. Hence my mumbled response. But it did start me thinking. So, putting finger to keyboard, here is the result. Make of it what you will.
The vocabulary
I initially thought of calling this page the ‘philosophy’ page. I do like that word, but I think it’s a bit off-putting for others. A bit too self-important I suppose. Frankly I'm not 100% comfortable with the word ‘ethics’ either when used as a descriptive term – but it’ll have to do for now.
Elsewhere on this site you’ll read a little of the history that’s led up to the creation of Stereonow and you’ll appreciate why I'm keeping the business deliberately small.
So what do I stand for?
Well … I'm not an advocate of the eccentric facets of political correctness – which means that I believe that candour is both rare and undervalued. Moreover candour is in short supply in this industry. Separating myth from reality and truth from hype is a continual task and I'm happy and enthusiastic to contribute to this, however small the value of my contribution might be.
I think it’s true to say that I'm opinionated.
I'm not comfortable with the negative associations of the word, but it’ll have to do – for now. The fact is that even though I strive to be sincere all the time, my opinions are only opinions – albeit based on many years of experience.
I'm not always right.
I have prejudices for and against some types of technology and some makers and certainly some music. If I’ve made a mistake, then I put it right quickly and calmly.Any opinion I offer is predicated on the thought that it’s the visitor's money I'm spending, not mine.
So, for example ...
I don’t like modern horn speakers, and I do love well-designed transmission line speakers. I don’t represent either.
Personally I'm not a Linn enthusiast even though a few of my customers use them in preference to anything else. I think Pink Triangle (despite abysmal construction in the 1980s) produced music from vinyl that is very hard to match even today. Having said this, products from The Funk Firm, which I proudly represent, are very close indeed to PT.
I love the music of J S Bach and that of The Who – and much else besides. I think vintage Meridian equipment cannot be overpraised and that their modern stuff is technically brilliant but musically soulless for me. It's just an opinion. I guess I'm as likely to be wrong on this as I am to be right.
I deeply admire the sounds produced by Naim, Spendor, Avalon, Musical Fidelity, Jadis, Nagra, Martin Logan, Magneplanar and Accuphase – but I don’t stock any of them.
I won’t demonstrate anything I can’t personally listen to after the customers have gone home.
I don’t demonstrate every item from a supplier if there’s an item from their range that doesn’t impress me.
I don’t believe the customer is always right, in the same way that I know I can’t always be right myself. I know from experience most makers are only right some of time. Seems reasonable don’t you think?
I do believe in common (seemingly increasingly uncommon these days) courtesy.
Plasma and home cinema may be a booming market sector but I can’t get passionate about it – so I don’t demonstrate it.
I don’t stock cables and mains leads from cable bandits.
Delightfully I’ve discovered that many of my customers know more about some aspects of music than I do. So it’s a pleasure to me learn from them. It’s one of the biggest joys of my work.
I could go on, but I think you probably get the idea by now....
I don’t follow leaders. Not ever!
So finally, if you feel you’d like a bit of human interaction, then feel free to pick up the phone right now. You can get me, if I'm not in a demonstration or installation by phoning me on 0208 447 8485.
I'm happy to discuss anything re audio with you – but please bear in mind that I might not have the answer. However, I assure you that your opinion – even if I don’t agree with it – is precious to me. Yes, really!
Howard Popeck
Founder & proprietor