> am I correct in summing up the experience as: > > * shop one has good products, but not the ones you like best > * shop two is run by a wanker

Yep, that's exactly it. I worried too that Shop One were excessively sluggish to deal with (I appreciate not every salesperson likes extended email conversations, but it was their idea). This made me wonder if I'd been written off as a time-waster.

> Perhaps you could ask shop one if they are able to order Audeze and Chord products for you?

I might do that, to be fair. I'd still like to buy from a bricks-and-mortar shop, and I'm not fussed about price-matching or chasing down the best deal.

> You are not obligated to listen to MQA files just because your DAC can decode them.

True, but I'd read enough about MQA Limited to decide I didn't want to give them my license money. (I'm keeping this response rather short so as not to derail the general direction of the thread - I appreciate MQA is a thorny topic).

> You could try other DACs that store one offers.

Possibly, though they have essentially refused up to this point. But I may explain that the Audeze cans were the best listen so far, and that I'd be looking for the best in-budget DAC/amp stack to drive them. The sneered-at Audiolab may indeed be fine - I wonder if I should just get Sluggish Store One to buy me the Audeze cans, and then I can restart my amp/DAC search (probably on the internet).

You'd be right that I could just get Sluggish Store One to put the same system together for me (including brands they don't normally stock) but I would be in danger of remembering Ball Scratcher's injurious snarl every time I put my cans on my head. 😆

> The owner [of Sweaty Store Two] sounds hilarious!

A real treat for masochists! 🙈