Jan 1, 1999 12:00 PM, Gary Eskow

Back in the old days there were boundaries you could count on. Roger Maris defined the number of home runs a human could smack in a single season when he yanked a Tracy Stallard meat ball over the old Yankee Stadium right field porch. Presidents dallied with mistresses the general public could accept. And damn it, there was a clear division between pro and MI audio gear! Audio equipment manufacturers now release gear so inexpensive that amateurs can avail themselves of feature sets many pros would not have been able to afford several years ago.

New York City's B&H, a privately owned single store with no chain affiliations, had specialized in catalog sales and video equipment. Several years ago, the store's owners looked at the declining cost of recording gear and decided to enter the market. They hired John Storyk to design a listening environment that mirrored a typical recording studio and set up the entire space so that all of the equipment-speakers and microphones, for example-can be accessed off of touchscreens for quick and accurate comparisons.

B&H brass set up a five-year plan for the audio department, expecting it to take that long to turn a profit. However, the first anniversary recently passed, and by that time they were already in the black. Where did they find the customer base? For starters, the store's video customers have shown increased awareness and interest in audio products, according to Al Spinelli, head of the Pro Audio Department. "We found that our video customers were becoming more audio savvy," Spinelli says. "We're a big Avid dealer, and we also carry the Media 100 nonlinear editing system." Spinelli says that in addition to sound for film, a lot of the video clients who migrate to B&H need live sound gear for their applications.

Pro audio buyers generally know what they need when they step into a store, but MI clients need more education. B&H decided to go after "the best salesmen on 48th Street," according to Spinelli, who notes that sales people are all salaried. Commissions tend to push sales personnel to drive a sale when it might not be right for an individual, he believes, and the ethical conviction that the client should be served rather than slammed seems to be more than lip service at B&H. "We have a policy of no spiffs," Spinelli says. "We feel that motivates salesmen improperly and could conflict with what would be best for the customer."

Like many of you, I've bought lots of audio gear. Sometimes I know exactly what I want and know that I'll need no post-sales assistance. Picking up the phone and shopping price is the way to go in that case. However, there are other times when it would be extremely helpful to listen to four or five mics, for example, in a well-tuned room. At B&H they give you a set of headphones and record you to a hard drive on a variety of mics. This is handled very neatly-a Mac sits out of sight behind a wall, with an Audio Media III card dumping your takes to disk. When you've tested all of the mics in your price range, you can listen to the playbacks through the 'phones. Very helpful. If you're in Manhattan, give it a shot.

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