What do Audiophile Shops Look For?

[JujuShinobi]

I'm going to be writing a CV to a local audiophile shop for a part time job for after my finals, or as some of you might know, GCE O Levels. I was wonder what they will be looking out for as the staff there are pretty young. Some probably as young as 17 however they are very passionate about what they do. Any hints?

[Excon]

Customer service experience mostly and hopefully a wide knowledge in headphones/speakers etc. Hopefully you can tell the difference in 20$ headphones vs 500$ headphones.

[eoso]

The ability to cater to customers politely and effectively will always the foremost quality any shop will look for in a prospective employee.

 

An audiophile shop caters to a very specific niche, and you will be expected to display a wide range of knowledge in that niche. If you want to work in an audiophile shop, you'd best be an audiophile, or at least knowledgeable enough to be one. You should know all the generally recommended headphones, speakers, amplifiers and such, as well as specialized knowledge in at least a few of the categories of usage- say, the best budget headphone for commuting. While commuting you'd need open headphones for safety reasons, and the customer specified a budget of 50 dollars. Your answer might be the Koss PortaPros, as they are open, portable, cheap, and rugged.

 

Then again, I also might be talking out of my ass and none of this is necessary at all.  But this would be what I would expect of my employees if I owned such a shop.

 

And if some of the sentences above didn't make any sense, damn it, give me a break, English isn't my first language.  :lol:

[Hoppa]

If you know bout the different transducer technologies such as moving coil, electrostatic, balanced armature.... and electret transducers.

Basically how headphones work and what makes them produce better quality sound.

 

Closed and open / semi-open back headphones

You will probably need some experience knowing how the different headphones sound, pros and cons of the product.

You will have to know about different Amps and DACs that will power the high quality headphones.

 

Also a good attitude, and enthusiasm towards the industry 

 

I'm not an audiophile myself so I can't give you any more sort of help but it's basically knowledge + good peoples skills

[Fetzie]

I'm not an audiophile myself so I can't give you any more sort of help but it's basically knowledge + good peoples skills

 

i.e. the same as any enthusiast shop environment

[JujuShinobi]

Customer service experience mostly and hopefully a wide knowledge in headphones/speakers etc. Hopefully you can tell the difference in 20$ headphones vs 500$ headphones.

Ive had experience with $60 Pioneers and HD 598s so I think I can tell the difference =P

[JujuShinobi]

The ability to cater to customers politely and effectively will always the foremost quality any shop will look for in a prospective employee.

An audiophile shop caters to a very specific niche, and you will be expected to display a wide range of knowledge in that niche. If you want to work in an audiophile shop, you'd best be an audiophile, or at least knowledgeable enough to be one. You should know all the generally recommended headphones, speakers, amplifiers and such, as well as specialized knowledge in at least a few of the categories of usage- say, the best budget headphone for commuting. While commuting you'd need open headphones for safety reasons, and the customer specified a budget of 50 dollars. Your answer might be the Koss PortaPros, as they are open, portable, cheap, and rugged.

Then again, I also might be talking out of my ass and none of this is necessary at all. But this would be what I would expect of my employees if I owned such a shop.

And if some of the sentences above didn't make any sense, damn it, give me a break, English isn't my first language. :lol:

I have more or less the basic knowledge needed. I don't know exactly how things work but I can definitely tell headphones apart and what are bad headphones. I might not have enough experience right now but I hope to in the near future

[JujuShinobi]

Just to put it out there. My knowledge is quite limited when it comes to audio as I don't have all the money to burn to get the gear. But I am quite passionate about audio (thanks to Linus and Slick) and will do my best to give the best. And I think my ears are well tuned enough to tell minuscule differences in audio which did surprise one of the employees of the shop

[MayflowerElectronics]

Ive had experience with $60 Pioneers and HD 598s so I think I can tell the difference =P

 

That's not nearly enough to be comfortable with the audio industry. Unfortunately, most like other people, you will have to pay your dues and buy/trade/sell headphones until you've listened to the vast majority of headphones.

 

I wouldn't call this a measuring stick, but highest pair of hi-fi cans i've listened to are the LCD2's. Most headphones below that (HD600's, Q701's, DT880's/770's, ect ect) you need to listen to all of these headphones for a period of time just to get your feet wet.

 

The reason I say this is because you need to relate to someones memory with sound.

 

Example - Customer comes in - I have a pair of HD600's, I'm looking for better mids, and slightly more bass. Your response should be - Let me have you listen to an HE-400, or 500. You also need to know the terms of describing audio (warmth, smooth, dark, ect ect).

 

Good luck though!

[JujuShinobi]

That's not nearly enough to be comfortable with the audio industry. Unfortunately, most like other people, you will have to pay your dues and buy/trade/sell headphones until you've listened to the vast majority of headphones.

I wouldn't call this a measuring stick, but highest pair of hi-fi cans i've listened to are the LCD2's. Most headphones below that (HD600's, Q701's, DT880's/770's, ect ect) you need to listen to all of these headphones for a period of time just to get your feet wet.

The reason I say this is because you need to relate to someones memory with sound.

Example - Customer comes in - I have a pair of HD600's, I'm looking for better mids, and slightly more bass. Your response should be - Let me have you listen to an HE-400, or 500. You also need to know the terms of describing audio (warmth, smooth, dark, ect ect).

Good luck though!

I was only using an extreme just to kid is all.

But I do see your point on trying out the best for a period of time for reference. Thanks for the advice and best of wishes though =)

[Aphexx]

if you live near a major city then try to get in on a headfi meet. to increase your 'earxperience'