Which stores did you buy SACDs/DVD-As from in the "good old days" ?

[jarrod2750]

Laserland - Syosset, NY. The best selection of laserdiscs, and the owner kept that store state of the art! When DTS music came out, they had a tremendous selection. DVD-A, SACD was also there but once laserdisc finally sunset Laserland kinda went to a downhill slide too.

Best Buy, Virgin Megastore, Tower Records, Suncoast, FYE, Ken Cranes.

Absolutely REFUSED to spend one cent in Circuit City when they chose to back that nasty DIVX dvd rental format. Plus Best Buy always had better prices than CC.

I’m in NY and used to frequent Laserland in Levittown and Carle Place very often. My friend worked they so it also eventually became a hang out.

 

[EricKalet]

I’m in NY and used to frequent Laserland in Levittown and Carle Place very often. My friend worked they so it also eventually became a hang out.

Nice! I used to go in there and watch part of Return of the Jedi, they’d run it through a Fosgate processor, M&K speakers.

 

[surroundsoundman]

I’m in NY and used to frequent Laserland in Levittown and Carle Place very often. My friend worked they so it also eventually became a hang out.

I almost purchased a Laserland franchise back in the day. I loved the medium and had been collecting since 86. As a result it turned out that I was the 3rd customer signed up at the Bethpage store. I continued my obsession when they moved to Farmingdale. That is where I purchased my first DVD A player as a store demo (it was a Toshiba unit). (That was the unit that was playing the movies through the Fosgate & MK speakers). Frank The store manager was a fantastic guy to work with. Though I was a collector of Laserdiscs, My first real exposure to multichannel Surround music was from Evolution Audio Video in CA. From them via mail order, I purchased a bunch or DTS CDs from them as a closeout for $10 each. I was Hooked.

 

[Lute]

Here in South Florida:
Spec's
Camelot Music
Borders
Virgin Megastore
Peaches

I remember buying 8-tracks at Camelot Music back in the 70s with my brother, and I also remember Peaches, especially their commercials on the radio. Btw, this was in Indiana. Thanks for the blast from the past!

 

[jarrod2750]

I almost purchased a Laserland franchise back in the day. I loved the medium and had been collecting since 86. As a result it turned out that I was the 3rd customer signed up at the Bethpage store. I continued my obsession when they moved to Farmingdale. That is where I purchased my first DVD A player as a store demo (it was a Toshiba unit). (That was the unit that was playing the movies through the Fosgate & MK speakers). Frank The store manager was a fantastic guy to work with. Though I was a collector of Laserdiscs, My first real exposure to multichannel Surround music was from Evolution Audio Video in CA. From them via mail order, I purchased a bunch or DTS CDs from them as a closeout for $10 each. I was Hooked.

I had purchased some equipment from them too. Multiple Pioneers over th years, 1030, 703, 704 a fosgate model 5, MK subs and MSB DTS decoder when DTS was released with the Jurassic Park LD.

 

[GOS]

I remember buying 8-tracks at Camelot Music back in the 70s with my brother, and I also remember Peaches, especially their commercials on the radio. Btw, this was in Indiana. Thanks for the blast from the past!

Wow, totally forgot about Camelot & Peaches. WTF??

 

[Lute]

Wow, totally forgot about Camelot & Peaches. WTF??

You know what I mean!? There were so many record stores back then. I can’t remember all of their names. Most of the time I just went inside and went straight to the record bins without paying much attention to the name on the sign out front. I do remember that Karma records on Keystone Ave. also served as a head-shop and was the best place to get bongs, pipes, rolling paper, and other exotic paraphernalia. LOL!! Peaches T-shirts were popular and I also loved those 70s feathered hairstyles.

 

[mattB2]

There used to be a triangle of large Tower, Virgin and HMV stores in Piccadilly Circus in London with two more large HMVs in Oxford Street. Those were the days....

 

[hobie1dog]

Best Buy

 

[4_everyman]

There used to be a triangle of large Tower, Virgin and HMV stores in Piccadilly Circus in London with two more large HMVs in Oxford Street. Those were the days....

One of my most prized (CD) possessions was purchased at the Tower Records in Piccadilly Circus.

Back in 1986, a co-worker was vacationing in London and staying in a hotel somewhere near Piccadilly. I asked him to pop in at the Tower store to look for a certain title for me. He spent most of his time in pubs so I didn't expect him to do any shopping on my behalf.

When he returned from his holiday, he dropped by my office and handed me the CD of Allies, by Crosby, Stills, and Nash. I asked him how much he paid for it. We went to the nearest ATM and I withdrew twice as much as he paid for it.

 

[The Rang]

There used to be a triangle of large Tower, Virgin and HMV stores in Piccadilly Circus in London with two more large HMVs in Oxford Street. Those were the days....

I visited those stores on my honeymoon in 1997. Could’ve spent all my time there lol.
Also recall the massive SANYO sign (I worked for them at the time) and a great meal at the Rainforest Cafe

 

[MidiMagic]

I have never even seen one in a store.

All of the record stores have closed here.

We have Walmart, Target, and Best Buy.

 

[fizzywiggs41]

Here in downtown Winnipeg ,

A & B Sound .....
had the best/largest selection and prices .
I do miss that store. They also had a smaller store down by the University Of Manitoba.

Also ....Best Buy (2 locations) Kildonan and Polo Park

Future Shop Stores had some.

HMV at Polo Park mall and St. Vital mall also had some.

 

[The Rang]

Here in downtown Winnipeg ,

A & B Sound .....
had the best/largest selection and prices .
I do miss that store. They also had a smaller store down by the University Of Manitoba.

I miss A&B Sound more than pretty much anything else in life.
Other than occasional forays down to Seattle, B&M music shopping pretty much died when they closed

 

[fizzywiggs41]

I miss A&B Sound more than pretty much anything else in life.
Other than occasional forays down to Seattle, B&M music shopping pretty much died when they closed

When they closed it was a big blow to everthing they carried in surround , namely all the DVD-A' s.
They had few SACD but there was Best Buy for that.
But their DVDA selection was top notch.

We now have Sunrise Records , but they couldn't give a sh*t about all the new surround releases.

 

[Owen Smith]

I could have gone to London to the shops others have mentioned, but I never got round to it. In Cambridge UK were I live there was nowhere selling DVD-A or SACD. I was an early adopter of DVD-V and couldn't even buy those locally, I had to buy them all online.

 

[Sal1950]

Chicago Digital - Oak Park IL
Address: 905 S Oak Park Ave # B, Oak Park, IL 60304
Phone: (708) 383-1870

The very first distributor of CD's in the Chicago area back in the early 80s.
Chris the owner is a hell of a guy and super knowledgeable about all things in digital music
Tens of thousands of used discs in stock, that's all he's ever sold, no vinyl of any type.

 

[ar surround]

Used to buy brand new SQ/QS and CD~4 Vinyl at a local E J Korvettes for $3~4 each and when CDs emerged, I had a buddy at Crazy Eddies who used to give them to me for a buck a piece and when I started buying laserdiscs, similar deal....then Crazy Eddies went bust and I bought them from Ken Cranes. When I went hog wild with DVD~A ....... can't recall the mail order guru ... but they were about $14 each. Came late to SACD and at the time actually AmazonUS was a good source .....free s/h if you spent $35 and NO sales tax at the time. Always found Tower Record's prices expensive [usually ABOVE list price on DVD~A/SACD] but once in a blue moon they'd have good deals.

And currently, seems ironic we have to pay [sometimes] $100 and more just to get the coveted surround disc......and hold our breath that it's a decent remix.

Yeah, EJ Korvettes was my major supply source for quad way back when. I also bought some from Sam Goodies. I had a run in with the Goodies sales manager on the CD-4 of Diamond Girl. The thing was chock full of spurious noises, so I tried returning it for a different non-CD-4 title. Goodies said ”no” at which point I went on a tirade about the known problems with the format.

They finally agreed that I could trade it in for any other LP, so I got Days of Future Past. I get DOFP home and the thing is pressed off center yielding continuous ’wow, through the entire recording. Some things are just not meant to be.

I got into SACD and DVD-A in 2006, so most of my purchases came from Amazon or eBay. I did order a couple of titles from Scotty’s Record Shop here, but they didn’t carry the formats in the store as stock. The big box sets often appeared at Best Buy or Barnes & Noble, but prices generally were much better from internet suppliers.

 

[Sonik Wiz]

Haha well the "good old days" is pretty flexible time line. SACD's & DVD-A's are new surround technology for me so I think I purchased just a few locally. Seems like whenever National Record Store Day comes around I manage to find a goody there. Good 'old days for me would be the vinyl years & purchased many an LP at Peaches & another awesome local place called Capers Corners. On Friday pay day when my friends were out spending all they could on beer, I was at the record store spending all I could. At Caper's me and my friends had such a rep that the owner would even have the rent-a-cop open the doors if we showed up after hours.

 

[kfbkfb]

Starting a sub-catagory:

Special ordered Quad albums:
1. Hugo Montenegro/Godfather LP - Musicland 1973-02
(reason - 1st RCA CD-4)
2. Rick Wakeman/Journey LP - Musicland 1975-01
(reason - 1st A&M CD-4)
3. Boulez conducts Bartok LP - Discount records 1975
(reason - unusual recording [my only Matrix quad special order])


Kirk Bayne