Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 1, 1995 TAG: 9504030024
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BREEA WILLINGHAM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The classical music was so loud from inside the Hi-Fi Farm Inc. audio showroom that it sounded more like a live concert than a recording.
There was no live orchestra, just the crisp, clear sounds of high-end audio.
High-end is an industry term referring to audio equipment that's capable of reproducing sound so accurately that recordings sound like actual performances. By comparison, window-vibrating car stereos sound like mere Walkmans.
And unlike the average home system that retails for $600 at consumer electronic stores, Hi-Fi Farm's basic home stereo systems cost $1,645 and home audio/video systems go for $4,995.
Despite that, Hi-Fi Farm owner Steve Davis said this week he is expanding his showrooms at Oak Grove Plaza in Roanoke County and by summer expects to open a showroom at Smith Mountain Lake where customers will make appointments to shop in private.
Davis said 90 percent of his customers are from another state. Manufacturers often recommend his store to out-of-state customers because he stocks equipment that can't be found anywhere else. He said a lot of his customers come from Atlanta and Washington, D.C., but he also has customers flying to Roanoke from Alabama and Oklahoma.
Jim Wiser, who said he's been a "high-end nut for 30 years," lives in Athens, Ala., but has been a loyal Hi-Fi Farm customer for six months.
"I've upgraded my whole system with Steve," Wiser said. "I've bought power amps, preamps, CDs, cables and speakers. I've invested about $10,000 with him, and it's well worth it."
Wiser said he first learned of Davis' business from an ad in Stereo File magazine that's geared toward high-end audio fans.
James Snipes, an engineer working for AT&T near Oklahoma City, has been a Hi-Fi customer for three years and just recently purchased his third system from Davis. "We don't have a high-end dealer in Oklahoma, and I have to mail order my equipment. I've dealt with a lot of dealers, and his honesty and integrity makes it easy to work with him," Snipes said of Davis.
Most of Davis' equipment is made either in America or Europe by manufacturers with a reputation of producing the best audio equipment.
Davis' love for audio began in 1975 when he performed in "all kind of bands," singing and playing various instruments. "I was always thinking how I could make the music sound even better. I just gathered a love for it and never got rid of it," he said.
He started his business in 1983 as a sideline to Mountaineer Telephone, a communication business in West Virginia. He sold that in 1990 and went into the audio field full time "because I preferred working in this field more than the communications field."
Davis said expansion of the business within the next two years will mean more employees, showrooms and services.
"We're going to appeal to a broader-based local audience and offer some real good high-end audio equipment to use with home video equipment," Davis said. "We want to get more people interested in using our equipment ... to see how it can fit in their homes."
by CNB