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What is Goosebumps Audio, anyway? |
Goosebumps (lat. cutis anserina) also called goose pimples, occur when music has such a powerful impact that the autonomic nervous system reacts with a contraction of the musculus arrector pili. This contraction of the tiny muscle at the base of each hair causes the hair to stand upright, a phenomenon called piloerection. In this state, the human skin resembles that of a plucked goose. No goosebumps can occur on hairless skin zones like the soles of our feet, the palms of our hands, or on our tongues. And to produce them – in most cases –, it takes music that goes straight to the gut, touches the heart, and overwhelms the senses. When the term goosebumps appears in a HiFi magazine article, the tester means that no other superlatives fit the bill. This commendation ranks higher than 13 ore more golden ears.
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And what does Goosebumps Audio do all day long? |
We import and distribute high-end audio components with very high goosebump coefficients, we visit and counsel dealers, we handle warranty and repair issues (which are very rare), we answer questions fielded by customers and prospects, we organize auditions, and we’re always on the lookout for further audio components with very high goosebump coefficients which we could import, distribute, guarantee, repair, and demonstrate. That really makes time fly during a typical day.
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Goosebumps Audio is Ruth and Robert Merker. But we’re more than merely Goosebumps Audio. We are – chiefly, in fact – audiophiles like you and me. Due to our backgrounds in teaching and economics, our focus was and is not on the technology behind music reproduction. It’s on the music combined with the goosebump coefficient when the music plays.
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What's important to Goosebumps Audio? |
We were braced for the motto question. But we don’t have one. What we do have is a few principles. Such as these:
Perspective. High-end audio devices with high goosebump coefficients are not disposable commodities (at least they shouldn’t be). They are investments – investments that from our point of view should and will have a longer life span than the latest hype in HiFi magazines.
Decency. Actually, this goes without saying. Nonetheless, we treat our dealers and customers in exactly the same way we would want to be treated as customers. With respect, honesty, and kindness.
Choice. Our product line features only brands and products that we can wholeheartedly endorse without reservation or hesitation. We mean endorse not from the commercial viewpoint, but from the standpoint of music lovers. And we mean endorse to such a degree that we would buy them for our personal use. In this context, our conviction extends beyond sound quality and also embraces the price/performance ratio, longevity, dependability, value preservation, trustworthiness of the manufacturer, and many other soft factors.
Contact. The fact that we hand-pick the products we distribute inevitably results in close contacts with their makers. We place great emphasis on that aspect. After all, we don’t want to be yet another distribution channel for them. We want to be able to share with them our awareness of the needs of our customers and the idiosyncrasies of the Swiss market in such a way that they are actually accommodated.
Fairness. In the era of online shopping and gray market imports, customers often fail to understand why a product sold by a Swiss dealer should cost a whole lot more than when the same product is imported directly from its country of origin, after shipping charges, customs duties, and value-added tax. If only there were never any warranty issues ... but that’s another story. Instead, our pricing model assures that our products, when purchased from a Swiss dealer with all guarantee privileges, does not cost more than if it is directly imported (we call that transparency!).
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About us