Shopfloor DEALER PROFILE: SPIRITLAND HEADPHONE BAR


February 2018 ertonline.co.uk


we can recommend something’s that’s heavier, more esoteric and lavish. The idea is to sell headphones in the way that you’d sell luxury watches. It’s not pushy – the stuff sells itself. This is such a small shop – it’s eight


square metres – but we’ve fitted it out beautifully and we’ve worked with some amazing design talent to maximise the space. It’s unlikely we would’ve done this anywhere else in London – it could only have been Mayfair or Soho.


Q: The rates and rents for the shop must be astronomical? PN: No comment [he laughs].


42 Paul Noble


Q: The store opened in October 2017. How’s it been doing? PN: It’s going really


well. Some


people will come in and buy quite an expensive pair of headphones quickly, once they’ve heard them, but others will have a demo, um and ah, go off, read up online and then come back and buy.


Once people have seen the store,


they can see what we’re trying to do – it doesn’t really have a lot in common with any hi-fi stores.


Q: Why did you decide to combine premium audio with whisky? PN: The whole thing is a sensory indulgence.


it all the love in the world. The artist has gone through life experiences to write, record, mix and master their songs, and then, at the end of the chain, people are listening to them on a speaker in their phone or their laptop. It’s tragic – it’s a sin. The way we consume and listen to music now is almost stripping it of all meaning.


Q: Aren’t some people willing to pay more for a better quality listening experience? PN: They are and there’s a definitely a story around vinyl at the moment – we have some vary lavish turntable equipment at Spiritland [in King’s Cross], but we also have CD players, a Tascam that plays high-res audio and a Revox reel-to-reel. It’s not about the format – it’s about the quality of the recording. When you listen to music in good quality, it’s a revelation – it opens it up.


Q: Are you an audiophile? PN: Yes – I was a sound engineer at


the BBC and I was a radio producer. I’ve always been on an upgrade path. I went to the Munich High End Show one year, I heard the Living Voice room and thought, ‘I’ve got to start from scratch – this is the sound I’ve been trying to get’.


Q: You don’t have a retail background, do you? PN: No, but I’ve done a lot of consuming and I know how I want to be treated and the amount of time I want to spend with the equipment.


Q: Can you tell us how you went about setting the wheels in motion to open the Headphone Bar? PN: It started with a conversation with the landlords here [in Mayfair]. They loved what we were doing at Spiritland and the culture around it. It was a year of planning and designing. The products – the headphones, the players and the amps – are beautiful – but, generally, they are sold in shops by people who either don’t know the


stock that well – they’ve been put on the hi-fi stand for the day – or they’re sold next to washing machines and fridges, or they’re in a box, or, more commonly, they’re sold online. When you’re on a headphone buying odyssey, you do research, you look at a million forums to see what everyone is saying and then you eventually take the plunge – you spend £500 upwards on a pair of headphones without having heard them or compared them with any others. The point is that here [at the Spiritland Headphone Bar] you can hear headphones from £150 to £4,000 and demo them side-by-side. You can plug them into the same amp, listen to the same source and hear the difference. You can hear the different tonal


characteristics and feel how


comfortable they are. If


you’re travelling on the Tube every day, we can recommend a pair for you, or if you’re going to sit in your man cave, with a whisky and do nothing but listen to music, then


Q: How did you choose which audio brands and products to sell? PN: It was down to years of listening and demoing. The brands have understood that we’re doing something distinctive and we are showcasing their equipment


in the middle of central London, in


a beautifully fitted store,


right with


knowledgeable and friendly staff. It’s niche and esoteric, but the people who love it, or are interested in it, have been supported. We want to work and collaborate with brands, but every piece of equipment in the shop has to earn its place.


Q: Any plans to open more Spiritland Headphone


Bars in


other parts of the UK? PN: Not elsewhere in the UK, but elsewhere in the world – I feel it’s something that could translate to New York, or Hong Kong, or a select duty- free zone.


There’s a reinvigorated


appetite for listening to music in good quality and to listen to an album from start to finish with headphones is a joy and a luxury – it’s so immersive.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48