From my experience there seems to be a very big gap locally between the rubbish sold at Makro, Game and Hifi Corruption and the entry level systems from B&W, NAD, Monitor Audio etc. If we want this industry to grow we need to catch them when they young and hook them on early.
My first proper system was a Yamaha HTiB I bought from Hifi Corruption for a steal. I then slowly added Wharfedale Diamond 9's to the mix and hey presto I had a decent system in two years. I was in High School so obviously funds were limited but the ability to go a major shopping complex and listen and see these products alongside the rubbish systems made me understand the benefits and strive to keep upgrading. Currently the only shop offering this sort of thing (on a much smaller scale) is Dion Wired, but their selection is too limited to show the average consumer what else there is.
If you go to America, Europe and so on you find the large chain stores selling the entry level B&W, MA, Kef and so on to the average member of public. Currently I cant even think of recommending a decent normal system for friends under R10k, and even then I have to send them to some specialist store where they feel intimidated by the high ticket items and prices. People want to feel like they getting something special for their money, but going to HFX and buying a pair of B&W 686 s2 for R8k will feel like you cheaped out. If you bought it from Dion Wired for instance it would be one of the more expensive systems and people feel like they got something special (albeit in a much less sophisticated environment).
Very few people care enough about the electronics in their house to go to specialist stores hiding in far off places, they decide one day they want a Blu Ray player and go to the nearest centre to get one.
If we could get in some decent quality components for very good value we could grow this industry and that in turn would make space for some more high end offerings. Like them or hate them but Hifi Corp and the like (some 15 years ago) helped push more audio awareness to the general public than almost any of the HiFi retailers out there now.
