Imacustica – The future of audio retail?

Portugal might not be the first place you think of for high-performance audio, but you’d be very, very wrong. In the capital, Lisbon, Imacustica has built itself a new and dedicated audiophile store of the kind of size and proportion that many top-end stores can only dream of. We had a unique over-the-weekend opportunity to visit the new store, and experience the awesome Magico M-Project loudspeakers.

The store started as a large shell, more of a small warehouse than a shop, really. The Imacustica team used this as a blank canvas to make a dedicated audio experience that’s difficult to beat anywhere. The dedicated audition/listening rooms were built out of double-skinned cinder-block/breeze-block (to create more of an approximation of European domestic construction techniques, but to allow a degree of sound treatment and isolation), with a solid perforated ceiling at a raked angle to give a good sound, as well as sensitive bass trapping, and first reflection treatment (artfully and artistically disguised). Currently there are three listening rooms for two-channel audio, and one dedicated home cinema/home theatre room, with a second AV room in construction. The store has enough space for loudspeaker storage, meaning the rooms can remain used as dedicated single-speaker demonstration facilities.

Equipment on show is frequently displayed behind glass. This is not only to make the products seem like fine art or jewellery; some of the more expensive pieces of audio equipment can be kept on show, protected from the elements and prying fingers.

The big advantage though is size. The store is, by modern audio standards, huge. It is clean, friendly, and inviting. The team is young, enthusiastic, and friendly. All of which makes Imacustica far removed from the typical ‘idea’ of an audio store. All of which makes Imacustica the venue for showing some of the best audio on the planet including the Magico M-Project and the Constellation Audio Hercules II amplifiers. Few stores have the acoustics to do them justice, but Imacustica makes the grade.

The big thing is we need more places like Imacustica. Not simply clones of the store, but people thinking about making audio something to aspire to, and the kind of store where that can happen. In a way, this is already happening; across the world, high-end stores are selling high-end audio to high-end customers in the way they were always supposed to. No more being met by a grumpy old man in sweat pants that are two sizes too small. No more being patronised for not knowing about cartridge loading or not understanding the intricacies of the decibel scale. We’re done with that.

In its previous store, Imacustica showed it was capable of such forward-thinking, but it was hampered by the building. In its new premises, no such hampering takes place.

So, what’s the reason for this, aside from justifying a weekend in Lisbon and a rant against stores that last saw a paint-brush in 1986? Simple. If you live in Portugal, you just got a store of the highest grade in Imacustica. If you don’t, next time you are planning a tour of Europe and wind up in Lisbon, go check out one of the very best on the Av. do Brasil.

www.imacustica.pt