REMEMBERING ANDREW SINGER
Michael Trei
Andrew N. Singer, founder and owner of New York City high-end audio retailer Sound By Singer, died Sunday, April 21, 2024, following a lengthy illness. He was 73 years old.
Born and raised in New York City by a Jewish father and a French mother, Andy did what any good Jewish kid would do to please his parents: got a law degree and went to work for a prestigious New York City law firm. All went well at first, but after about three years he came to realize that the legal profession bored him to tears. Switching gears, he decided to follow his real passions—music, audio equipment, and building audio systems—and established Sound By Singer in 1978 in the living room of his parents’ Manhattan apartment.
Within a couple of years, it became clear that having a constant stream of people coming into the family living room wasn’t a good long-term solution, so Sound By Singer moved to a real commercial location. Before long, during the 1980s, the business outgrew that space and moved on to a succession of larger spaces. Finally, in 1990, Singer settled in for the long haul at 18 East 16th Street—just as the neighborhood, Union Square, was becoming hip. This massive, custom-built store featured 10 dedicated listening rooms brimming with state-of-the-art audio gear, cementing Singer’s reputation as a powerhouse in high-end audio retail.
In the 1980s, New York’s high-end retail scene could be cutthroat. Singer had a brilliant ability to skillfully negotiate the obstacle course, taking on newer brands he believed showed promise, then working to build that brand’s reputation
