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Community => Regional Audiophiles => Northern California Audio Lovers => Topic started by: Mortsnets on 7 Sep 2006, 03:18 pm

Title: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: Mortsnets on 7 Sep 2006, 03:18 pm
I'm having a hard time locating audio stores; manufactures dealer lists are often out of date.

Are there any good audio stores left in the Bay Area (that carry affordable stuff)?

Any that have Spendor S3/5, Reynaud Twin, and/or Audio Note AX-2 speakers?

Any that sell and refurbish used vintage vintage gear (Scott 299)?

I'm aware of Music Lovers in Berkeley, I got my Music Hall turntable there.

The places I used to go: DB Audio and SF Stereo on 4th have moved or gone out of business.

Thanks,
Craig (East Bay)
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: TheChairGuy on 7 Sep 2006, 03:39 pm
Hey Craig,

Welcome to AC, my man!

Up the road from me in San Rafael is Access to Music...nice shop.  They are really two channel/vinyl guys...but make too much money on audio/video installs to go back.  Nice folks.  Easy to get to from East Bay as it's a pretty straight shot into San Rafael from Richmond Bridge/580.

http://www.access-music.com/

There's Performance Audio in SF, too, http://www.performance-audio.com/

They are the local Vandersteen dealer....I don't think they carry any analog, tho.  Another place that makes mucho dinero on aud/vid installs.

Ed Regan is either the Manager or Owner (or both) and he lives down the road from me (literally, down the hill I live on).  His Christmas displays every year are about the best in town (12 gigantic reindeer pulling Santa's sleight this year) ...I suspect that if his installs are of the same quality, they are very good at it.

Ciao, John/TCG

I'm having a hard time locating audio stores; manufactures dealer lists are often out of date.

Are there any good audio stores left in the Bay Area (that carry affordable stuff)?

Any that have Spendor S3/5, Reynaud Twin, and/or Audio Note AX-2 speakers?

Any that sell and refurbish used vintage vintage gear (Scott 299)?

I'm aware of Music Lovers in Berkeley, I got my Music Hall turntable there.

The places I used to go: DB Audio and SF Stereo on 4th have moved or gone out of business.

Thanks,
Craig (East Bay)

Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: Se7en on 7 Sep 2006, 03:44 pm


Audio Vision SF http://www.audiovisionsf.com/

There is a Music Lovers in downtown.

Theres a couple of other nice shops (one in the Castro on Market and another one in West Portal). I just can't remember their names at this moment  :scratch:, I will post later though...
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: Mortsnets on 7 Sep 2006, 04:06 pm
Wow! Two replies in 30 minutes.

I work very near the bridge so Access to Music would be convenient, and they have some affordable stuff.

Audio Visions looks very good, they have the Naim Nait 5i integrated which is on my wish list.
Title: Nick Gowen repairs vintage gear & is Spendor dealer
Post by: bob stern on 7 Sep 2006, 05:21 pm
I believe he used to be the repair tech for Audible Difference in Palo Alto.

He's in Campbell.  His store is called True Sound.  Tel. 408-370-7578
http://www.tsound.com (http://www.tsound.com)
Title: Spendor dealer: R. B. Audio in Dublin
Post by: bob stern on 7 Sep 2006, 05:22 pm
May be defunct.  The contact info I have is:
tel. 925-918-3714
email:  bergner33 ATSIGN yahoo DOT com
http://www.rbaudio.com (http://www.rbaudio.com)
Title: Audible Arts in San Jose
Post by: bob stern on 7 Sep 2006, 05:32 pm
Jeff Wells, owner, is the most pleasant and helpful dealer I know.
He concentrates on relatively affordable gear.
tel. 408-248-1196
http://www.AudibleArts.com
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: R_burke on 7 Sep 2006, 05:55 pm
South Bay, but good knowledgeable people

http://www.theanalogroom.com/

Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: kmmd on 7 Sep 2006, 09:14 pm
There's also Stereo Unlimited in Walnut Creek.  Dave Hare will keep you entertained for hours.  You should see and hear what he does with Maggie speakers.  After that, you can stroll around the Creek around Main St., Mt. Diablo Blvd., Broadway, etc. to get some shopping done and then have a great meal.  Enjoy!
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: Mortsnets on 8 Sep 2006, 12:22 am
To summarize: store name/a few of the speaker brands carried/web url/phone

Music Lovers Audio (Berkeley and San Francisco)
Joseph Audio, Era, Paradigm
http://www.musicloversaudio.com/
510-558-1000  415-345-8111

Access to Music (San Rafael)
B&W, Dali, Linn, REL Acoustics, Definitive Tech.
http://www.access-music.com/
415-453-3936

Performance Audio (San Francisco)
Vandersteen, Gallo
http://www.performance-audio.com/
415-441-6220

Audio Vision (San Francisco)
Naim, Quad, Dali, Opera
http://www.audiovisionsf.com/
415-614-1118

True Sound (Campbell)
Spendor, Audio Note, Ruark
Vintage repair
http://www.tsound.com
408-370-7578

R.B. Home Cinema and Ultra Audio (Dublin)
Quad, Spendor
http://www.rbhomecinema.com/audioproducts.html
925-918-3714

Audible Arts (San Jose)
Dali, Reference 3A, Von Schweikert, NHT
http://www.AudibleArts.com
408-248-1196

The Analog Room (San Jose)
Sonus Faber, Quad
http://www.theanalogroom.com/
408-971-6158

Stereo Unlimited (Walnut Creek)
Magnepan, Opera, Audes
http://www.stereounlimited.com/Home.htm
925-932-5835

Soundscape (Santa Rosa)
Epos, Nola, Usher, Vandersteen, Wharfedale, Klipsch
http://www.soundscapeav.com/
707-578-4434

The Tweak Shop (Santa Rosa)
Focal/JM Lab, Nola, Audes
http://www.tweakshop.com/
707-575-8626

Audio High (Mountain View)
Energy , Epos, Living Voice, Usher
http://www.audiohigh.com/
650-964-4000

San Francisco Stereo (San Francisco)
Dynaudio, B&W, Canton
http://www.sfstereo.com/
415-861-1044

David Tonelli (Oakland)
For repair, mainly of tube equipment
510-444-1200

APL Hi-Fi (East Bay)
Digital audio player modifications
http://www.aplhifi.com/
510-972-0067

Specialty Audio Source (Antioch)
Aliante speakers
http://www.specialtyaudiosource.com/
925-565-0588

Future Sound (Burlingame)
B&W, Gallo, Thiel, Martin Logan, Wilson
http://www.futuresoundav.com/
650-342-1476

The New Audible Difference (Palo Alto)
Thiel, Linn, Gallo, KEF, Magnepan, Wilson
http://www.newaudibledifference.com/
650-328-1081

Jeff Jahnke HomeGear
Address: 1452A El Camino real, Menlo Park, CA 94025
Tel: (650) 323-3030   avguru@sbcglobal.net
By appointment only. A wide variety of high and low end products. Main speaker line: Pro-Ac.

Teresonic Products (speakers & cables) Mike Zivkovic   mike@teresonic.com
Tel: (408) 973-8813

Bob Bergner
Tel: (925) 918-3714   www.rbhomecinema.com
Ayre, Bruce Moore, Cardas, Genesis, McIntosh Marantz, Quad and TAG plus others. Acoustic Measurements and Speaker Setup

Beeswing Audio Video
Scott Schackel   scott@beeswing.com
Tel: (650) 474-0417
Fine audio and home theater design and installation.
Focal-JMlab, James Loudspeaker, ARCAM, Denon, AudioQuest, Sim2, Fujitsu, JVC, Sharp, Samsung, Stewart Filmscreen, plus others.
Certified by the HAA (Home Acoustics Alliance - http://www.homeacoustics.net) for acoustical analysis and optimization, and the ISF (Imaging Science Foundation - http://www.imagingscience.com) for display calibration.

Reflection Audio
www.reflectionaudio.com
(415 )479-1319      stephen@reflectionaudio.com
Address: 170 Mt. Lassen Drive, San Rafael, CA 94903
Tel: (415) 479-1319

Oritek Audio   
Ori Mizrahi-Shalom orim@ispwest.com
Interconnects, speaker cables, power amp (forthcoming).

Silent Lucidity
Jim Volpatti   jvolpatti@earthlink.net
Tel: (415) 928-2990
By Appointment only.
Bel Canto, Electrocompaniet, Manley Labs, Audio Refinement, Cambridge Audio, JA Michell Engineering, Koetsu, SME, Benz Micro, Focal-JMlab, Totem Acoustic, Amphion, Analysis Plus, Shunyata Research, Isoclean, Dream Vision;
Plus Rives Audio acoustic consulting and design.
Jim is a full in-home service dealer.

Jim Gordon   
sordidman@yahoo.com
Dealer for Blue Circle Audio (http://www.bluecircle.com).
In process of becoming a dealer for two different speaker manufacturers and a component isolation/noise reduction organization.

David Tonelli
Tel: (510) 444-1200
Oakland (lower Piedmont)
Specializes in servicing vacuum tube equipment, FM tuners (tube or solid state), and professional recording gear.

Audio Image Ltd 
Bob Kehn  bkehn@comcast.net
Tel: (510) 654-7235
Emeryville, CA 94608
Epiphany Audio, Sound Lab, Oasis Audio, Tom Evans Audio, Aesthetix, Gamut, Audio Note, Audio Logic, VPI, Transfiguration, Lyra, Benz, Koetsu, Silversmith Audio, Kimber Select, Rix Raxs, Finite Elemente.

DeHavilland Audio
George Kielczynski
Tube amplifiers and preamplifiers.

Eivind Sukkestad 
www.bybeeconnection.com
Bybee cables, conditioners, devices, etc.

Sound Application power products
Jim Weil  jim@soundapplication.com
Tel: (510) 525-1065

Ultimate Audio Tom Bourret   
Tel: (707) 953-7100  tbourret@comcast.net
Authorized dealer for Sound Lab speakers, Wolcott and Parasound amplifiers.

The Tweak Shop (Santa Rosa)
Tel: (707) 575-8626  http://www.tweakshop.com/
Elliot Kallen

Audio by Laurel Pacific Systems (Los Gatos)
http://www.laurelpacificaudio.com/
Sunil Mohan   laurel_pacific@yahoo.com
Bay Area dealer for the following brands: Bel Canto Design, Harbeth, Lavardin, Velodyne, Acoustic Zen, Denon, Adcom.

Tailored Technology   
http://www.tailoredtechnology.com/
Michael Jacobs, Sales Manager and Audio Consultant  mikej@netmagic.net
Tel: (408) 734-5164 (by appointment only in Sunnyvale)
Lines represented include: Vandersteen, Theta, BEL (Brown Electronic Labs), Aesthetix, BG (Bohlender-Graebener), Denon, Clearaudio and others.

Witchdoctor Audio
Speaker Brands: Cain & Cain, Omega, Epos, Rethm
2072 Antioch Court
Oakland, CA 94611
phone: 510-919-5104
by appointment only
www.witchdoctoraudio.com
askthewitchdoctor@witchdoctoraudio.com

Pitch Perfect Audio 
Matthew Rotunda 415-244-9310  pitchperfectaudio.com
Demonstrating the renowned LATOUR Full Field Coil Loudpeaker, meticulously hand crafted tube stereo electronics and Shindo 301 Turntable - from the brilliant Ken Shindo.
DeVore Fidelity Loudspeakers, Auditorium 23 Products, Euphya Audio Products, EMT, Living Voice Loudspeakers, Leben HiFi, 47 Laboratory

Bay Area Audio
http://www.bayareaaudio.com
408.255.0735

Triad Home Theater & Audio
http://www.triad-electric.com/

Blue Moon Audio (Pleasanton)
BC Acoustique, Epos, Trenner & Friedl
http://www.bluemoonaudio.com/
510-325-2440

Harmony Audio Video (San Francisco)
B&W, Gallo
www.harmonyaudiovideo.com
333 W Portal Ave
San Francisco, CA 94127
(415) 661-2525

The A/V Room (Fremont)
PSB, Totem
http://www.theavroom.com/
510-713-1241

World of Sound (Mill Valley)
35 Reed Boulevard
(Behind Strawberry Shopping Center - right off Rt. 101 on the northbound side)
Mill Valley, CA  94941
a/d/s, Gallo, Canton, KEF
repair facility that fixes anything - tube, SS, vintage
http://www.worldofsoundmarin.com/
415-383-4343

Taurus Audio (Newark)
JM FocalLab, Almarro, Melody Valve, modified Toshiba DVD players, NOS tubes
5680 Thornton Ave.
Newark, CA 94560
Owner: Louis Ma
510-713-9893

The Sound Well (Berkeley)
repair, used, vintage
http://www.thesoundwell.com/
510-549-2126

Audible Ear (Lafayette)
speaker repair, used, vintage
1008-B Oak Hill Road
Lafayette, CA  94549
925-284-8166
Open 10am to 3:30pm Wednesday through Saturday

Sertech Electronics (San Jose)
repair, used, vintage
http://www.sertechelectronics.com/
(408) 267-3288

NorCal Magnolia Hi-Fi locations:

Magnolia Hi-Fi are stand alone locations.  Magnolia Home Theatre are located within select (corporate parent) Best Buy stores.

Colma       650.757.4300
Emeryville  510.420.6100
Palo Alto   650.838.2500
Roseville   916.782.9880
Sacramento  916.561.2740 (Arden Fair)
San Ramon   925.242.3600
Santa Clara 408.423.5100
Santa Rosa  707.566.2680

AudioQuest, B&K, Boston Acoustics, Definitive Technology, Denon, Elan, Escient, Marantz, Matrix Audio, M&K Sound, MartinLogan, McIntosh, Mirage, Monitor Audio, Pioneer Elite, Primare, Pro-ject, REL, Sennheiser, Shure, Sonos, Sonus Faber, Sony ES, SpeakerCraft, Tivoli Audio, Vienna Acoustics
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: Berndt on 8 Sep 2006, 12:40 am
Maybe we sticky this and have it be a bay area retailer data base of sorts?
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: TheChairGuy on 8 Sep 2006, 01:08 am
Bill/Berndt,

We sure should.  You should have a button (with your NorCal Moderator superpowers granted to you)  that says 'Set Topic to Sticky' .  Hold that and it will become a sticky.

If you don't have one or find it, I can do it.  But, it's good practice for your to familiarize yourself with the controls.  :)

What an amazing list, mortsnets! - you are aptly so named  :wink:
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: eico1 on 8 Sep 2006, 02:22 am
http://www.soundscapeav.com/ (http://www.soundscapeav.com/)

is very cool, check out the erotic arts exibit they host once or twice a year. Worth the drive if they have what you want or like art!

Russian River Brewing is also an attraction.

steve
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: Berndt on 8 Sep 2006, 02:32 am
I have a set of Russian river growlers rolling around under my feet now.
Mike the tech at Soundscape is the man :thumb:
Never a bad word out of that guy, an honest tech is hard to find!
This cannot be a coincedence.
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: Jason Victor Serinus on 8 Sep 2006, 04:17 pm
Please add to the List:

Elliot Kallen The Tweak Shop in Santa Rosa  eektweak@tweakshop.com
  As is the case with Jeff Wells, you'll be hard pressed to find a more knowledgeable man of integrity than Elliot. He's a long-time expert in jazz and analog recordings, and used to review.

Audio High in Mountain View   650.964.4000 - 201 Moffett Blvd Mountain View, CA 94043" <michael@silver.org>   A dedicated jazz lover and promoter of jazz benefit events.

San Francisco Stereo in San Francisco

For repair, mainly of tube equipment, David Tonelli in Oakland  510-444-1200. He's out of town right now.

In addition, there are a ton of in-home dealers and mod people (e.g. Alex Peychev of APL-HiFi) in the Bay Area. Many (but not all) are members of the Bay Area Audiophile Society (BAAS). We maintain a list of these on the members-only portion of the BAAS website. Many, such as Bob Bergner of RB Audio, carry gear that the storefronts do not carry.

Gracias,
jason victor serinus
who also writes for http://www.hometheaterhifi.com and Stereophile

Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: KKM on 8 Sep 2006, 08:44 pm
Future Sound in Burlingame:

http://www.futuresoundav.com/Default.aspx?tabid=1058

and The New Audible Difference in Palo Alto:

http://www.newaudibledifference.com/Default.aspx?tabid=1470

It's the same owner.
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: Jason Victor Serinus on 8 Sep 2006, 11:01 pm
Jeff Jahnke HomeGear
Address: 1452A El Camino real, Menlo Park, CA 94025
Tel: (650) 323-3030   avguru@sbcglobal.net
By appointment only. A wide variety of high and low end products. Main speaker line: Pro-Ac.


Teresonic Products (speakers & cables)Mike Zivkovic   mike@teresonic.com
Tel: (408) 973-8813


Bob Bergner
Tel: (925) 918-3714   www.rbhomecinema.com
Ayre, Bruce Moore, Cardas, Genesis, McIntosh Marantz, Quad and TAG plus others. Acoustic Measurements and Speaker Setup


Beeswing Audio Video
Scott Schackel   scott@beeswing.com
Tel: (650) 474-0417
Fine audio and home theater design and installation.
Focal-JMlab, James Loudspeaker, ARCAM, Denon, AudioQuest, Sim2, Fujitsu, JVC, Sharp, Samsung, Stewart Filmscreen, plus others.
Certified by the HAA (Home Acoustics Alliance - http://www.homeacoustics.net) for acoustical analysis and optimization, and the ISF (Imaging Science Foundation - http://www.imagingscience.com) for display calibration.


Reflection Audio
www.reflectionaudio.com
(415 )479-1319      stephen@reflectionaudio.com
Address: 170 Mt. Lassen Drive, San Rafael, CA 94903
Tel: (415) 479-1319


Oritek Audio   
Ori Mizrahi-Shalom orim@ispwest.com
Interconnects, speaker cables, power amp (forthcoming).


Silent Lucidity
Jim Volpatti   jvolpatti@earthlink.net
Tel: (415) 928-2990
By Appointment only.
Bel Canto, Electrocompaniet, Manley Labs, Audio Refinement, Cambridge Audio, JA Michell Engineering, Koetsu, SME, Benz Micro, Focal-JMlab, Totem Acoustic, Amphion, Analysis Plus, Shunyata Research, Isoclean, Dream Vision;
Plus Rives Audio acoustic consulting and design.
Jim is a full in-home service dealer.


Jim Gordon   
sordidman@yahoo.com
Dealer for Blue Circle Audio (http://www.bluecircle.com).
In process of becoming a dealer for two different speaker manufacturers and a component isolation/noise reduction organization.


David Tonelli
Tel: (510) 444-1200
Oakland (lower Piedmont)
Specializes in servicing vacuum tube equipment, FM tuners (tube or solid state), and professional recording gear.


Audio Image Ltd 
Bob Kehn  bkehn@comcast.net
Tel: (510) 654-7235
Emeryville, CA 94608
Epiphany Audio, Sound Lab, Oasis Audio, Tom Evans Audio, Aesthetix, Gamut, Audio Note, Audio Logic, VPI, Transfiguration, Lyra, Benz, Koetsu, Silversmith Audio, Kimber Select, Rix Raxs, Finite Elemente.


DeHavilland Audio
George Kielczynski
Tube amplifiers and preamplifiers.


Eivind Sukkestad 
www.bybeeconnection.com
Bybee cables, conditioners, devices, etc.


Sound Application power products
Jim Weil  jim@soundapplication.com
Tel: (510) 525-1065


Ultimate Audio Tom Bourret   
Tel: (707) 953-7100  tbourret@comcast.net
Authorized dealer for Sound Lab speakers, Wolcott and Parasound amplifiers.


The Tweak Shop (Santa Rosa)
Tel: (707) 575-8626  http://www.tweakshop.com/
Elliot Kallen


Audio by Laurel Pacific Systems (Los Gatos)
Sunil Mohan   laurel_pacific@yahoo.com
Bay Area dealer for the following brands: Bel Canto Design, Harbeth, Lavardin, Velodyne, Acoustic Zen, Denon, Adcom.


Tailored Technology   
Michael Jacobs, Sales Manager and Audio Consultant  mikej@netmagic.net
Tel: (408) 734-5164 (by appointment only in Sunnyvale)
Lines represented include: Vandersteen, Theta, BEL (Brown Electronic Labs), Aesthetix, BG (Bohlender-Graebener), Denon, Clearaudio and others.


Witchdoctor Audio
2072 Antioch Court
Oakland, CA 94611
phone: 510-919-5104
by appointment only
www.witchdoctoraudio.com
askthewitchdoctor@witchdoctoraudio.com


Pitch Perfect Audio 
Matthew Rotunda 415-244-9310  pitchperfectaudio.com
Demonstrating the renowned LATOUR Full Field Coil Loudpeaker, meticulously hand crafted tube stereo electronics and Shindo 301 Turntable - from the brilliant Ken Shindo.
DeVore Fidelity Loudspeakers, Auditorium 23 Products, Euphya Audio Products, EMT, Living Voice Loudspeakers, Leben HiFi, 47 Laboratory


jason victor serinus
BAAS, Stereophile, hometheaterhifi.com
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: Bizarroterl on 8 Sep 2006, 11:17 pm
South Bay, but good knowledgeable people

http://www.theanalogroom.com/



Domain expired on 9/2.  Link no longer works.
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: Berndt on 9 Sep 2006, 04:04 am
http://www.soundscapeav.com/ (http://www.soundscapeav.com/)

is very cool, check out the erotic arts exibit they host once or twice a year. Worth the drive if they have what you want or like art!

Russian River Brewing is also an attraction.

steve

Erotic?
OK, I'll bite when did you say the shows are?
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: TheChairGuy on 9 Sep 2006, 06:40 pm
Wow, what a list, Jason...many thanks  :)

John / TheChairGuy (So. Marin)
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: R_burke on 9 Sep 2006, 08:53 pm
South Bay, but good knowledgeable people

http://www.theanalogroom.com/



Domain expired on 9/2.  Link no longer works.

Not sure what happened with the web site, but they are still in business, I just called and spoke with them.  Here is the address and phone number:

1416 Frutdale Ave
San Jose, CA  95128
408 971 6158
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: budbrew on 10 Sep 2006, 07:43 pm
Matt at Pitch Perfect Audio is a good guy. I bought a Leben amp from him and he allowed me to hang out for a while listening to the Shindo gear including the field coil speakers and the Garrard TT. His selection is not huge, but the gear is good and he's friendly and down to earth.
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: Jason Victor Serinus on 10 Sep 2006, 11:29 pm
Three more I found via a website. I know nothing about these:

Bay Area Audio
?1362 South De Anza Blvd.?
San Jose, CA 95129?
408.255.0735?
http://www.bayareaaudio.com

Magnolia Hi-Fi?110 Sunset Drive
?San Ramon, California 94583?
(925) 242-3600
http://www.magnoliahifi.com/

Triad Home Theater & Audio
?1320 South California Blvd.?
Walnut Creek, California 94596
? (925) 952-4581
http://www.triad-electric.com/
jason
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: TheChairGuy on 11 Sep 2006, 04:28 am
Magnolia Hi-Fi are stand alone locations.  Magnolia Home Theatre are located within select (corporate parent) Best Buy stores.

As we want to make the the most comprehensive list available, I offer all the NorCal Magnolia Hi-Fi locations:

Colma
650.757.4300
1 Colma Blvd.
Colma, CA 94014


Emeryville
510.420.6100
5606 Bay Street
Emeryville, CA 94608


Palo Alto
650.838.2500
180 University Ave.
Palo Alto, CA 94301


Roseville
916.782.9880
1164 Galleria Boulevard
Roseville, CA 95678


Sacramento (Arden Fair)
916.561.2740
1785 Arden Way
Sacramento, CA 95815


San Ramon
925.242.3600
110 Sunset Drive
San Ramon, CA 94583


Santa Clara
408.423.5100
52 North Winchester Boulevard
Santa Clara, CA 95050


Santa Rosa
707.566.2680
2080 Santa Rosa Ave.
Santa Rosa, CA 95407

AudioQuest, B&K, Boston Acoustics, Definitive Technology, Denon, Elan, Escient, Marantz, Matrix Audio, M&K Sound, MartinLogan, McIntosh, Mirage, Monitor Audio, Pioneer Elite, Primare, Pro-ject, REL, Sennheiser, Shure, Sonos, Sonus Faber, Sony ES, SpeakerCraft, Tivoli Audio, Vienna Acoustics



Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: Mortsnets on 12 Sep 2006, 10:37 pm
for the vintage/used crowd:

The Sound Well (Berkeley)
repair, used, vintage
http://www.thesoundwell.com/
510-549-2126

Sertech Electronics (San Jose)
repair, used, vintage
http://www.sertechelectronics.com/
(408) 267-3288

The Audible Ear (Lafayette)
Is this shop still open?
Vintage gear, vintage speaker repair, vintage speaker drivers
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: Brad on 12 Sep 2006, 11:20 pm
Cut it out Mortsnet   :x
You're going to have me moving or at least visiting NorCal to check out the vintage gear shops   :D

Just don't tell me if there are any good vinyl shops too......
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: Rolloff on 13 Sep 2006, 08:43 pm
Harmony Audio Video
www.harmonyaudiovideo.com
333 W Portal Ave
San Francisco, CA 94127
(415) 661-2525

The've got B&W and Gallo speakers and a host of various other equipment. As usual these days, they're probably thriving on home instalations of multi this and that, but they still offer 2 channel for the enthusiast...
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: Grace on 16 Oct 2006, 03:56 am
Hello Craig,

Did you find what you are searching for?  I'm sure all of them on the list are good.  I've dealt with two of them so far...

Jeff at Audible and Troy at Specialty - Helpful before and after the sale... all the best to your search
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: contrarian on 16 Oct 2006, 01:04 pm
Just want to reiterate budbrew's comments, that Matt at Pitch Perfect Audio is a wonderful person to deal with.  I just bought a Shindo amp from him and I’m very impressed with the gear and his friendly and knowledgeable demeanor.

For a fun and informative read, check out this 6moons Road Tour article:

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/mlroadtour1/roadtour.html (http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/mlroadtour1/roadtour.html)
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: Mortsnets on 24 Oct 2006, 07:10 pm
Grace,

Thanks for asking.  I had to go to the top of the thread to remind myself of the original question.

No, I have not yet visited any shops that stock modern day LS3/5a equivalents.  I got a good deal on a vintage KEF 103.2 speakers via Craigslist and am still in the honeymoon phase with them.

They sound good with both the inexpensive solid state and vintage tube (Scott 299) amplification (very flat impedance curves). 

Still looking for a speaker that will make the Sonic Impact T-amp sound anywhere near as good as the rave reviews.
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: TheChairGuy on 25 Oct 2006, 02:51 am
Mortsnets...the little T-amp is nice, better with either battery power or regulated AC power supply....but if you really like tubes, it'll probably fall short of ideal for you.  It's a bit dry...can be helped by tube pre in front, but you're kinda' losing he cheap charm of it that way.  At least, that's what I found (and I am a more recent tube convert).

I spoke to David Tonelli last week, the local expert tube amp guy in Oakland, and he was a splendid guy.  Unfortunately he's also popular and backed up 2 weeks and won't be available until mid-November to fix new gear with a vacation coming up and a move to a new space.

Sitting here with two vintage sets of monoblocks that need some TLC, I didn't know where to turn. My listening room is also my office and with Winter coming up these guys make nice space heaters (I think they do a better job than any heater I've ever bought in this particular room - I'm serious)  :wink:

It dawned on my very close to me is World of Sound.....a long time McIntosh dealer.  So, I called, and indeed they have a repair facility that fixes anything - tube, SS, whatever (it's virtual audio museum in there when you look around).  So, my Dukane monoblocks are awaiting TLC with Peter there now ...  :)

Here's the address if you all need/want:

World of Sound (Service Department)
35 Reed Boulevard
(Behind Strawberry Shopping Center - right off Rt. 101 on the northbound side)
Mill Valley, CA  94941
tel. 415-383-4346
www.worldofsoundmarin.com
E-Mail: ps35reed@aol.com (Peter's email)
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: rhing on 25 Oct 2006, 04:07 am
For the Sonic Impact amp, you might want to check out Omega Loudspeakers. Witch Doctor Audio carries them. They are highly efficient speakers (93 dB +) and with good stands or mounting platforms they provide a nice low end.

For another Bay Area audio dealer, don't forget:

Taurus Audio
5680 Thornton Ave.
Newark, CA 94560

Owner: Louis Ma
Phone: 510-713-9893

JM FocalLab, Almarro, Melody Valve, modified Toshiba DVD players, NOS tubes, lots of esoteric Asian hifi magazines and disks
Title: Leo's Pro Audio?
Post by: unita_logica on 1 Nov 2006, 02:35 am
Hi all, this is my first post on this wonderful forum. I am fairly new to the world of hi-fi audio but I am learning quite a few things from great web sites like TNT audio, 6moons, and this one of course.  :)

To get back in topic:

Did anybody go to Leo's Pro Audio in Oakland? I believe they mainly sell musical instruments but I was wondering whether they have an audio room too...

http://www.leosaudio.com/
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: Mortsnets on 1 Nov 2006, 03:50 pm
Hi and Welcome,

I've been to Leo's and it targets pro audio/musicians.  But there are some crossover products like the Benchmark Dac and some of the Behringer stuff.  Good prices on harmonicas.
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: TheChairGuy on 6 Nov 2006, 11:20 am
Another repair center - mostly for tube amp & pre-amp owners.

Tho well know for his Dynaco modifications, he also repairs, fully restores, and upgrades the products from the following select manufacturers:
 
    * Audio Research
    * Conrad Johnson
    * Dynaco
    * Fisher (classic)
    * Harman-Kardon (tube)
    * Luxman (tube)
    * Marantz (tube)
    * Paragon
    * Quicksilver
    * Sonic Frontiers
    * Theta

Curcio Audio Engineering    
1686 Hyacinth Lane   
San Jose, CA 95124
Phone: 408-269-4273 (PST)    
FAX: 603-584-6573
e-Mail: curcioj@earthlink.net
www.curcioaudio.com
     
Title: Re: Nick Gowen repairs vintage gear & is Spendor dealer
Post by: Berndt on 24 Jan 2007, 02:24 am
I believe he used to be the repair tech for Audible Difference in Palo Alto.

He's in Campbell.  His store is called True Sound.  Tel. 408-370-7578
http://www.tsound.com (http://www.tsound.com)

I am dealing with Nick Gowan at True Sound with a couple fix'em ups right now. He appears to have a long history in the bay area, and he likes working on my stuff!
He popped the platter off of my micro-seiki and said, "this looks nice".
He's got a megabuck hydraulic compensated transrotor spinning ambient music, so good means a different thing for him.
He suggested some tweaks for my pre amp and blah blah blah.
Uhmm, perhaps we include service/sales reviews in this thread?
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: TheChairGuy on 24 Jan 2007, 03:02 am
Sure, we should.

Curcio, just above post...is known for Dynaco mods and repairs to all kinds of equipment.  I'm not even sure he sells anything new.

So, repair centers should be on this list for folks....the list is sprinkled with a few now.
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: slbenz on 26 Jan 2007, 04:07 pm
Another hi-end audio dealer in Fremont is ClearstreamsAV.  The web site address is www.clearstreamsav.com.  They carry Epos speakers, Bruce Moore, Music Hall, and a number of room treatment accessories you can listen to.  Mark Eberhardt, the owner, is a very nice guy and provides great customer service.
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: Zepplock on 8 Aug 2007, 01:37 am
Does anyone know a store (preferably South Bay) who has Totems for audition?

Thank you.
Title: Totem dealers in Bay Area
Post by: bob stern on 8 Aug 2007, 03:08 am
I don't know any in the Peninsula, but here are 3 possibilities:

Silent Lucidity, 415-928-2990, San Francisco

Harmony Audio Video, 415-661-2525, San Francisco

Pro Home Systems, 510-653-4300, Oakland
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: KKM on 8 Aug 2007, 06:38 am
Does anyone know a store (preferably South Bay) who has Totems for audition?

Thank you.

Fremont close enough:

http://www.theavroom.com/images/Photo%20Gallery/showroom.htm
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: Zepplock on 15 Aug 2007, 10:09 pm
Does anyone know a store (preferably South Bay) who has Totems for audition?

Thank you.

Fremont close enough:

http://www.theavroom.com/images/Photo%20Gallery/showroom.htm

I was there this Saturday at 12:30 and it was closed.
I also called them 3-4 times and nobody answered.
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: Mortsnets on 14 Dec 2007, 12:47 am
I recently visited an audio store in Lafayette that deals in used/vintage equipment.  They specialize in solid state electronics from the 70's and speakers like Advent, Genesis, KLH, AR, Dynaco etc.  They carry some new phono cartridges and headphones (Grado for sure).  They do speaker repair and refoam but do not refurbish or repair old tube equipment.  I was tempted by a cute little KLH table radio.

the Audible Ear
1008-B Oak Hill Road
Lafayette, CA  94549
925-284-8166
Open 10am to aprox 3:30pm (depending on the weather) Wednesday through Saturday
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: Mortsnets on 4 Jan 2009, 05:28 am
I've noticed a high end SF shop advertising in Stereophile.  Tone of Music Audio in Noe Valley.
http://www.toneofmusic.com/
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: Mortsnets on 4 Sep 2009, 06:04 pm
A sign of the economic times, the Sound Well is cutting back retail and repair.

"Our new place is really too small to conduct much local retail.
It is uncertain at this point how much repair work we will offer to the general public.
Our hope is to have a better retail spot to share by the end of 2009."
http://www.thesoundwell.com/hours.html

Also Witch Doctor Audio seems to be gone.
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: Nyal Mellor on 18 Nov 2009, 05:32 pm
I saw that Access to Music in San Rafael is closing down (or at least they have the closing down signs in their window)
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: TheChairGuy on 18 Nov 2009, 09:22 pm
I saw that Access to Music in San Rafael is closing down (or at least they have the closing down signs in their window)

Yup, 'tis true :(  I got a mailer form them for an additional 5% off (and 5% more if one pays cash)

I haven't gotten there...I kinda' hate being a vulture in these deals.  But, it's helping him and me both if there is something there 'on sale'

John
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: CT_Wiebe on 31 Jul 2010, 11:50 pm
I realize that this thread hasn't been posted to for over 7 months, but I just came across this site (from a reference in a thread on the AVS Forum) and found this thread.  It could be very useful to me, so I thought I would return the favor.

There is one high-end store here in San Jose, that I have been dealing with for a very long time.  They started out as an Audio (Stereo) only shop, but have since branched out into Audio-Video gear, mostly high-end stuff.  They are currently into the "Home Theater" scene, but they do have lots of audio gear.  They have been in business for over 40 years.

Century Stereo
450 El Paseo de Saratoga
San Jose, CA 95130
408-341-1950
http://www.centurystereo.com/

- Claus {non-Santa model}
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: Mortsnets on 7 Aug 2010, 11:04 pm
Blue Moon Audio
1301 Palmetto Ave., Suite A, Pacifica, CA. 94044
Phone: 650-898-8484
http://www.bluemoonav.com/
Email: sales@bluemoonav.com
Reference 3A, Clearaudio, Vincent, Parasound and MIT
also has used consignments (on CL)

Deete's Sound Room
5825 Manzanita Ave, #4, Carmichael, CA 95608
Cross Streets: Between Dollar Ln and Hilltop Dr
(916) 334-7000
Audio Note, Wolcott, Music Hall
also has some used gear
deetessound@hotmail.com
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: jaspersf on 31 Jul 2011, 07:13 am
this is a great resource- thanks!

which of these stores is best/cheapest for used/demo equipment for those of us with champagne taste on a beer budget?
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: Mortsnets on 3 Aug 2011, 04:10 pm
Quote
which of these stores is best/cheapest for used/demo equipment for those of us with champagne taste on a beer budget?

Good question.  Not all the stores post their demo/used/consignment stuff on their web sites.  So you have to call them and ask what they currently have.

The Sound Well in Berkeley has used/vintage receivers, speakers etc:
http://www.thesoundwell.com/prices.html
Not yet advertised but they have Magnepan MMG, Vandy 2C, and Celestion SL6i speakers.

Blue Moon audio has used gear on CraigsList:
Polk SDA-1 speakers - $575
Luxman LV105u & T-117 Tuner - $300
Peachtree DECCO amplifier - $500
650-898-8484
www.bluemoonav.com

Music Lovers Audio in Berkeley and SF has a bargains page with some nice stuff:
http://www.musicloversaudio.com/bargains/

Stereo Unlimited in Walnut Creek
http://www.stereounlimited.com/online_specials.htm

RB Audio in Dublin on Audiogon
http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/search2.pl?seller&Rbaudio

Tone of Muisc Audio and Pitch Perfect both in SF have higher end stuff:
http://www.toneofmusic.com/specials
http://pitchperfectaudio.wordpress.com/specials-trade-in-items/
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: Mortsnets on 8 Apr 2016, 10:09 pm
Berkeley Stereo
New and used gear
1621 San Pablo Avenue
betwixt Cedar and Virginia

http://www.berkeleystereo.com/
https://www.facebook.com/berkeleystereo/

Next to Berkeley Lighting Co. not far south of Acme bread.  It's a FUN store.  They have a mix of modern and new - mostly affordable.  I saw quite a few turntables, radios, consoles, an internet tuner, a bluetooth class D amp, vintage stuff including some McIntosh electronics.  Warren is a very nice guy.  He has lots more gear than fits in the store in a warehouse and sell on EBay as berkeleystereo.
Title: Re: Audio Stores in Bay Area
Post by: SpatialKing on 30 Jan 2021, 12:38 am
I realize this posting is old but here is another dealer I just found two weeks ago.   I called them but due to Covid issues, they are not letting folks in the store.   See something you like on their webpage?  Call them and you can go pick it up.   As of two days ago, the state is now open again and they should, hopefully, have real store hours soon. 

http://www.avsolutionsca.com/home-page.html (http://www.avsolutionsca.com/home-page.html)

Their phone number is 925-425-0450  and they are in Dublin, CA.