Van L Speakerworks and Speaker Repair — Attraction in Norwood Park Township

My relationship with John goes back a few years. He is definitely one of the most knowlegible people in the audio business that I have had the pleasure of knowing. Definitely an individual that won't fill you with a "lot of bull" just to entice you to buy a high profit piece of audio equipment. But his crowing glory is his speaker designs, of which I am a proud owner of two pair of his absolute "best bang for the buck" speakers that have performed flawlessly for quite a few years now. His designs still remain the "speaker to beat" in today's market. Assuming of course, that a person has a well tuned pair of ears and a educated appreciation for quality music venues. You won't find John at any audio shows because he doesn't have a production oriented line of speakers. Everything he does is, or can be fine tuned to an individuals sense of audio reproduction "rightness". Also be prepared to experience one of John's little audio secrets, incorporated in all of his designs. When it comes to a speaker design that can truly reproduce a holographic sound stage, his concept, out performs anything I have ever experienced. And don't be put off by his humble surroundings. Go to his small shop and be prepared to be amazed. I hope John will be around for many years to come after the "also ran's" disappear from the market. As far as "Mike HF" is concerned, remember, "ONLY GOD IS PERFECT". Knowing John for so many years, your experience is not typical of the quality of work that Van L does. I am also shocked to hear that John would have "charged a fortune" for a "less than perfect repair job. There must have been something...

I left some equipment at this shop and asked them to provide me with a quote to do basic maintenance on 2 turntables, and to test a mixer that wasn’t providing audio output. After three weeks I had to call the shop and ask about my equipment, they told me they did no look at it yet. After another week I was told that I was being charged $40 to look at each piece of equipment and that one of the pieces was shot. I never asked them to do service on the turntables, just to provide a quote for basic maintenance. I was still charged. I’m giving one Star for poor communication and for charging me for services that I did not ask for. The turntables were working perfectly. The tech basically just plugged them in, confirmed they were working and turned them off. I didn’t ask for them to check the turntables, just to provide a quite to clean them and do maintenance on them. I paid them and left. Again, poor communication and I feel like I walked out with nothing eleven though I paid them. I would recommend looking for a more professional place that won’t...

Let me tell you a story. 25 years ago I was in a stereo store shopping for a CD player. Suddenly, I heard the most amazing speakers. I had to find out what they were. When I asked the price, I was told $2000.00 each. The next week, I opened a savings account at the local credit union and started saving from every pay check. Four years later, I owned those speakers. Jump forward to today. The surround on the woofers were virtually gone and the life had gone out of the speakers. I auditioned several speakers and actually found two different speakers that I enjoyed, but again about $4500 for a pair. Hey, I have discriminating taste. Upon further research I found Speakerworks. Well, let me tell you, my speakers may actually sound better than when new. The surround on the woofers was replaced and all the electronics were replaced with top tier components. Was it cheap? No! But it was the best money I have ever spent for my system. OMG these speakers...