Ecotopia — Attraction in West Bloomfield Township

Is this place still in business? Called. No answer. Left message. No response. Sent e-mail. No response.....

So a while back I had some pro audio rack mount gear, power supplies, racks, and other stuff for sale or trade. Carted it all down there and talked to Moses.... Well, Moses talked to me.... A lot. He does pretty much all the talking. Anyway, I did my research on eBay before I went to see what all my stuff was selling for, added it all up, then figured out what 1/3 of that would be since I figured that's what he'd need to get it for to make a profit. I came up with $550.

I wanted a receiver and speakers for my garage/photo studio. I liked the Marantz and Pioneer equipment, but Moses only wanted to consider some weird stuff like Realistic, and some other off-brand stuff.

I looked online with my phone to see what these things were worth and they were so odd that I couldn't find much. He urged me to take a Fisher receiver in trade. I looked it up and found one out there for $200 (I just found one today on eBay for $99). Great, I'm thinking, I can get speakers too.... Uhhh.... No.... All of his speakers were like $600 a pair. Way too much.

We argued back and forth and he kept going on and on about how his stuff is worth more because it's fully reconditioned, and my stuff was pretty worthless because he can get it all day long for a lot less than what it's selling for on eBay, and that since I didn't bring the cables he could not test any of it to see if it even worked.... I spent ALL DAY there with this guy going on and on and on, stopping to help other customers, then going on and on and on again.... He literally wore me out. I didn't want to tote all mys stuff back home, so I agreed to just take the receiver and go.... Then he said it was on the condition I send him the cables... I bought them online and had them shipped to his store.

So fast-forward 6 months.... I turn the unit on and no audio comes out. I just used it the day before and changed nothing. I know enough about audio equipment to know how to troubleshoot, and I checked cabling, inputs, outputs, switches.... Everything. No audio. Not even a crackle. So I call the store when it was supposed to be open. No answer. Send and e-mail saying I'm having a problem. No response. Go back to the garage and start working on my project and about jump out of my socks when the unit suddenly starts working. I did nothing. I touched nothing.

It's working now, but I wonder for how long, and now I can't reach this guy. Wondering if he's out of business.

Morals of the story:

This guy's prices are way too high. This guy will hose you as much as he can possibly get away with. DO YOUR RESEARCH. If you see something he has that you want, GO HOME and do your research. If he tells you his price is justified because it's been serviced, make him prove it by showing you what was done. He outsources this work so he should have receipts. Just because it's been 'inspected' doesn't mean it's been serviced or, more importantly, refurbished.

So if he contacts me and makes an effort to improve this situation a little bit I will remove this post. If this post is still up, then nothing...

I’ve been coming here for over a year now. I had some work done on an item I bought on eBay. I knew what I was buying they did a phenomenal job refurbishing a 60 year old item that I still use almost every day. This place rocks! It takes you back in time. Upon walking in you are stunned as to the number of pieces Moses (the owner) has. It’s unbelievable. He allows you to browse, ask questions, listen to equipment for as long as you want. No high pressure sale. He encourages you to listen to any item you want with your own music for as long as you want. He is very knowledgeable about all audio equipment as well as photography. He does like to chat, so come when you are not in a hurry.

Remember, it is only him.

I say this because it explains a lot of comments you read in these reviews. He is the only employee in this establishment. He doesn’t always open on time because life happens (wife is stranded on the side of a road, kids sick and need to be picked up). Again, it’s only him and he does his best.

He does have a network of very skilled, seasoned technicians that do work for him to help keep a healthy repair and refurbish business going. He prides himself on taking the used equipment that comes through his doors in his shop and refurbishing it to as close to original as you can get. Some of these items are 40+ years old, sitting in basements, garages, storage units, etc. He’ll have a technician go over it and bring it up to spec. He stands by all items he sells. If something does go wrong (remember, these are old used units), he’ll do everything he can to make it right. He’ll work with you. He is reasonable. (Good luck trying to get that type of service from an eBay seller).

He doesn’t have voicemail. He will answer the phone during business hours even with a store full of customers. He does respond to email, but gets so many that it may be days before he does. He doesn’t sell online. He’s been burned in the past Remember, it is only him.

If you understand this, you begin to appreciate what he and Ecotopia brings to the table: A place to come if you want some truly amazing vintage audio equipment. A place to walk around and listen to familiar or different music. A place to talk about equipment you’ve had. A place to learn about high end audio. A place to get a favorite item repaired. A place to thumb through bins of vinyl.

If you have some time, come by, stay a while. I did...

Short Review: Although the shop’s physical layout can be a little daunting, the knowledge and customer service that Moses provides are second to none. And his repair technicians are magicians. I can’t recommend Ecotopia enough.

Long Review: I was new to the hobby of mid-fi and hi-fi audio and was stumbling my way through assembling a stereo setup. Finding Ecotopia was a godsend.

When I came to the shop, I had already purchased speakers elsewhere and hadn’t really thought through the full implications of how to pair the character of an amp with the sound profile of a set of speakers. Moses (the owner) was incredibly helpful and patient in walking me through the technical side purchasing an amp. He took my feedback of what sort of sound I wanted and what my price range was. From that information, he picked out a handful of amplifiers of varying specs and brands and proceeded to let me hook up and test each amp with my speakers - an incredible amount of customer service.

During that whole process, Moses was honest and never tried to up-sell me and I left with an amp that I am incredibly pleased with and an understanding of audio that I wasn’t getting from all my online research. It’s exactly what I needed.

About a year later, I brought a broken turntable (garage sale find) to Ecotopia for repair. Although the price was a little more than I was expecting (again I’m fairly new to the hobby and still learning). I decided to trust Moses and his techs. This was a fantastic decision. They restored the turntable far beyond my expectations, finding and fixing things I was unaware of just because they cared about their craft. The turntable is my daily driver and has been working smoothly ever since.

Honestly, whether you are new to the hobby or it’s old hat to you, your life and your stereo setup will be improved by spending some...