Scott Walker Audio — Local services in Anaheim

Recently got the itch to having a nice 2 channel system. Was out of hifi for about 15 years and felt it was time to get back in and get a nice system. First I went to a few audio stores in my area, and also did some calling around to see what kind of gear was out there these days, and then the last store I went to was Scott Walker Audio. First thing I noticed was that they have a wide range of gear, mainly what I call medium to high end, and they had the good gear. Colby greeted me at the door and took me on a full tour of the store, and explained each piece of gear that I was interested in and he gave me the basic sonic character, and price point. I could tell that he was very knowledgeable, and he took the time with me and didn't ask my budget or price point yet, which made me feel comfortable right off the bat, especially since I didn't know my budget yet. He let me listen to the system upstairs for hours, and told me that I should bring my wife to the store. I did, and well she did kind of give me that look, can't blame her since this is not real cheap hobby. She really liked this store and of course Colby, compared to the other stores we previously went to. I listened to different integrated amps and speakers at the store for about a month. At that point I knew what integrated amp I wanted, and streamer/dac. I had a real hard time choosing a speaker, and then I got a call from Colby and he asked me to come listen after work, and by the way it was after hours at his store which speaks volumes. It was worth it because the Magico speakers sounded better than anything I had heard up to that point, and they were also within my budget. There was another speaker that sounded good also that I was interested in, and I could not decide between the two. So Scott who owns the store told me that they will bring my new system to my house and set it all up, and also bring both sets of speakers, so I could listen and hear the difference in my room, and make the decision at my house. Wow now that is service, and beyond that, what really impressed me the most was that Scott and Colby wanted to make sure that I got what I wanted without regrets later. A couple weeks later they showed up to my house and set up all the gear, racks, cables and 2 sets of speakers, and these speakers were heavy. Watching them set up the speakers in my room was all new to me. In the past I had never gone to the lengths they went to just to get them dialed in. I did end up picking the Magico speakers, and so did my wife, which by the way, they encouraged her to make her decision without my influence, and she picked the Magico speakers also. I could tell through this whole process that they really had a passion for good audio. They love listening to music and they passed it on to my wife and I. I recommend their store and more than that I recommend Colby and Scott for advice and making our purchase more...

Just over ten years ago, I bought a pair of pretty awesome speakers from Scott Walker Audio. Scott coached me through making a pretty big financial decision, gave me time to listen and make decisions at my own pace and then gave me a extremely fair trade-in deal on my existing speakers. At the time Scott told me that while making the sale was important to him, it was more important to him to make me a satisfied customer, which would mean that I would continue to come back over the long haul.

And guess what? I’ve kept coming back. Building the right system is an iterative process—you get a new set of speakers, that whets your appetite. How can I leverage that improvement to be even more: A new turntable? A different amp? Better cables? Intended or not, each successive acquisition acts as a kind of prerequisite for the next one. Scott has worked with me to make the best decisions in that 10-year journey. And I’ve never felt pressured or pushed to spend more money than I was comfortable with. Moreover, he provided guidance about finding the best combination for my relatively small space and optimizing my equipment with time spent setting it up and configuring it—sometimes in successive visits after installation.

Here’s a good example of how Scott works: I got the itch to replace my (superb) turntable. I had my eye on one that wasn’t all that much better than the one I had. Scott told me I already had a great turntable and would get much more bang for my buck if I replaced my tonearm and upgraded my cartridge. He was right—the improvement in the quality was flat-out astounding. But here’s the thing: Scott made less money off those amazing “tweaks” than he would have by selling me a new turntable. Go figure!

The audiophile world can be a jungle. The pressure to upsell is ever-present. And there’s often a kind of snobbery about “lesser” brands that pushes people to make decisions they may later regret—certainly financially, but also picking the wrong equipment for their actual needs or the space they live in. I have never felt that remorse with Scott. He was right 10 years ago: the relationship and trust you build is everything and I can’t recommend him...

We first met Scott & Josh at the Florida Audio Expo 2021 when we were on the verge of buying a Takatsuki 300B amp & Blumenhofer horn speakers; intending to sell our Art Audio PX25 amp, Art Audio Conductor preamp, and Avantgarde Duo Grossos. ie. we were again getting back on the audio merry-go-round. In the past fifty years we've gone through so much gear; never being completely satisfied with our system; always changing gear. Scott suggested instead of changing our system, why not optimize what we already own, and offered to ship us his suggested Synergistic Research gear and fly in to Pittsburgh to set it up. We were assured that if we did not like the results he'd take it all back and... at no charge for anything. Several weeks later after receiving 10-12 boxes, Scott & Josh flew in, checked in to a local hotel, and spent the next three days setting up our system. My wife & I would listen to each item, say yea or nay, and move on to the next. After those three days the results were amazing; incredible; our system bested virtually every one we had auditioned at the show; some costing over $1 million; all over $500,000 (our system costs half that). Since that day we've added more Synergistic Research gear, all with a money-back satisfaction guarantee. We deal mainly with Josh who has been excellent to deal with and has since given us great advice; his suggestions have been spot on. We are now totally satisfied with our system; have no desire to change gear, and for the first time in fifty+ years are off the audio merry-go-round. These folks are awesome. Thanks again Josh & Scott, the enjoyment we get from our stereo system each & every day is immeasurable....