Stereo Rehab — Local services in Jefferson Township

My Stereo Rehab experience was excellent. Kasper Is extremely knowledgeable and was able to repair my Pioneer SX-1280 receiver while exceeding expectations at the same time. Seriously, my end to end experience was in the top 25 most interesting things I’ve ever participated in. My family can’t get away from me talking about my experience, like it was legendary and so unique

Going to Stereo Rehab in Chicago is more of an experience than a shop where you just drop something off. He has a great process: stop in between noon to 6 PM on Friday or Saturday. No need to schedule an appointment, just show up with your receiver and hang out with other audio enthusiasts.

When I dropped my receiver off, I was given a tour of a number of areas, including his workbench where the repairs are performed. The place has really cool lighting, comfortable couches to sit, and all sorts of audio equipment on display powered on. If you like flavored shots, you welcome you to take one. And I also had a piece of fudge which a relative baked and had available for a snack.

He has a really cool back area with a classic car and other audio equipment set up and running. And with great music playing. The place just bleeds technology, and I seriously was in heaven.

When we went back to his workbench, the receiver had been opened up, I explained what was wrong and what was known about the issues and was given a price range quote. A week later, the repairs were done and I was able to pick up my unit. I have a feeling he has strong familiarity with 1970s silver Pioneer receivers and that’s probably why it was done however, I was expecting a number of weeks and I would expect most repairs to take some time.

So I came back a week later and brought my 14-year-old son who Is also into audio like me. I was really happy to see how he was welcomed and my son felt comfortable interacting with Kasper and his assistant, Nigel.

Part of the experience is auditioning your unit when being picked up. My son and I sat down and participated in the auditioning a couple other pieces prior to my turn. Stereo Rehab has a streaming music service so you can play your favorite song and I also saw a turntable and other equipment if you have other media you’d like to use.

So I had some very good conversations with like-minded people who are into stereo receivers and music . In fact, one guy was just like me and has a hobby out of control - multiple receivers and many pairs of large speakers and also a wife who doesn’t fully “get” this hobby like me :-) It was great talking to him to compare notes and also his experience purchasing, preserving, and restoring equipment.

Anyways, my son and I enjoyed watching the other auditions and then had our time with the SX-1280. My unit looked and performed perfect and I played three songs while others also listened as I tested functionality of all items.

I will definitely be back with other equipment that I am unable to repair on my own (I’m a hobbyist and prefer to take higher end items to professionals), and plan to stop in to hang out to watch other auditions and meet people. While I am in the western suburbs 35 miles away, It’s only 5 miles from the in-laws! Guess where I’m gonna be hanging out once in a while now when I’ve had enough family!

Highly recommended, no frills and no bullshit. Also love Kasper’s humor and approach to things. You’ll get a kick out of him!

Park within the neighborhood, you’ll find a spot that’s a block or two away.

And expect to be there for at least an hour — and be sure to go for the experience...

I'd be hard-pressed to find a better place to bring vintage gear anywhere, in the Midwest or elsewhere. I found Kaspar, Tony & Stereo Rehab through a Google search, read all the Yelp and Google reviews and decided to give them a try. That was almost 2 years ago and I've been coming back ever since. In the past, you'd bring your equipment to some audio store or repair place and it was a coin-toss on whether (a) you'd get soaked for the work, (b) the place would actually fix the issue, (c) they'd get it done in less than 2 months, or (d) the resident techs even knew what they were doing. My experience is that many of the other places that do vintage or electronic repairs either won't service your gear if you hadn't originally purchased from them, or will try to sell you new or replacement equipment by quoting a high price or telling you parts are unavailable. Kaspar doesn't sell anything, and will only restore something to bring it back to how it was on the day it left the factory; if you're looking for "a little solder here" or "a jumper there", he's not your guy. If your idea of an audio repair place is one with a white linoleum floor, fluorescent ceiling lights with bare bulbs, a "Service Drop-Off" sign above a counter fronted with 70's paneling and topped with worn Formica, wall signage with "We Fix Color TV's" and a rack of "Hello From Chicago" postcards, then this isn't your place. They also don't wear '60's short-sleeve dress shirts with pocket-protectors. Think lounge on Clark. When you come in, Kaspar opens the unit up right in front of you, tells you whether someone else has already done any "modifications", walks you through the various electronics & boards under the hood, tells you what's wrong or needs attention, then gives you an accurate quote and usually turns the job around in +/- 2-4 weeks depending upon his workload. He's very upfront and will let you know whether something is even worth repairing/able to be repaired, and in my case, found that in troubleshooting an '80's receiver, I had turned on an external Signal Processor switch, not realizing that that was what had killed the audio to my speakers. When I brought it in, he smiled, still walked me through the innards of the unit, ran some general diagnostics, finally explained the issue, flipped the Processor switch back to "Off", the music started playing as it always had, said "No Charge" and sent me on my way. It's for that reason & many others that I keep returning. If you spend any amount of time there, you realize that he services brands like Krell, Crown, Fisher, AR, McIntosh, Marantz, Pioneer, Luxman, Levinson, many others, as well as turntables and speakers. In short, Kaspar knows what he's doing - read all of the other reviews, they're dead-on - and there's no place else in Chicago or in the Midwest I'd refer someone to. And, one last thing - when you pick up your receiver/amp/whatever when it's done, you take it for a test-drive in their listening room on monitor speakers - you have a seat in a pit group, stream whatever you'd like via Tidal, and have a chance to really appreciate what you have. Kaspar & Tony - thanks for setting a...

Decided on this place, despite the hour and 1/2 drive, due to stellar reviews and not only found reviews to be correct but found myself delighted. I brought the turntable my father left me to be evaluated. My father had an excellent audio system that he built, album collection, later cd, (he had gotten rid of his reel to reels that I remember) but passed on his appreciation of all kinds of music. Caspar, (please forgive if I’ve misspelled) invited me to observe. However he gave me a disclaimer, that if he found something (sorry don’t remember description which made sense at time) wrong with the needle or something about it, he would have to decline assistance and that would be that. Point, he will assess. If he can’t assist you, he will tell you. There is no nonsense or trying this or that. None of that.

He invited me, along with others to watch the assessment of another item to be evaluated, disassembled, minutely explained item. (I have. I clue about these things, but found interesting as I watch history channels or biography etc blah

My point, my fathers’ turntable is important to me and I wanted to take it to a place I felt good and comfortable about. I was rewarded by my care in searching, as I found a person who has extensive knowledge and felt very good and comforted about going there.

Okay, now for the personal unexpected delight…I entered the place and it felt I entered a haven. Inviting tables to sit at, couple couches, a few people hanging out, a Smith’s album playing and a 1940’s(?) t.v with an 8x10” t.v. screen with an image on. Such a fun cool place. While waiting, I sat on the floor to look through albums that were near a record player that customers and visitors are welcome to choose from to play. Again, it’s bringing something you value, to a place that has same respect for your item and wants...