Park Avenue Audio — Local services in New York

Andrew Lorberbaum helped me put together a fantastic combination of equipment using his out of the box thinking and his deep knowledge of where true performance (relative to cost) in HiFi products exists. His patience was key -- while I could have pulled the trigger on Day 1, by not rushing me, Andrew managed to steer me towards a couple of excellent choices that I believe were far superior to what I had in mind originally. In the end, I'm a very happy customer!

I ended up spending around 20% more than what I had planned for in my initial budget, but I believe the equipment I obtained easily represents more than 100% greater value than the equipment I had in mind at first, and was well worth the extra money and time. The choice to go a little bit higher than originally planned was entirely my own, and the result is that I now have a setup I can live with for the next 20 years, as opposed to something that I might have wanted to upgrade after 5 years.

Andrew was both helpful and educational throughout the entire process, guiding me to where to spend my money and where not to. I appreciate his patience and strong domain expertise and can't recommend him highly enough. He comes across as extremely genuine and honest, and it's clear to me that he truly puts his clients' interests first, which is why his ratings on here are consistently strong.

It was also a true pleasure to work with him. He was energetic and enthusiastic throughout the process, educated me about each component we ended up picking, and completely tailored my setup to my needs. Also, Park Avenue Audio probably has the strongest line-up of equipment available that I have seen in the NYC area, so it made comparisons between various speakers and amps pretty straightforward. I'd also say that almost every time I had a question, I'd get an answer within minutes over email. Basically Andrew was available 24/7 to me throughout this journey -- very impressive and dedicated.

Lastly, if you are a newbie to HiFi (like I was / am), it can be a bit intimidating to walk into a high-end HiFi shop where some of the equipment costs north of $100k (my budget was far below that). However, I can personally attest to the fact that no such intimidation is necessary at Park Avenue Audio. You will walk into the store and be treated in the most respectful and courteous manner possible -- which is not something I can say for every other HiFi store in NYC. Highly...

Buying my home theater audio equipment and front speakers from Andrew at Park Avenue Audio was a great experience. I was looking for audiophile quality front channel left and right floor standing speakers for my home theater and also get a new AV processor amp that I could use for home theatre as well as music listening in stereo mode. I had heard the b&w 702s2 at Best Buy Magnolia paired with rotel as well as marantz amps, but when I heard the 702 signatures paired with McIntosh stereo amp at Park Avenue Audio, I was mighty impressed.

I discussed my requirements and budget with Andrew and he was able to get me an unparalleled deal on a new pair of b&w 702 signatures and also recommended that I get the McIntosh separates to get full potential from these new speakers. I first ordered a new McIntosh mx100 av processor plus their new digital amp mi347 but very quickly switched to a McIntosh solid state 7 channel amp mc8207 upon Andrew’s reco, which I am glad I did!

The first MX100 av processor I received had an equipment issue when I tried to setup at home. Andrew worked with me to get me a warranty replacement from McIntosh within a couple of days. The entire process was extremely smooth and he did his best to get all of the equipment within the timeframe he had told me upfront given there have been long backlogs for McIntosh equipment.

Throughout the process, Andrew was factual, helpful and provided honest opinion without being pushy. He also recommended excellent quality cardas interconnects and speaker cables that complement the system very well.

I am very happy with the purchase and my overall experience with Andrew at Park Avenue audio. Highly recommend them for your next purchase.

Apr 2022 Update: ————————— Recently, Andrew put me in touch with another client of his and helped me upgrade my old b&w htm6 center channel to B&W Diamond series HTM2 D3. It was a great recommendation that pairs extremely well with the b&w 702 signatures and the trade worked out well for me. Sound quality improvement is awesome! Andrew did that out of pure goodwill and no direct financial benefit to him…Another testament to Park Ave Audio’s (& Andrew’s)...

Let me begin by saying how impressed I was with Andrew Lorberbaum. I walked into the store last September with a specific audio system in mind. After sitting with Andrew for 2 hours, I understood the difference between what I thought I wanted and what made more sense. I am not new to the audio world. I purchased my first system in 1978 and have been very interested in Hi Fi ever since. I read a lot about the industry and always felt I knew a decent amount. Andrew has been in the industry for over 30 years (and there is a huge difference between reading audio magazines and working/selling hi end audio equipment). After my first 2 hour session with Andrew I did a lot of my own research and realized that what he was explaining and recommending, made so much more sense than my original thoughts and choices. Andrew and I met 3-4 times and I received a true Hi Fi education. I was now ready to discuss all of the possibilities for a new sound system. The good part of the process was: I was not in a rush to make a purchase and Andrew was not in a rush to sell me equipment. We went over many different audio component combinations and prices. I asked Andrew a lot of important questions and eventually made a purchase. I've had the new audio system for about a year. I work from home so I am able to listen to high quality music all day! If you are a self taught audiophile/music lover, it is still in your best interest to meet and sit with Andrew. You will learn so much and never feel like you are being taken advantage of. It can be super intimidating walking into a hi end audio store. Everyone I spoke with at Park Ave was extremely down to earth and thoughtful when I had questions. If you are looking to upgrade from an older system and want to stream hi fidelity music, Park Ave has all of the equipment in their store so you can hear what's now available in the market. In my opinion (after visiting a few other stores), there is no better hi fi store in nyc and the combination with Andrew really makes for a truly...