Smart Spaces - OKC — Local services in Oklahoma City

For starters, I am an older guy who NEVER posts reviews, good or bad, unless there is an exceptionally compelling reason to do so.

My current system is a very nice home theater/music system. I have purchased (and have upgraded) the components with an emphasis towards audio because what I really crave is great music.

After recently gifting my mid-twenties son my ancient but treasured vintage Harmon Kardon 2 channel amp and Technics turntable from "back in the day", I realized I had lost touch with the pleasure of vinyl and the album concept.

I had boxes of old, ignored albums and now had no way to play them. My son and I had so much fun setting up my old system in his house that I decided a new turntable was in order. I wanted to recapture that vinyl magic.

After considerable research I had decided between two higher end Rega turntables. One was in my budget but I felt really needed a cartridge upgrade for my purposes, and the other was a little above my budget but was a "worthy upgrade if you could swing it" by all informed opinions.

I'd been looking at online vendors, but discovered Smart Spaces OKC was a local Rega dealer. I always buy local if I can for support if economical and I could not do better online.

As this was going to be a substantial outlay, I called Smart Spaces hoping for a demo and spoke with Kevin (who was exceptional btw). Kevin said they had the higher end Rega turntable on demo but not the one that I felt was truly in my budget. I let him know I would be by the next day, because who doesn't want to hear the best possibility?

When I walked in the next day Kevin was expecting me and to my surprise I found he had unboxed and set up the other new turntable so I could hear both!

We spent considerable time A/B 'ing them and, as I had to travel for work the next day, told Kevin I'd be in touch. There was absolutely zero pressure to sell me anything.

When I returned from my trip a week later and called I had pretty much decided on the "more affordable" solution but with an upgraded cartridge. I was referred to James Westbrook (the owner/CEO). James and I discussed both turntables. James, sensing my affinity for the higher end turntable, graciously offered to to sell me the upgrade demo turntable at a price which was within my budget/comfort zone. To say I was delighted would be an understatement. I really didn't think this turntable was within my means.

When I picked up the turntable it was boxed to perfection in original packaging and paperwork. James had personally checked cartridge alignment and re-oiled the main bearing. it literally looked like a brand new turntable, which it truthfully was.

As I was setting up the turntable at home I discovered I was missing a barrel adjustor for one of the interconnects. I looked but wasn't sure if I had misplaced it as I was unboxing. I called James (after hours on a Friday ) to let him know I was missing the adjustor. I was perfectly fine dealing with this the following Monday.

James insisted on delivering a barrel adjustor to my front door that Friday evening, after hours, and literally within a half hour I was experiencing vinyl nirvana. How do you top that for customer service?

I've had numerous conversations with James. He is a pleasure to converse with on a personal level and is eminently knowledgeable on all things audiophile music and home theater. It is a real treat to visit with who is as enthusiastic as I am about music and this is represented in the spectrum of gear in the store.

There are plenty of home theater experts these days. There are far fewer audiophile equipment experts. James is an expert on integrating home theater AND music, or, if you lean toward the musical side, how to integrate your 2 channel into home theater.

James truly wants his customers to be happy with their purchase and has contacted me multiple times to make sure I'm satisfied with the turntable and inquire if there is anything I need.

I don't know anyone else in OKC who does both HiFI and Home Theater with such expertise. ...

We have spent thousands $$$$$$, on two different systems over the past 5 years. First one was great. We moved and this second install…has been terrible from the beginning. (From taking extra long to get parts, and then bringing the wrong parts, install delays, total confusion on billing, etc) Currently, our system had a glitch (second time in 2 months) on Christmas Day, and we can’t get any sound. We called day after Christmas, and now they are closed for the holidays for another WEEK. That’s insane. It’s a business. Not a school. $15k spent on current system, and we can’t listen to it or get any help within a reasonable time frame. It would appear as though they are going out of business and hanging on by a thread. Will not be using smart spaces again, and would not recommend. EDIT/UPDATE: The response from the owner is practically auto generated. It’s not accurate and he has lied. He is dismissive to women and doesn’t take responsibility for the areas lacking in his company. He was incredibly disrespectful and shockingly dismissive, and said one thing to my husband and then turned around and said something completely different to me and when called out on it, DISMISSED ME. Bottom line, they seem understaffed and not able to take on new clients because they are not staffed appropriately to be open and available. The owner even admitted he wasn’t very techy, and was the only one available to help because everyone is off for the holidays. So, don’t plan on getting help if your system messes up during a two week Christmas break. Over charged , and under delivered. And they’ll get you with the confusion of billing. So, pay attention to every detail...

We recently chose to build out a full theater room in a new residence. I have extensive personal knowledge in this area, having tackled this task in a previous address and possessing experience helping others in this area. In essence, I am a knowledgeable customer regarding the services that Smart Spaces provide.

However, this project was larger than I had time to address and I decided this time to let other experienced and knowledgeable individuals take on the new project.

I reached out to Smart Spaces for help and engaged with them to complete the task. They have been exceptional from start to finish. They were able to complete the project exactly as I had envisioned and even guided me with suggestions I would not have been aware of, in spite of possessing a relatively high degree of expertise.

The finished product met and even exceeded my hopes and we could not be happier. James demonstrated a true interest and excitement in the project and I could tell he takes personal pride in his company’s projects.

Beyond doing an excellent job, he demonstrated a level of honesty and transparency that I do not come across often enough anymore. He worked to avoid “over selling” me in multiple areas in spite of my interest in spending more on the project. His advice was honest and constructive.

I feel comfortable and confident in endorsing Smart Spaces to handle A/V projects regardless of size. I am sure customers will have a wonderful experience with Smart Spaces and I will personally tell my friends to reach out to them if they need work done...