Stereo Unlimited — Local services in San Diego

I have known and shopped at Stereo Unlimited, owned by Bruce and Ray, for over 40 years. This is a personalized local small business with a niche not otherwise found in San Diego. I have come back over and over through the years, upgrading, changing, adding and installing equipment. Ray has been my go to guy for information about gear and upgrades to my system(s). I always felt that my needs were always primary rather than just their needs to sell equipment. They are honest, have integrity, stand behind their products, find answers when they are unsure and have incredible amount of experience. They have always treated me well and worked around my budget. Their store doesn’t look like a high end retail store, however the products they sell are from entry level to high end. Ray has always discussed alternatives, recognized that different people like different sounds, sights, and brands. I see them as my tech doctors for audio/video equipment. I am thankful to have had a relationship with them for these 40+ years.

Bruce has always been a vinyl audiophile. His collection of used (some never played) vinyl records is very large. He takes great pride in the quality and diversity of music he offers to people who love music.

I want to commend the installation crew lead by Ken. He is reliable, engaging, tenacious, considerate, perceptive and trustworthy. He is not just doing a job. He wanted to satisfy me and would go the extra yard to do so. His work was neat and well thought out.

If you are serious about audio and video, I want to encourage people who read this review to include them in their search for home audio and video. Talk to them, have patience and create a relationship. This is not a Best Buy, Amazon, Crutchfield experience. Their time and experience will lead to a...

Owner knowingly misled to gain sale of a product that did not meet the need (turntable) unless another product was added (phono stage preamp)...not to mention the fact the product was being discontinued, replaced.

Provided the application to the owner. Discussed in-depth with him. Asked about possibility/probability of discontinuance as I prefer to avoid or wait for price drop (don't we all?/!).

All n' all misled after being referred by a loyal audiophile customer. Wasted $4K. This level of audiophile/videophile product is readily available at list price. More honest stores abound. AVOID this one! btw, the loyal customer (reference) was had similar experience shortly thereafter. He, too, no longer patronizes...discourages others. Unsurprising.

Ownership (Bruce) may not recall the sale or post sale conversation unless he took notes, kept good customer records...little details that best-in-class audiophile stores do to ensure great service, address issues, avoid future reoccurrence of such. Heck, I even had to bug him to get a receipt for warranty reasons. From talking with my friend, he, too had similar issues.

Based on the experience, when it was time to upgrade the system, I went elsewhere to buy: VPI turntable, Dynavector, cartridge and step-up, VK, BAT. Care to guess where the Sonus Fabers came? Not this place. If Bruce had been above board, he would have had a very happy customer, had a good reference and would not have missed-out on the upgrades.

The facts and review are clear. Stereo Unlimited can post the offer to addressing the issue. In this way, potential customers can see how much or how little concern and...

Have visited this shop four times now, and each time the customer service has been absolutely stellar. On my very first visit I came to explore their (ample) selection of vinyl records for sale and brought along some records to hopefully sell or get store credit for. The proprietor of the store (sorry, I don't know any employees' names) made a generous offer to buy my very ordinary, run-of-the-mill records for much more than I expected to get. Upon exploring I realized this store, in addition to selling a very sizable selection of vinyl records (many of which are audiophile quality), also sells the highest of high-end audio equipment: turntables, speakers, amps, DACs, headphones, you name it! I knew when it was time for me to get serious about my vinyl record passion, this was the place to come. So when the time came for me to upgrade my turntable, I headed straight to Stereo Unlimited. I'd done some research ahead of time and knew I wanted a MoFi Electronics turntable. Stereo Unlimited is San Diego's authorized MoFi Electronics distributor, so naturally they carried the model I wanted. Upon setting up the turntable at home I discovered that MoFi had shipped this turntable with no dust cover (and wobbly platter). I brought the turntable back to Stereo Unlimited and they were quick to exchange it for a replacement. The staff were extremely courteous and helpful. So if you are in search of the best-quality audio gear or vinyl records, I highly recommend doing business with Stereo Unlimited. Their products are top-of-the-line, but the products are surpassed by their unbelievable...