Audio Ventures-Wisconsin — Local services in Village of Waukesha

This review is meant to be more of an educating review for the people that are going in without any prior knowledge of the store or people in it. First off, I'm not a hard core purist or a true audiophile. However, I do know the difference between cheap, mainstream and high end audio. Let me first introduce to you what to expect from Audio Ventures, Bill & Andy are the two gentlemen that work at the store. Bill being the owner. To some people these guys may come off as rude or impolite. In a sense that is true, however I am trying to be non biased here. These guys have their opinions and ideas, but also at the same time they are extremely knowledgeable. I myself own some speakers that in Bill and Andy's opinion are absolute junk. However, the speakers I own are considered by a mass of high end junkies to be some of the best speakers ever produced. Yes it bothers me that these guys carry that type of attitude towards something that I so dearly own and consider a bucket list achievement. It's like anybody who is considered great at something, they have a snobbish attitude about them. So knowing that going in will hopefully benefit you or at least prepare you.

I have heard people complain about some of the prices these guys charge and or time it takes. While some people might have an issue paying out said amount of money for whatever they want done, know this. These guys aren't amateurs, they are professionals and they are damn good at what they do. The average person may not realize what it actually takes to fix or upgrade a piece of audio equipment. It's not as easy as one would think. These guys don't use or deal cheap products, so right out of the gate if your looking for a cheap fix or cheap product, go somewhere else. Bill and Andy are passionate about what they do, so with that comes a mindset, do it the best or don't do it at all. Remember, these guys deal in used equipment, some stuff might be marked up, but you also need to remember that these guys go through everything they bring in. Cleaning, repairs, upgrades, that all cost money. They need to some make profit on what they sell otherwise they won't be in business. If you're not selling brand new equipment, you need to make your money on value added services. That is what they do.

I myself bought some gear from them a few years back. I felt pretty good about my purchase with them, until I found the exact same product for hundreds of dollars less than what I paid. But then again, I had to stop and think, these guys put some serious time and effort into getting my gear into top shape before selling it to me. My gear is from 1992 and is absolutely flawless. The stuff I found for hundreds of dollars less? Yeah I went ahead and purchased it. I had to! It was cheaper after all! And you know what? It cost me just about the difference I 'saved' to bring it up to perfect working condition.

Basically it boils down to this, when you step into Audio Ventures you are stepping into the next level. If your already on the higher end audio level then you'll have no problems at Audio Ventures. If your a newbie or just a person that has no idea what the higher end market has to offer, you need to go in with an open mind and be able to except some criticism. Also, if your going in to just snoop around and show no interest in anything, these guys aren't in the market to waste their time.

There is a common thread amongst the audiophile and higher end audio community, that being, if you are there looking you are either there with the knowledge and intent to spend money because you know what your after, or you are prepared to take that next step and become knowledgeable and willing to spend money. If you are the type of person that is going to piss and moan about spending $100 for a true quality patch cord because you know you can go to Wal-Mart, buy some Chinese made product for $1.75 and think it is going to net the same result, then you probably shouldn't go to Audio Ventures or any...

My first experience with Audio Ventures was when I took some old speakers in for repair and refurbishing. These speakers were my father-in-laws and had sustained some water damage and were in pretty rough shape. Normally, I would have just gotten rid of them except for the sentimental value to my wife. Bill and Andy were able to completely refurbish them, making them look great and sound even better. Since then, I've taken in 2 receivers and a turntable that were my original stereo system from the 70's. They have been able to get things tuned up and now my old system is up and running and sounding great. I have been very pleased with their knowledge and service and you can tell they are passionate about what they do. As someone who works in a service industry I realize repeat business is the best endorsement. I highly recommend them for all your...

the man i talked to was condescending and wanted to get rid of me once he realized that i was not already a high end audio expert and/or ready to drop hundreds of dollars without at least briefly discussing my options. the worst part is that i was discussing problems with a piece of equipment that my family member had bought from their store! they must have a steady stream of regular customers, because they made no attempt to win me as a customer or encourage my budding interest in audio. now the joke is on them because i have since taken up the hobby more seriously (this was some time ago), and they definitely lost a future customer. in my experience, audio ventures is not a good ambassador to the local audio community by making the hobby seem highly intimidating...