Avoid The Stereo Exchange in Chicago.

240sx4u

Lunatic Member
I have been up in the air for quite some time about writing this review, but honestly feel it needs to be done. I will provide a few reasons I will never ever go back and you guys can be the judge of whether or not to do business with him.

1) He spent a LONG time with my gear. I wish he would have just said "I don't think I can fix this" and given it back to me so I could find someone who could. Total time spent dealing with him and his BS "It's on the test bench" is about 2 years.

2) I specifically requested in a note on the amp and a note on the preamp that I didn't want to spend over $200 per piece of gear and needed an estimate above that. I never got an estimate, just a gigantic bill which I paid under the assumption that the gear was working properly.

3) He didn't fix the gear properly. The preamp went back twice and the amp vented a capacitor shortly after taking it home. He told me if there was a problem to bring it back. Yeah, no sweat 6hr round trip. After dealing with him I was so frustrated I just couldn't walk back in there.

4) I found a beer bottle cap from a beer bottle laying inside my Lazarus amp when I was packing it up to ship out to another AK'er who wants to fix it.

5) Both pieces of gear came back missing a few pieces of hardware and with way more scratches than they left with.

6) Straight lies about knowing what the problem was, parts availability etc..

The sad thing is that I kind of liked David. He seemed like a genuine enough guy, but he got in WAY over his head and he is an awful businessman.

Evan
 

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A beer bottle cap in a unit? Kept a piece two years and didn't follow instructions not to exceed $200? Still didn't work right?

I hope you paid by credit card- then you could file a dispute. I sure would.
 
It's difficult to put into words how pissed off I am about the whole thing, I have no receipts either so no real proof I paid or recourse I suspect.
 
You're not the first to vent about that place, I've read many similar stories. And it is sad because I also think that he seems to be a decent guy on the surface. His wall of tonearms and cartridges covered in ten years of dust was enough to warn me off from taking gear there. A lack of care about one's place of business like that can only translate to a similar feeling about the gear serviced there IMHO.
 
Tom Brennan lives in that neighborhood now. We should call him in to yell "jasper!" through the door.
 
sorry to hear.

interestingly, google is apparently now doing "streetview" inside stores. there is a 360 shot of this place on google maps
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I see no beer cases lol. That sucks, it seems a few of these "repair" places are just out to rob people of their hard earned money and to waste people's time.
 
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