I'll be honest. There is no way that I'll be able to afford to buy a set of Audio T's sensational…read morespeakers for a very... very long time. As such, I'm more of a Richer Sounds kind of guy, but if you want to hear true audio bliss (and if you have the money, believe me... you do) then Audio T may well be the best Brighton has to offer. This decent sized store has that layout that exudes style, with a couple of sofas set out at the back of the shop separated by a wall for you to experience the true audio bliss that you can achieve from some of the finest combinations of amplifiers, speakers and record players. One set of speakers (without the rest of the fancy gear needed) broke £6,000... Although there are plenty on the sub £1,000 side of things, this should give you an idea of the kind of clientèle that Audio T hope to attract. The elitest price point does carry several other benefits, with the store owners personally testing the equipment in front of you to ensure that the model you take away satisfies both yours and their sets of ears. Despite this, I'd still say the store is working on the expensive side of the spectrum by a looong way, but when your chucking around this kind of cash, you're buying a lifestyle and bragging rights as much as anything else.

Great products let down by poor customer service and lack of transparency over costs - my query…read moreover these were met with a very patronising attitude and utter lack of interest. Short term thinking as sadly I would not recommend or use again based on customer service.

Dean's Electronics is a local shop for local people, and one of the handful of surviving…read moreindependent businesses on St James' Street that sell practical goods rather than luxury items (think patisseries, delis, clothes, plants, furnishings...). Here's the place to go if you need an extension cable, a toaster, a wall clock and such like. There's a great stock with plenty of models of each item. The shop specialises in home electricals, incliding tv parts - though if you need anything computer related you wont find it here. And expect to pay a full whack £14.99 - £24.99 for a toaster - there're no smartprice options here! I asked the owner how he does for business when I went in there recently to buy a tv scart lead, and he sounded pretty positive, as I guess there's not too much competition this end of town. Nevertheless I imagine many people head to the city centre chains and the Asda hypermarket for many item... Anyway, enough waffling! Support Dean's Electronics because it's local and the owner is lovely - he even gave me money off my purchase cos it was near closing time and he'd had a nice day!

Deans is one of those amazing shops that will never, ever not have what you need. Well, providing…read morewhat you need is electrical, that is. The place is packed full of various household electrical goods, such as kettles, toasters and radios, as well as all kinds of cables, extension leads, lightbulbs and wires. If electricity runs through it, they sell it. Like many independent places, the quality of the service here is fabulous - I went in with an unusual shaped lightbulb which I had given up hope of being able to replace - they found it for me instantly.

When Sunderland Electronics first opened thirty years ago, I'm sure it was a cool electronics store…read morefeaturing bad ass stereo seperates by the best audio companies. It still stocks an impressive range of individual amps, CD players and ipod docks from names like Pioneer, Teac, Marantz, KEF and Sony. The problem is, it lacks the style and ambience of high end audio and visual electronic shops like Seven Oaks. The window displays are terrible and the interior of the shop is run down with frayed carpets, plain walls and an old desk. This is particularly cruel when one of the large adverts for their range of high definition plasma TVs features the strapline: Image is everything. Time for a fresh lick of paint and some rebranding I think!

Although I'm not a technology whizz-kid, or an electronics geek, I certainly can appreciate the…read moreaesthetics of a well-designed stereo system, or the beauty of a vivid, high definition television picture, and Sunderland Electronics is the type of store that lets such technological worship thrive. Everything inside looks sleek, stylish and borderline sexy. Unlike the products in many shops of this type, none of the items here look like they've recently fallen off of the back of a van, or that they were assembled in the dark by a one-armed chimpanzee. The vibe is all quality, quality, quality. You'll find tvs, stereos, cd players, Ipod docks, speakers, and other such high end electronics accessories. Everything has a certain charm to it, everything looks like it will work for longer than a week, and everything looks worth buying.

Adur Vision is one of those electronics shops that have "domestic" written all over them. If you…read moreneed that weird fit light bulb from the IKEA lamp you bought all the way from London and don't fancy the fifty mile drive to get another, or want more plugs than you thought mankind had ever built on a strip multi plug, this is the place to come. I found it a little like crossing the electronics section of the Argos catalogue with say Maplin. It's not all high end sound and vision or super tech electronic parts but at the same time there's a little more to it than the tacky bush HIFI systems that you find in Argos. This is a great place to pick up a neat little radio for the kitchen or a set of scart leads. When I popped in earlier I found that the chap behind the counter was charming polite and totally ready to look up the item I needed and sort me out.

Good, old fashioned shop where they stock those hard to find bulbs and batteries. Can order stuff…read morein, as they have done for me a couple of times. Good selection of radios

I remember when Dance 2 first started up as I used to buy records there. There's been a lot of…read morerecord (vinyl) shops going out of business over the last few years or so and its nice to see one still thriving after so long! I guess its because they offer the whole enchilada; records, decks, phones PA systems etc that they've done so well. For any small business to survive these days though, you need to have exceptional customer service skills and this where the guys at Dance 2 really stand out.

Bring the noize!!! A…read moreone-stop shop for established and amateur deejays, Dance 2 is a record and equipment shop specialising in decks, amps, mixers and speakers. They stock all the big names - Numark, Ortofan, Stanton, Technics, Pioneer & Vestax - and sell all the bits and bobs you could need for from spare needles, cartridges and headphones to record boxes and flight cases. Handily, they also have a small selection of new and old techno, drum n bass, electro, breaks and hip hop 12"s too. If you don't want to buy your own decks yet, they also rent equipment out and have disco equipment, sound & PA systems and lights you can hire for parties, festivals or special events. Time for a block party I think!

When we throw a party we always use these guys to hire the lights and PA system. They are really…read morereliable and a lot cheaper than most of their competition. I've got my own decks but no sound system or lights and I've hired equipment before and found its been faulty (usually its too late to phone anyone by then) but this shop has always been fantastic. They've got a great selection of lights and smoke machines and are really helpful with information about how many speakers you need etc. They also sell a lot of equipment, I bought a really reasonable mixer from them and was tempted to buy the whole system! Cheaper to hire.

Thank you to all of you at Audio Note UK (especially Adrian, Emily, and Jenny) for making my…read morepurchasing experience of my AN J-LX speakers such a smooth and wonderful experience. Really, it was absolutely stellar dealing with all of you. I cannot recommend you guys highly enough. This was, I believe, the best customer service I have ever experienced, for anything. Customer service these days in general is not ideal to say the least, but you've restored my faith in this realm. It is fantastic to see people who care about what they do and have a vested interest in seeing that they do that job well. Adrian, I am indebted to you particularly for working with me through the purchase flawlessly from the beginning. Your passion for the company, ability for smoothing the waters, and genuine concern for a customers happiness is outstanding. You really did go above and beyond in working with me for the speakers, especially in such a speedy and timely manner. Absolutely fantastic!

Really helpful staff who know what they are talking about compared to Curry's, PC world etc who's…read morestaff spiel off the same stuff! A great choice of electrical appliances that you can test in store! The staff will help you install and can be relied upon for help in the future. Aurac and other small chains should be supported as they are tonnes better than the big chain electrical stores who push for the sell.