Customer service is at its best at Stereotypes. Andrew and his team are knowledgeable about sound equipment. Clearly their passion comes through while working with them. They were helpful to my needs, and I felt like they cared the whole time I was there - and respectful of my time as well. I had to go back a couple of time because of the weird layout of my home, but we brainstormed and worked it out. A pleasurable experience start to finish. Ron read more

This is my least favorite audio store in PDX, and I am still giving them 4 stars. I also occasionally visit them so they have a chance to earn my business. Here's why-- They are helpful and pleasant, have a solid selection of equipment and the listening room I have used is nicely set up from a sonics perspective. They know their stuff. Why my least favorite and why still four stars then? There is absolutely nothing wrong here. They work with your budget and try to understand you and your needs which the other shops do also. They don't pressure you. But each time I still got this subtle sense that they cared more about the sale than me the customer. They are also less brand agnostic than other shops, praising the brands they carry over other brands on two occasions. It's hard to explain, but in our other great audio stores, I don't get that vibe. They want me to enjoy great music and understand that it's all about the long term relationship. That's why those places have gained my repeat business, while I am still waiting for Stereotypes to earn mine. Let me add a couple of caveats: 1) I am so grateful that we have as many quality audio stores as we do. In most markets, Stereotypes might be the only, or certainly one of the best shops. 2) for some of my audiophile friends, this is their number one shop. So as always, ymmv. So if you are looking for a nice 2 channel stereo, please do give them a chance--and know that in Portland we are spoiled. If you love music and care about musical reproduction, please support our local shops. read more

Appreciated the advice I got from the gentlemen at Stereotypes. Love the vibe at the store. Excellent experience.

I bought a pair of one of the cheapest bookshelf speakers they have in stock--Dali Spektor 2. They treated me as if I was buying a pair of $10,000 towers (they have those too if that's your gig). They sat me down in a couch, handed me an iPad hooked to a music streaming service, and let me listen listen 4 different sets of speakers, switching each one out on the same stands when I was ready to hear another pair. No upselling or pressure tactics. It was a really fun experience, and I would recommend this store to anyone. I could have purchased the speakers online for the same price, but it was nice to buy local and from such a friendly and knowledgeable staff. The speakers sound great, by the way! read more

Stereotypes - High Fidelity Audio Equipment Near Me - Portland, Oregon

I drove into the city today on a mission to check out some new Hi-Fi equipment for my new home. I love music, but it has been years since I've spent any real money on a dedicated system. I'm not an experienced audiophile by any measure. That makes entering into this world a bit overwhelming and it's easy to be intimidated by it. You don't want to spend 5k on the wrong thing. My wife and I never had any attention of going to Stereotypes. I had never even heard of them. We went into a different store. A popular one for sure. Besides the monotone "hello, if you have any questions let us know," there was no other attempted interaction by their staff. I asked permission to step into a listening room. We stood in there for almost 10 minutes, nobody came in. So we left. I yelped for any other stores and that's how I came across this awesome spot. Both gentlemen at the front gave us smiles and hellos as we walked in. Within 5 minutes one of the salesman asked us how we were doing and if we needed any help or was looking for anything specific. I explained my experience level, my budget, and how I listened to most of my music. He made some suggestions and an hour later I had the makings of a beautiful system within my budget. I couldn't be happier. I may swap out one piece for another, but I plan to continue to do all my audio business with these guys. I'm really really happy with the speakers they put me on. Triangle Comète 40th Anniversary edition. They're gorgeous to look at and gorgeous to listen to. read more

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Walked in a record player novice. Walked out a pro. Well, not really a pro but I did get an amazing record player, amp and speaker setup－at a way more affordable price than I thought. I never felt pressured to buy. Had all my questions answered. And wasn't upsold a system that was beyond what I could appreciate. Stereotypes has a great selection of great brands and the owners could not be more patient, friendly, and accommodating. Go there, your ears will thank you. read more

Friendly, low key place to shop. Really interesting mix of audiophile high end equipment and well considered consumer electronics. read more

I have a new favorite Hi-Fi shop and it's Stereotypes. I bought the Rega Planar 10 (a $7000 turntable) from them over the phone and, boy, did they take care of me. Rich and his crew answered my questions, kept me informed on the status of the turntable and I received it in Seattle the day after they got it. They did a beautiful job setting the turntable up and I could not be happier. These guys rock!! I'll be back. read more

As the owner of Upscale Audio, I'd like to say I'm sorry for the bad Stereotypes review written by our customer Jerry under the Yelp name Grrrrrrrrrr G. He bought his product from us and went crazy trying to make it work though we certainly tried to help him. His 1-start review of Stereotypes was completely unfounded, and if you read his other reviews you can see 20 out of 21 are 1 star and he calls everyone crooks and worse. I feel rather bad as they didn't deserve it. He was our customer causing problems they had little to do with. Stereotypes has been around many many years and they are good people. read more

Found my place for all things audio. Top notch customer service, easy vibe and great products to browse in house. Pressure free and attentive to questions. Priced well and killer attention to detail. Feels like they want their customers to succeed. Really a fine run business and I"ll be back without a doubt. Appreciated the service I received. read more

Great store , and super knowledgeable people to speak with- no up sell or pressure! Terri was very attentive and got my table working beautifully with a new Hana SL.... thank you! I encourage people to and speak with them and ask questions, they really do want to do best by their customers!!!! read more

I've been purchasing from Stereotypes for decades. Even when they were located on SE Hawthorne. The other day I went in to purchase new headphones. My previous pair I bought their as well, but sold those. At checkout, they offered me a nice little discount for being a repeat customer. Very unexpected, very much appreciated. Shop local, buy local. If you need hi fi gear, go see these guys. They would be pleaded to meet your needs. read more

You shouldn't have to catch sales folks on a "good day" to have a pleasant experience. Poor customer service thrives here as does mediocrity and bad technicians. I was not interested nor did I ask to demo power cords during my last visit here. But that didn't stop the sales rep from forcing an A/B test with power cables during my listening session when demoing an integrated amp and speakers? STRIKE ONE. (I kept picking the stock power cord over the thousand+ dollar one every time and the sales person told me I didn't have the "ear" yet). STRIKE TWO. Yanking the power cords from the back of the amp each time without ever turning the unit off. Lame. And a waste of my precious listening time. The last straw came when one of their so called techs mounted a new cartridge I bought there - on my TT that caused a distortion when playing. Brought it back asking for a new cartridge but they said they didn't have another one so they swapped my new one out for a demo from the floor. Made me sign a paper saying it was okay upon leaving for home (in hindsight I should have listened for more than I did, approx. 60secs). Got home and same distortion after 5 minutes. STRIKE THREE. Turns out the headshell nuts where not tightened enough... haven't been back since. Found The Audio Gallery in Lake Oswego (RIP Gary) and never looked back. Good riddance Stereotypes. Not only are you not the only game in town, you are the worst. read more

Stereotypes carries entry-level and mid-level audiophile components. It's a very nice store and the people staffing it are quite nice. Audio components are very subjective, and while I'm not a fan of the brands they carry, that's just me, because they carry some very fine brands. It is very difficult to purchase a phono cartridge. There are a ton on phono cartridges out there but how do you listen to them and compare them to others? I had been using a particular brand for many years, but another brand had a new cartridge on the market that was causing people to sit up and take notice, and I wanted to hear it. But phono cartridges are very delicate creatures, and no one is going to let you take one home and try it. If you've never tried setting one up on a turntable and getting it aligned and adjusted, believe me, it's skilled labor. The good folks at Stereotypes ordered the cartridge, set it up on a very nice turntable, and called me at home to tell me to come listen. They provided me with a quite sound room, and left me alone to decide for myself. I felt a little bad because I didn't like it nearly as much a the one I was already using so - no sale. They were very nice and understanding - no hard sell at all. They have some very cool squeeze boxes I might need to check out. read more

Walked in as newbies to the audiophile world and was treated great. They didn't make us feel like "idiots" and were very helpful with our questions. Demoed a few speakers, that helped a lot! They were very knowledgeable and took the time to really explain things. There was never a moment where we felt like they were trying to up sell us. Highly recommend and will definitely return!! read more

Really great service and help. I purchased a new system with the assistance of Andrew. He guided me to a really good system for my needs -- exceptional value and great performance. This is a true gem of a place. We are fortunate to have such places in Portland that have such a good selection of equipment and who are interested in serving the customer. Great assistance, and no pressure ! read more

Not being an audiophile puts you at a disadvantage. The staff is pretentious and arrogant. They assume everyone wants to spend $$$$ on equpment. And if your not spending a lot of money they are not interested. I have tried to do business with the 2 times. Both times I left feeling I had been taken advantage of and not satisfied with my purchase. read more

Many Thanks to Teri and her crew! This place is proof that you dont have to spend MEGGGGA BUX to get great help and customer service!! i get this level of service every time I go weather its to buy something or just to hear the latest gear.. She helped me pick out the best sounding equipment for MY (very small) target budget, swapped around equipment, in whatever room I liked. even up stairs!! where the big guns are i wasnt sure about some things... no problem she let me "demo out" components to see how the sounded in my house with no time constraints, and one component was more expensive than I was comfortable with ( and of course i Loved it and HAD to have it.. hehe she let me make payments on it WITHOUT a stinking credit app!! way to go TERI!!! Thanks for the tools and knowledge for a great sounding system!! read more

I am fairly new to the audiophile world (though I have already purchased some excellent mid-level vintage gear including a Thorens and Macintosh) and am sold on sound quality mattering. Thus, I was excited to find Stereotype so close to my house. It's like having a candy store around the corner. Dangerous but exciting. Boy, was I in for a treat. I tried to go more than three occasions for three reasons, because I figured the first time working with Terry must have been a fluke. First time was investigating turntables, second was speaker wires, and third was isolation pads. Each time she treated me like I had a mental disorder. I would ask how much something was and she would say, "I'd have to look that up". Um, ok? I would ask, which wires does she recommend. She would say, "It depends on your budget. Um, ok? "We have many ranges of price here." Um, ok? Some wires cost a thousand dollars." Um, ok? So....this is really unfortunate that some small businesses in portland are unaware that it doesn't matter how much you love yourself or your store, it's about loving your customers. So, some subtle feedback: 1. Focus on your customer experience (ie. listen, smile, connect) 2. Focus on the features and benefits in a positive tone. 3. Focus less on customer's budgets, because as we audiophiles know budgets are flexible when you really want something or are persuaded to get it. Don't make your customer feel bad or he or she will end up writing a review like this one even though he'd rather be listening to a new record. Until I read more positive reviews about the customer experience at this store, I'm taking my business back to Echo Audio where they are mellow, unpretentious and just love working with you. read more

In my mind, the biggest advantage Stereotypes has over other shops in Portland is the brands they carry. For my personal tastes, they carry the coolest brands in town. Cambridge, Naim, Simaudio, Auralic, Dali, Focal, Parasound, Shunyata, Ora, and a number of others I haven't gotten to try out yet. This is truly high quality stuff and much of it is downright sexy. I'm drooling just thinking about it. I've experienced excellent customer service at this store -- more on that in a moment -- but let's be real, it's the products that draw people in. In this day of online shopping, the chief advantage of a brick and mortar store is to actually see, feel and listen to the gear. Stereotypes chooses their products very well and one visit to their store will prove there is lots of cool stuff to check out. Not only do they carry great gear, but they take great care in setting it up correctly. Their listening rooms are realistic representations of those you may have at home, but through careful system matching, acoustic room treatment, and proper placement, they've created spaces for music that truly envelops you. The rooms make for great demos, but I've also picked up some best practices to recreate some of that magic at home. As for the staff, they are phenomenal, particularly Andrew who has worked with me the most. Andy, Rich, and Howard have also been quite helpful. These guys tick off all the boxes for me. They're willing to work with me and my budget, even if it takes a bit of creativity and often times cutting me a killer deal. They take the time to answer my many questions and educate me on what products will produce the sound and functionality I'm looking for. The staff encourages home auditions before buying, supplying me with the loaner equipment I need to give the trial product a fair shake. I've done this 3-4 times and have never felt the pressure to buy. Sometimes it leads to a sale, sometimes it doesn't. Whatever makes for a good fit. The staff makes a real effort to remember me and welcome me into the store whether I'm on the hunt for the next purchase or just casually checking out what's new. I'll be coming back to this shop again and again for my future audio needs. Highly recommended. read more

the only way this place could get better is if i had the bones to afford their goods. I needed a custom cable to fit a vintage set of speakers, paired with a vintage receiver. The woman at stereotypes managed to throw one together for me in less than 10 mins. read more

Stereotypes is a beautiful store. I dropped in today for the first time and chatted with Rich. No pressure to buy anything. He was very knowledgeable. Great brands and good prices from what I could see. They are definitely added to my list of preferred stereo shops for the next time I tinker with my setup. read more

I can't say enough good things about this store and their awesome owner and staff. Terry, Andy, Andrew and Rich have all been fabulous to work with. I recently purchased a new system and in the middle of the process changed my mind about one of the items ordered (I decided I wanted to upgrade to something better) and they handled the change with a smile and made me feel like a valuable customer throughout the process. After I received the system I had several issues related to "operator error" and they (Andy especially) patiently walked me through how to take care of my concerns. They were great in communicating during the entire experience and I feel great about dealing with this store. Will be using them for all my audio needs in the future. Highly recommended! read more

Selling used items as new. I was waiting for a new blu-ray player to be released, and called StereoTypes for information. They called back and said they were in, and I should come in and see it. I made the long journey to purchase one, but when I got there they said they only received one and it was their display model. They assured me they could get another one quickly, and it would be there soon, which persuaded me to pay the full price for it then. After waiting two weeks without hearing from them I called and asked for status. They said they would contact the supplier and get one delivered as soon as possible. By this time they had been on sale on Amazon for a week, at the same price with free delivery. A few days later StereoTypes left me another message saying a courier would be delivering my blu-ray player the next day. Two days later they said it had been delivered and I could collect it. I collected the player the next day, but when I got home and unpacked it, I noticed the box had already been opened, the batteries had been installed in the remote, and the player had been powered up ( the first time you switch it on it runs a setup wizard, the second time it does not do this ). StereoTypes had repackaged their demo and sold it to me as new, hoping I would not notice, and lied about the courier delivering a new one. I had waited three weeks and received a used player, when I could have ordered it from Amazon and received a new item in a few days. I will not use StereoTypes again. read more

I have been in this shop about 10 times and have had nothing but excellent experiences. About a year and a half ago I decided to take my first foray into the hi-fi world. My budget was on the "entry-level" end of that world, but Terri and co made me feel welcome and were very pleasant and patient as I tried out many different items over multiple visits before purchasing anything. I've been absolutely thrilled with my setup ever since, and the kicker was that I couldn't even find better prices online anywhere (though I would have paid a pretty decent premium based on the service). Highly recommend this place. read more

I purchased a OPPO player from stereotypes. Writing on my experience, they were patient and knowlegable. Being 62 I have over the years had very good experiences and at times experiences where I thought the salesperson needed to find another line of work. I was treated with respect. I will shop there in the future! read more

Stopped in Stereotypes for a listen to some PMC and ProAc speakers. First of all the woman that is running the place is about as arrogant as they come. To say that she lacks social skills would be an understatement. They have a decent selection of low to mid priced gear but the staff killed it for me. When I audition gear I need to be comfortable. read more

Been purchasing nice hifi gear since 80's. Have purchased a handful of items here since the late 90's after moving to Portland. I would rate this shop one one of the 2-3 best in town along with Echo. Folks are nice, honest, carry hi value and long lasting quality gear, and are willing to spend time with you to help pick the right equipment for your budget. Can't say the same for other "Hi End" stores in Portland and Seattle where you get a look of disappointment when you tell the salesperson your budget is $1,000 (a lot of money to me!!). Definitely should visit before buying a stereo or components some place else. My best experience this shop was when I was hearing a hum from my turntable. Figured it must be the phono preamp so went down there to buy another. Terri showed me a few options but then asked about the issue I was hearing with my existing preamp. She was concerned that the preamp was not the problem and asked that I bring it in for evaluation. Sure enough -- hooked up to a system in the shop it was just fine. She trusted that I was not hearing things so asked me to bring in the turntable as well. Well.....everything worked fine. We came to conclusion that the physical placement of the turntable/pre-amp was causing the problem (correct). Felt pretty stupid about the whole situation having wasted so much of their time. Not only did they not make a big deal about it, but proceeded to do a quick tune-up of my turntable/cartridge alignment (installed myself) for no charge. Wow.....they could have made a quick sale but instead spent time to understand my issue and gave great service even if that meant no revenue that day --- reminds me of Les Schwab. read more