It seems harder to find a store like this that's so dedicated to the quality of its products, and maybe more importantly, the satisfaction and provision of top service to their customers. read more

I bought an Acoustic Solid 113 table from these guys, but rather than the the Rega arm it was typically sold with, I was recommended and chose a Jelco 850S. Upon preliminary set-up in their shop, Greg and I noticed we were unable to achieve the Jelco recommended 214 mm pivot to spindle distance. In fact we were out by 10 mm. This was because the The Audio Room or TriCell (distributor) drilled the three arm collar holes into the wrong location on the aluminum arm board. With the arm collar mounted to the board, it didn't matter which way we rotated, we couldn't get anywhere near 214 mm. I asked Greg if being out by 10 mm would impact or impede sound quality, and he said "no, that won't make a difference". Also, achieving anything close to correct VTA was impossible because of the platter height. They failed to research this compatibility. Two months later I sourced out a company called Ammonite who designs spacers specifically for Jelco arms ($100). Not sure how The Audio Room failed at all this, as they knew what arm I was buying, and it clearly states parameters within the specs. During setup at my home, Greg used a spirit level on the platter and that seemed fine. However when cuing, the arm drifted inward. He suggested "placing the cuing lifter into a vice and bending it". I felt this was the wrong approach, especially on a new $1,700 tonearm. I took the spirit level and placed it on the plinth. Turns out it was on a different plane than the platter. Greg said this didn't matter, and all that was important was the platter being level. I felt he was wrong, as the arm board is mounted to the plinth, and this may effect cuing if the plinth and platter didn't share the same plane. Sure enough, after looking under the platter I noticed the platter mounting plate wasn't sitting flush with the plinth. This is because whoever drilled the holes into the wooden plinth didn't use a proper forstner bit, which allows for clean drilling of holes into wood. The end result was large lumps around each drill hole, causing the plate to sit unevenly, making it impossible for the platter & plinth to share the same plane. Standing back, you could see how uneven the patter to plinth was. I suggested we use a file and some sand paper on the large bumps around the drill holes. After that, we remounted the plate and now it sat perfectly flush. I placed the level on both the platter and plinth, and now they shared the exact same plane. Also, our drifting cuing dilemma had been resolved. Gee, I wonder why? Greg had forgotten certain tools upon this first visit. He said he'd return a couple days later. Upon returning he forgot his eyeglasses that he said were essential. Regardless, he adjusted a few things while trying different geometries with his protractor. I could see he was upset and had a heck of a time achieving any sort of accuracy due to the fact he couldn't see very well. We got things sounding so so, but there was still distortion. This had nothing to do with cartridge break-in time. I knew it was related to set-up. He asked me to listen for a few days, and he would return (with his glasses) to fine tune things. Upon his return he forgot his reading glasses again! He left and came back an hour later (w/ glasses) and rechecked the set-up. I asked him about being out by 10 mm on our pivot to spindle, and that maybe it was causing the distortion and sibilance we were hearing. He again replied with "no, that won't make a difference". With that I could tell he was really out of his element, and getting frustrated not to mention embarrassed. So, that was it. Greg felt there was nothing more he could do, and after forking out over $6,000 for the table, arm, and cartridge it was goodbye. I emailed him, to which I received a nasty reply. No more support from The Audio Room, helping me obtain the Jelco recommended pivot to spindle distance of 214 mm, or achieving proper VTA because of platter height (see aforementioned Ammonite spacer). I was stuck with a new turntable and unable to enjoy it. I really needed to find someone with a tap and die set so I could drill and thread the holes into my arm board allowing me to achieve the correct 214 mm pivot to spindle distance. After Googling, I found a machine shop that would drill & thread the holes for $75. I then contacted an audio tech with a protractor. He came to my home (for a fee), we set the measuring arm on the protractor to 214 mm and rotated the arm board until it was dead center on the template affixed at the top of the arm pivot. I marked where the holes should be drilled, took the arm board to the machine shop and had it back the next day. The audio specialist was a great deal of help to me, and together we set things up correctly (for a fee). After putting up with The Audio Rooms failing on many levels, I was finally able to enjoy my turntable. The Audio Room should have offered support and done this work for me. Why am I responsible for their incompetence? read more

The Audio Room is an Audiophile's local paradise. I've been here many times, mostly with a dream to one day purchase anything and everything they have to offer, but mostly to figure out where I'm going next. If you started out as a hipster in the world of vinyl, maybe got a vintage turntable and a few Cheap Trick album handed down to you from good ol' pops. You fell in love with the sounds of that black plastic and are now making a few extra bucks to support your addiction - you have to check out the Audio Room. The Audio Room is the store that puts Audio above anything else. I'm not this person...yet, but if I was able to afford my absolute dream home complete with the best Home Theatre possible, The Audio Room would be supplying the sound, no questions. If you happened to have a cool 30 grand kinking around and all you wanted to do was satisfy your ear holes, The Audio room could make it work for you. read more

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As I've written before I usually wait about a year or so before writing a review for a product or services I purchased. This leaves time to see how any "bugs" or issues were dealt with which in the end translates to customer experience. Now, when writing a review that you believe in and are extremely satisfied with that experience, writing the assessment can be tricky because you want to get the point across to readers looking for insight as something trustworthy where they won't roll up their eyes with suspicion. So, I'll be as succinct as I can by starting with the conclusion: Out of a scale of 1 to 5 stars my wife & I would give the Team at the Audio Room 10, however we can only go as high as 5 stars. Now for the buying experience: These folks know their products and they will educate and guide you to your tastes and budget without any pressure. All you have to do is listen and understand what you like and why you like it. They will guide you into something you enjoy and can afford because at the end of the exercise it's all about customer experience: Listening to good quality sound can be therapeutic so having it installed by people who know their stuff is important. Kurt has a passion and a soft spot for people who really enjoy listening to music, any music and with Chris and Greg as part of his Team they did just that. I've often said that before you have kids you listen to music, when you have kids you hear music and once the kids are gone you listen to music again. Now, there are some good stores with good equipment out there but you owe it to yourself to check out the Audio Room and you will very likely find yourself going back there again after you've checked out other other stores. You will not regret the long lasting and loyal experience from Kurt and his dedicated Team. read more

Shopping for a hi-fi stereo system can be tricky. Many dedicated audio stores stock only top-end product that's simply out of my price range. (I was a loyal Sound of Music customer and the folks there have always been excellent to me; problem is, I can no longer fit its products in my budget). At the same time, trying to find stereo equipment at a box store, like Visions, is an exercise in frustration. (At the box store I visited, the only source material the salesman had available was an mp3 played through a mobile phone -- hardly the proper source to fidelity.) I am so pleased to have found the Audio Store. I send an email to the store's central inbox, explaining what I was seeking in terms of components, budget and overall fidelity, and I was pleasantly surprised to get a reply the next day with suggestions for a system. I dropped by the store and spent 90 minutes listening to a wide range of music on two formats through different amps and speakers -- at no point did I feel rushed or pressured into any particular product. When the amp I wanted wasn't in stock, the store allowed me to take home a floor model, which I enjoyed for a month until my new amp came in. In the end, I bought an outstanding system that the store managed to fit within my budget and the service was outstanding from everyone in the store. Yes, the Audio Room also serves customers who may have more disposable income to invest in their hi-fis, but for those customers with my budget (in the $4K to $5K range) -- and especially those who prefer British products -- I would heartily recommend paying Kurt, Chris and Gord a visit. read more