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February 2024 by Frank H.
I arrived with an amateur query about and together with my turntable. After barely a minute, I was attended to, the machine connected and the problem solved some 8-10 minutes later. Attentive, knowledgeable, courteous, and efficient. If I only needed a new system then I know now where I will end up. This is the first review of a business I ever wrote. Thanks guys.
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October 2023 by Aaromal Syam
Chris and Andrew were great to work with in helping me get setup with a pair of bookshelves! Really nice guys who know their stuff! Very friendly and helpful. They really took the time to help educate me and made space for me to experience the sound I was seeking.Incredibly happy with my purchase!
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June 2023 by Brandon L.
This place is a gem. Amazing service and super kind people. Love the headphone selection!
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June 2023 by Rhonda Donato
Hugh and his team are the best in the business. They never over-sell and truly know their craft. I wish there were more high-end independent businesses like this. We feel very lucky to have discovered this Bay Area gem.
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May 2023 by Vincent C.
Went in a while back felt compelled to leave a review, rude service and high pressure sales technics. Not coming back here!
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May 2023 by Dan B.
I've bought equipment from them for years and have always been pleased. They hv a great assortment. Also, they know what's trending in the world of high-end audio and do a great job recommending what's new and good. You can't go wrong with them.
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March 2023 by Marcus Schneider
AVOID. The owner is a bully.I have made multiple purchases from Music Lovers over the years, and although their service wasn't great (they said they couldn't help me when a receiver I purchased from them died not long after buying it) they do carry good brands. And it should go without saying that nobody had actually been abusive.But this time was different. After a hard sell, I put down a deposit on a pair of speakers. The store has a no return policy though, and I had second thoughts. It felt too risky to spend thousands of dollars on speakers without an ability to do a home test or bring them back. Thankfully, the salespeople refunded the deposit when I said I didn't want to go forward with the purchase. They were perfectly nice about it. So far so good.My sales guy then offered to let me take them home and try them, no cost. Great! I did that. Then I brought them back (at the agreed-upon time) because I decided they weren't enough of an upgrade on my current system to justify the cost.The problem started when Jae, the owner, arrived--and proceeded to chew me out for about 10 minutes for not buying the speakers. He was incredibly angry. He insisted that I pay a 15% "restocking fee," which had not been mentioned or noted in any of the paperwork, and which none of the other employees had brought up when they fully refunded the deposit.I regret paying it, but I did because I felt trapped--Jae was very aggressive about it--and I just wanted to get out of there.I have never been treated this way by any business owner, much less one where I had been thinking of spending almost $4000 for a discretionary purchase.Stay away. There are lots of other places to buy audio gear that don't harass and bully their customers.
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March 2023 by JM E
What an amazing customer experience!Went to get a wireless music streamer and talked to Jay/Andrew. Both are very knowledgeable and suggested the best streamer (BlueSound). I went home and ran into some technical issues. I called the store and 30 min later Andrew showed up at my place and helped me complete the setup. Really couldn’t hope for a best customer service. Thank you!
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March 2023 by Marcus S.
AVOID. The owner is a bully. Believe the multiple one-star reviews that describe the poor customer service. When I brought back a pair of speakers from a home demo, they invented a policy about a 15% restocking fee ON THE SPOT and bullied me into paying it. I have made multiple purchases from Music Lovers over the years, and although their service wasn't great (they said they couldn't help me when a receiver I purchased from them died not long after buying it) they do carry good brands (think $$$). And it should go without saying that nobody had actually been abusive. But this time was different. After a hard sell, I had put down a deposit on a pair of speakers. The store has a no return policy though, and I had second thoughts. It felt too risky to spend thousands of dollars on speakers without an ability to do a home test or bring them back. Thankfully, the salespeople refunded the deposit when I said I didn't want to go forward with the purchase. They were perfectly nice about it.Jacob, my sales guy, then offered to let me take them home and try them, no cost. Great! I did that. Then I brought them back (on time) because I decided they weren't enough of an upgrade on my current system to justify the cost. The problem started when Jae, the owner, arrived--and then proceeded to chew me out for about 10 minutes for not buying the speakers. He was incredibly angry. He demanded that I pay a 15% "restocking fee," which had not been noted in any of the paperwork. None of the other employees had known of such a fee, clearly, or they wouldn't have refunded the deposit.I felt trapped and just wanted to get out of there because he was so aggressive. I paid the 15% fee. Now I regret giving in and am disputing the charge. We'll see what happens. I have never been treated this way by any business owner, much less one where I had been planning to spend almost $4000 for a discretionary purchase. I hate badmouthing a local business, but in this case I have to say: Stay away. There are lots of other places to buy gear that don't screw over their customers.
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February 2023 by Dave M.
I called in today to inquire about purchasing a number of shunyata products and Graham gave me 30 minutes of his time to offer an in-depth explanation. It was truly above and beyond what was necessary but I enjoyed and appreciated every minute of it. He really knew his stuff and I'd highly rec visiting this shop if you are into Hi Fi.
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January 2023 by Benjamin Thomas
Have never left a review for any place before, but my experience today getting a new cartridge installed on my turntable warranted the first! Graham was absolutely fantastic, extremely knowledgeable, friendly, funny, and happily answering all of my potentially extremely stupid questions (I am admittedly new to high end audio and vinyl). Honestly felt like the team was excited to share their passion and knowledge with me, and I'm very happy that I took the time to go down and speak with them. They also shared great recommendations on record stores, and everything else you could imagine - all without being at all pushy or overly "salesy". I'll be back!
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January 2023 by M.j. DeCaires
Music Lovers is a top notch shop. Graham helped me with a new phonograph cartridge. Part of the cost includes mounting and balancing the new cartridge. If you need high end audio gear of any type...you need to go here.Definitely ten cuts above all the other shops in the Bay Area...say hello to Leo the love dog. He loves to be pet.Update...Turned out my 30 year old turntable was unable to work after the trip from home to Music Lovers. So back I went and now I have a very nice new turntable from Pro Ject. I am now rediscovering all my old vinyl thru a new and much better sounding turntable. Graham hooked me up and got all the set up done on my new table.This new.table should be the last one I need to buy.
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January 2023 by Glen D'Souza
Very unfriendly. Me and my friend wanted to check out few amps and speakers to upgrade our current set up. We drove 45 min to this place. We rang a bell and the guy asked us if we had an appointment. I don’t see anywhere on Google or their website that we need appointment to visit. He really did not want us in there and was very condescending, kept saying it will take 30 min to set up. I’m sure they have too much business and did not think we were serious buyers. Waste of our time, we did not even go inside. We were excited to check this place out, completely ruined it.
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December 2022 by Rocky L.
This shop is a small, no, a medium-sized miracle. First, the architecture is unusual and worth a look even if you aren't shopping there. But if you are, and you're looking for an equipment replacement or upgrade, this is the place to be. There are a number of gentlemen working there, all of whom are quite pleasant, supremely knowledgeable, and generous with their time. They tested the equipment I brought in even though I wasn't there to make a purchase, then fixed me up with state-of-the-art speaker cables to replace my old frail ones, and, vive la difference! I now have sparkling sound from my Stanton turntable far better than I'd ever heard it before. They kept my amp overnight, and soldered the custom cable wires so they fit in its ports, at no extra charge. And they let me bring in my dog Jasper, and even let Jasper play with and ultimately have their own dog Leo's toy. (I thought Jasper was the world's laziest dog, then I met Leo!) Take advantage of this shop! It's the only one left in Berkeley, and possibly the East Bay.
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December 2022 by Peter Hockey
In the market for a new pair of headphones and want to test in person as that’s the only way to compare as a fellow audiophile. Waited outside for someone to answer, was told they are not demoing any due to no way of sanitizing the headphones. I asked if I could visually look at them to compare, was told that it’s pretty busy inside. I’m assuming they are in the business of selling expensive sounds systems only to local customers which is fine. Can’t really give a positive or negative rating since I wasn’t serviced.