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May 2024 by Zeke Dumke IV
Brian is as knowledgeable as he is passionate. If you love music, he can be your equipment guide.
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March 2024 by CEZ law
Amazing experience. I was looking for a new turntable and reached out to Whetstone. Set up an appointment, went and listened to a series of turntables and picked out the one I wanted. No hard sell, just straight up information about which cartridge I should get, the differences between the cartridges, and the differences between the tables. He ordered it, set it up and I picked it up the next week. Brian even remembered a comment I made about how much I like Santana and he threw in a used Santana/Coltrane LP, which turned out to be amazing. Highly recommend.
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January 2024 by Mark F.
I had a great visit with Brian. We chatted about my musical taste, my current gear and what I was seeking in speakers. Brian rotated me through listening to a series of nice products. No rush. No volume limits. It was easy and fun. I didn't really land on a winner but he got focused on a step up higher in the Revival line and ordered a pair while I was there. We'll follow up in a few weeks to see how they sound. Good guy and cool shop. Highly recommended. A+
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December 2023 by Mark Fisher
I had a great visit with Brian. We chatted about my musical taste, my current gear and what I was seeking in speakers. Brian rotated me through listening to a series of nice products. No rush. No volume limits. It was easy and fun. I didn't really land on a winner but he got focused on a step up higher in the Revival line and ordered a pair while I was there. We'll follow up in a few weeks to see how they sound. Good guy and cool shop. Highly recommended. A+
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December 2023 by Steve Brown
For the last 5 years, I've been driving from Houston to Austin just to visit Brian's shop. The selection of equipment and the listening room he has is so cool and his ability to swap equipment is quite special. There is also an eclectic record collection to dig through while waiting for him to finish if he's with other clients. Definity a shop worth visiting if you are into sweet tunes and quality hifi.
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November 2023 by JP Rahmann
I set aside an afternoon to check out the different hi-fi stores in Austin. I didn't realize that Brian was by appointment only. I peered in and saw him with another client and almost walked away not wanting to bother. After a minute I popped my head in to ask if I could make an appointment for the same day. I was met with a super polite "sure! you can come in right now!" as he was just finishing up with this client.It happened to be one of those days where there were a bunch of walk-ins at the same time. Brian took the time to chat with everyone but kept coming back to us to give us information about the different brands he carries. I ended up picking up my new amp and speakers from him. He was honest about price and let us know what would pair well (even when it meant not selling us the more expensive combination). We had great discussions about sound and music. An overall great experience. Make sure you do make an appointment though! He's a one-man-show!
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April 2023 by Austin G.
I had an excellent custom experience. Brian spent the time to get to know me and understand what I was looking for, even though I didn't know what I was looking for ;) He helped me pick out the perfect setup for "me". I really like the whole appointment setup, because you get 100% focus. I'd highly recommend Whitestone if you're looking to make an investment in high end audio equipment.
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November 2021 by Rick Jon
Woulda been nice if they woulda posted that they were BY APPOINTMENT ONLY...” and loving it!”... guess I won’t be a customer.
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May 2021 by Eddie Perez
Excellent choice of Hifi equipment and service. A+++++
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May 2021 by Grant
Thanks for everything guys ! Awesome shop.
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March 2020 by JB White
Best little hi-fi and vinyl shop in Austin.
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June 2019 by Joel Renaud
Whetsone is one of the few Harbeth speaker dealers in Texas so I drove down from Dallas just to hear some. The owner, Brian, was very patient and spent almost 2.5 hours with me. Yes, it is recommended to make an appointment. But this isn't like dropping by local electronics big box store. If you're in the market for the type of equipment Brian sells, audition appointments are very much the norm. And, it's not like its a pain to set up the appointment. Brian was super responsive in our communications.
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June 2019 by Sam F
Brian agreed to a price, then said it was too low and he wouldn't do it just a few minutes later when ready to purchase. Also, he offered me the price. Bad business practice. Saying I'm a "troll over the phone" doesn't seem accurate, as trolls tend not to be ready to drop 10 grand on a pair of speakers. Classy..
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June 2019 by Joel R.
Whetsone is one of the few Harbeth speaker dealers in Texas so I drove down from Dallas just to hear some. The owner, Brian, was very patient and spent almost 2.5 hours with me. Yes, it is recommended to make an appointment. But this isn't like dropping by local electronics big box store. If you're in the market for the type of equipment Brian sells, audition appointments are very much the norm. And, it's not like its a pain to set up the appointment. Brian was super responsive in our communications. I've been to many audiophile shops throughout my 20+ years in the hobby. Brian, runs one of the best. It's a relatively small shop and just runs it himself, so he doesn't carry a ton of options. But the main reason for that is that he has carefully curated a list of offerings he know will make you a happy based on his decades of experience in the industry. I'm pretty confident I would be happy with just about anything he sells out of his store. He's super approachable and isn't belittling or snobby like many audiophile sales people tend to be - he actually makes it fun to shop for audiophile equipment. He's also very patient and not pushy at all. Just a great experience. Super happy I made the trip down to Austin to visit Brian's shop and will definitely be spending my audiophile budget with Brian from now on.
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May 2019 by Sam F.
Brian agreed to a price, then a few minutes later when ready to purchase would not honor the office he agreed to. Bad business practice
