Stereo Exchange

I too read the low reviews and I had a totally different experience. I walked into the store today and asked about a turntable. I dealt with Alan C who couldn’t have been nicer. Gave me good advice… The was NO HIGH PRESSURE at all and no rudeness. Maybe these other reviewers went into a different shop. Anyway the stuff sounds amazing but not cheap

Need to work a lot harder on customer service. Good stock, know the products but brutal attitude.

Walked in on a Saturday morning to get a replacement set of tubes for my amp.
Salesperson: «May I help you»
Me: «Yes please. I need tubes for my amp. Do you sell tubes»
Salesperson: «Do you mean tube amps, or tubes?»
Me: «Tubes. I have a tube amp and I need a replacement set of tubes.»
Salesperson: «No. We don’t carry tubes.»
Me: «Oh, I just thought this would be a good place to get tubes, since you sell tube amps. Do you have a place you recommend?»
Salesperson: «Maybe a lighting supply store».
Me: «???»
Well I guess they do look a bit like light bulbs. I never thought about that… and confirming for me once and for all that despite pretty wares in the window, Stereo Exchange is not the place to go if you’re marginally serious about stereo equipment.

Don’t fall for it when they try to convince you to buy expensive cables. Ask if you can try them on your system first, before buying. Other high-​end audio stores in NYC will allow you to do this. If they won’t allow for this, move on. They’re giving the hard sell on these things.

Great stock, unacceptably rude staff. Kicked my son out though he was behaving fine, they simply didn’t want to have a child in the store.
I was prepared to spend a lot of money, which I then took elsewhere.
Boycott this spot until they learn to treat people properly.

«You probably have hearing loss» is what I was told when I commented that I didn’t like one of their speakers.

After seeing all the low star reviews I was skeptical about this place to say the least. My experience couldn’t have been better. Michael Toto was amazing. He really listened to what I was after and then proceeded to give me option after option. I listened for over an hour and learnt a lot. I didn’t buy anything this time but with customer service like this I can see they’d have customers for life. Their demo stock on hand is incredible, and I may even buy from them and ship to LA (where I live) just because I really want to support such a great organization.

I purchased a pair of wireless headphones that the salesman helped me set up that didn’t work as they should the second I walked out the door. While walking down the street, the music would skip repeatedly. This problem resolved when I was sitting still. When I brought the entire package back to the store to return/​exchange them within 6 days (their exchange policy is within 7 days), the manager had little to no interest in hearing about the defective product they sold me, refusing even an exchange, expressing in mild disgust that they couldn’t accept them because they had been in my ears. I think there’s a reason why big box stores win out sometimes.

They do have a great selection of high end equipment and the staff is knowledgeable about it. This is where the pros end!
First off the prices are extremely high. The sales people are sharks. When you walk out of the place you feel dirty and ripped off. They practice the trickle down system of rudeness. From the ownership down sales.
I came in there to buy some speaker wires. Knowing exactly what I wanted was a big mistake. The sales person kept on trying to up sell me. When he notices he was failing he switched to being condescending and tried to question my judgement. When he finally realized it wasn’t going to work he simply got on the phone to the stock room and asked for the cables I wanted, but also threw in «yeah the CHEAP ones» in the request. With the work CHEAP emphasized.
There are a lot of stereo stores in Manhattan and unless you are on the corner of Broadway and Houston St with a bomb that will go off in 5 minutes and the only thing that will stop it is an over priced tube amp go to Stereo Exchange, otherwise I’d go somewhere else. If your bomb has 6 minutes on in take the chance go somewhere else!

They should change their name to Stereo Type, because the audio salesmen in this place are straight out of a cliched joke about rude stereo salesmen. I’m amazed they’ve been in business for so long.

Dear Stereo Exchange,
I must apologize.
I’m so sorry that I walked in and disturbed you with my presence during the last 30 minutes before closing. What was I thinking?! Walking into a store while it was still open! What kind of an asshole does that? I should really be ashamed of myself for making a fool out of myself like that!
When you told me that «just so you know — we’re closing» with such disdain and scorn — rather than hanging my head in shame and heading straight for the exit, I smiled and decided to ask a couple of questions about the services you provide on my way out.
I suppose I should have known better than to try to engage in a conversation with you after admitting to you that I was a stereo novice. Peasants like myself should know better than to trying to engage in conversing with holy nobilities such as yourselves, especially in the complex and sophisticated matter that is stereo.
Again, truly sorry — will never be bothering you again.

Would give zero stars if I could.
Wandered in 6 weeks ago in search of a wireless system I’d seen reviewed in Wired. While they didn’t have it, they did have the Naim Mu-​So, a beautiful unit that sounded great. That first experience was a good one, the sales guy that helped me was young and helpful.
Fast forward 6 weeks: I decided I wanted to buy the unit, and while I could have ordered online, I felt a pull to do right to the guys that showed it to me, so called in to reserve a unit and went in today to pick it up.
Walked in the store today around 4:30pm. It was literally as if the employees were avoiding me. I asked one guy if he could help, he said ‘I don’t know’ and stood there like he didn’t work there. Later confirmed, he does (did? Jeez).
After basically walking into the back of the store to ask a guy for help, he comes out to the front to where my girlfriend and I are trying to get the Bluetooth connected. He immediately tells me what I’m doing is wrong, looks at his phone, and announces that what he is doing is right, but that it’s not working, and there’s nothing he can do.
This is the part where you’re supposed to explain the issue to me and tell me why I wouldn’t have the same issue at home.
I have to prompt this — ‘if it doesn’t work here, why would I have confidence it would work at home?
I see your point’ he says.
I get angry. He says — I have a customer in back, I’m going to help him.
I laugh and curse them out and cancel my order.
Guess what? Apple sells the same unit now (dust free unlike Stereo Exchange) and the customer service is as usual brilliant.
I bought it from Apple.
No idea how or why these guys are still in business or why any of them bothered to get out of bed and go to work today. Please close.

I really wanted to like this place and support an independent stereo shop. And I’ve never written a negative review of anything I don’t think! But the staff (management?) here resulted in two miserable retail experiences. The 15 minutes you’ll wait (if you’re lucky) before someone helps you isn’t even the start. Nor is their rudeness, arrogance and pushiness. It’s the deceptive, crooked business practices that were the most maddening. Expect an up-​sell and don’t plan on returning anything.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!! Do not do any business with Stereo Exchange. Purchased
a 17K system from this company, from the get go the permanent installation came complete with unmarked cables and a spaghetti mess behind two racks of components.
Had my high end Onkyo /​Integra unit fail (second unit I sent back for repairs in a year to Onkyo) and was charged $ 450 for SE to come to my house, unit had the same issue within hours after they left so I packed it up and sent for repair. Nearly a month later the Integra was returned, I called SE to install and they insisted on charging $ 120 (reduced rate) on top of the $ 450 I already paid. They push unnecessary gear and peripherals, charge top dollar for service contracts and repairs and will always send two men to do the job of one.
Absolutely no refunds, they charge re-​stock fees and incredible mark ups. There are so many electronics companies with much favorable return /​exchange (B&H, in living stereo, innovative A/​V…) at much better price points.
Understand, when you engage these companies to do installations, your married to them. No other stereo install company will want to touch an install they didn’t do and didn’t supply the components.
My fault for not vetting SE in the first place, as difficult it is as a business owner myself to say, this company should be closed for good…
David Wasserman is the crook behind Stereo Exchange, enter at your own risk!

I wanted to like this place. The wide range of equipment and the ability to listen to the headphones that are on display is significant.
The employees are unfortunately not helpful. On three separate occasions I’ve walked in, looked around, and was never asked if I had any questions. If they were busy, that would make sense. However, I literally just walked out after two employees stood chatting near the front without regard to a customer with questions. I can appreciate low pressure sales… This is something else entirely.
You combine that with the other reviews and I’ll take my money elsewhere.

The quality of the equipment here really is a giant step above what you can find at places like Best Buy. Great place to visit. And while it can be hard to get time with a good salesperson, when they do get to you, they give honest, helpful recommendations (though naturally they will often recommend expensive items).
Maybe you are able to research individual pieces online, but these guys know how to put it all together into a system.
The only problem is the service. I purchased an expensive full home theater system and they charged a high rate to install it. Then when it failed to work, they changed me again (and again) to return to my home and adjust it. They even told me I should upgrade some equipment (the same equipment they had sold me and installed!) to avoid future issues. The technicians are very friendly and seem like experts, but it’s also true that to this day, my network still doesn’t work well.
Also, a few of the employees are not responsive or friendly when you try to call. Keep trying till you find someone nice.
I’d still consider shopping here but maybe next time I’d compare what it costs to have someone else handle installation.

They told me not to touch anything in the store, except for the headphones. Even Ferrari of Orange County allowed me to sit in their cars. Audio equipment is meant to be felt and listened to, not worshipped or feared.

Dave has a great store. I’ve bought quite a bit of gear there over the last 25 to 30 years. A store doesn’t stay around that long if they are not doing it right.
Can some of his staff be a little uppity? You betcha, and here’s the little secret: especially the ones who know much less about audio gear than they let on! It has happened to me more than once, but I just walk away from (usually a) him and find the knowledgeable guy or gal who understands that sales are driven by caring about making the audio experience a positive one for everybody, not just the ones with deep pockets (Dave Hafler, where are you know that we really need you?).
As for riding a bike without hands, Dave, here’s how it’s done:

I wanted a new turntable and speakers, plus whatever gizmo I needed to get them to talk to each other (which I now know is called an amplifier). Ron helped me out and did a great job explaining the difference between the different levels and kinds of equipment without using too much technical language. He demoed a few different models and price points of speakers so I could hear the difference and let me hang out and listen to music to test it out. When it came time to pick a turntable I was sort of ready to go basic (ie less expensive/​fancy) but didnt feel at all pressured to upgrade. In fact, Ron was great at explaining why even the basic model was a good choice. Oh, and it came in blue. So I’ve got a blue turntable now.
After getting everything set up back at home it sounds great and I know I’ll be using these components for a long time. Inexpensive, no, but i think it’s a good investment. (I also like that many products they sell are made by small companies in the US.) Everyone at the store was friendly and helpful, and I’ll definitely be back if I ever need new stereo equipment.

Suffice it to say, I’m taken aback by the two-​star average rating this place has on Unilocal given our recent experience. However I do trust the collective wisdom of Unilocal reviewers so there must be something to such a low average. But on our visit, the experience was positive so I wanted to weigh in.
We were greeted by an effusive, friendly and completely un-​pushy salesman named Anthony. We told him right off the bat we were there as lovers of McIntosh brand audio equipment (both vintage and new) and just wanted to take a look at what they had to offer.
There ensued a most pleasant 30 minutes or so of Anthony showing us the fabulous equipment they had. This included him bringing us into one of the comfy sound rooms where he played some great CDs for our listening pleasure.
This was certainly a terrific place to see and hear the latest in what McIntosh has to offer.
Stereo Exchange has a lot of square footage so there is plenty of room to explore all the offerings.
Anthony and my husband enjoyed swapping stories of their competing McIntosh obsessions, what they own or have owned, when and where, but it was all in fun. There was nothing snooty about any of our interactions as others have stated having had.
We didn’t buy anything; in fact the intent of this visit was to browse and yet we never once felt pressured even though Anthony chose to spend a lot of time with us.
I’m sorry to read of the terrible service others have received here. All I can say is ask for Anthony! And if you, like us, are fans of the McIntosh brand, do take a gander at what they have to offer here.