Came into Audio Exchange with a budget and Donny and Dave walked me through the gamut of what I could expect in terms of my requirements. They both took the time to understand my listening and viewing habits and auditioned numerous systems for me. They didn't sell me on a brand either. They were both very keen to the reality that we all listen to and view different material and that our personal sound preferences will vary. After a short while we were able to find a system that worked perfectly for my needs. I've already recommended them to numerous friends and can't wait until my next purchase. Top class equipment and even higher class people! read more

Audio Exchange - Donny/Dave helped me get my Dynaudio Xeo 20s and I couldn't be happier! Thanks so much! - Electronics Near Me - Richmond, Virginia

Sold a Technics 1200 SL MK5 turntable to this business and was made to feel as if I was bringing them a piece of trash. They paid $200 for it, slapped on a cartridge that retails for $179 and sold it for $900. Obviously, it wasn't trash. I had replaced the 1200 SL MK5 with a 1210G, and I certainly won't be giving any of my business to this company for any future upgrades to my home entertainment system. If I had been thanked for giving them a good deal as opposed to feeling as if I were burdening them, I would have much less of a sour taste in my mouth. read more

I visited Audio Exchange because I'm building a home theater as part of my construction nearing the end of the framing stage. I was shown a pair of $45k speakers -- and when I didn't express interest in them, the salesman chatted briefly and then left abruptly to answer a phone call. 5 mins later, his call ended. Yet, he didn't have the courtesy to return. He pawned me off to some other guy who was only interested in giving me a business card and brushing me off. They could have asked me to bring in my architectural plans -- and then they could have drawn up a proposal for a home theater and a whole-house sound-system worth tens of thousands, but they didn't size me up correctly. Oh well, it was casual dress day... their loss. Ironically, one of my next door neighbors spent $50k on his system (at a competitor) and my other next-door neighbor spent $80k (also at a competitor). The builders in our neighborhood do not recommend Audio Exchange. They recommend other integrators and now I know why; I went to the competitors first (as recommended) and was treated with respect unlike the experience at Audio Exchange. After checking out 4 different systems integrators, Audio Exchange came in dead last. I guess it's their commercials that keep them in business because it's not their prices or service. TIP: Get a quote from any of the other integrators to compare. read more

Came in one day looking for a pair of Audeze and Focal headphones. They had a good selection of cans. Both Donny and Dave were very pleasant to work with. Dave really knows his headphones and was willing to work with me. Walked out with exactly what I was looking for. I came back a week or so later to get an amp/dac as well. Great folks! read more

We where visiting from San Diego and made an appointment as stated on their website. The salesman said we could not listen to anything until the manager comes in. It's his day off. I am an avid audiophile looking for a McIntosh 12000. It was on the shelf and I could not listen to it. I would not recommend this place. They lost a sale today... read more

I want to preface this by saying Donny (Donnie?) Is amazingly kind and helpful. He could run the show himself and make a lot of money for the place. Unfortunately, he works with one dick of a guy who doesn't seem to know how to handle customers. You're in customer service, right? I don't know his name, but he's got a god complex and if you don't do what he says...well, you may receive a rather patronizing reprimand. I suggest visiting another audio store. Sorry Donny. Thank you for your help. read more

I've been buying from these guys for years. They have some incredible gear. Today I bought a vintage Pioneer receiver. Thanks guys !

I really wanted to work with this company. They are two blocks from my house. I originally came to them with three jobs: help me with purchasing a $3K turntable, installing and mounting a TV and installing a complete AV system into a house. I ended up not completing any of these jobs at audio exchange. First the turntable. I originally worked with Donny, a salesman on the floor. I already had a very good idea of what I wanted. I thought he did a good job of recommending a high quality stylus that I hadn't previously heard of. He was willing to work with me to demo my equipment. All this was great. I had a Music Hall MMF 5.1 to trade in. Donny looked this up on eBay and gave me a price of around $250 for trade in. To me this was an extreme low-ball. I looked up the listings he referenced once I was home and noted that both listings were for defective units that were missing critical equipment. I wrote this back to him in an email and never got another offer for trade in. Issue #1: For a business called "audio exchange" I found their exchange offer to be very unfair. I ended selling the turntable for $450. They tried to tell me the turntable I was looking at had recently increased in price. They quoted MSRP as $200 more than was listed at other sites. I checked with my guy in DC, as well as 2 other online vendors and they quoted the MSRP as being cheaper than audio exchange. Not sure what is going on here but it didn't reassure me. I ended up buying the turntable from Command Performance in DC for about $250 less than quoted at audio exchange. Well worth the 1.5 drive for me...especially considering the quantum leap in customer service. Issue #2: These guys aren't audiophiles. I am used to shopping at places such as Don Better in Cleveland, In Living Stereo in NYC and Command Performance in DC. These are places run by people who eat, sleep and breathe audio. You can go into these shops and spend hours listening to different gear. This is what makes buying a 5K amp of a 3K turntable so fun. This is not the experience at Audio Exchange. There is no passion. It is very saleman-y. This is my subjective experience but several people I talked to agreed on this. It's one of the things that is hard to quantify but very apparent. If you are really looking to discover the best of 2 channel audio you would be doing yourself a disservice by going here. Issue #3: The TV install. This was a simple job. They quoted 3-500 to install a 65 inch TV including mount and hiding wires. I went in on a Saturday and was told I would be contacted Monday. Monday I had not had a call. I went into the store on Tuesday and expressed my displeasure at not being contacted and was given a long story about they recently fired technicians etc. I was told I would be called the following day. Long story...I was never called until the next Friday. When I was finally called the technician, Stan, gave me some weird story about how he call but "got a woman's voicemail 3 times." I was really baffled by this response. Obviously he had called the wrong number as my voicemail clearly states my name in my voice. Instead of admitting he had the wrong number (I had provided my number 2 times over the phone and once over email) he made a point of saying he had tried to call me and gotten a women's voicemail. Sorry, dude that you can't dial a number correctly... Once he did call the correct number I picked up and we spoke so the number was not the issue and I missed no other calls that week. I found my interaction with Stan to really emphasize how unprofessional he was. If you make a mistake and dial the wrong number fine...but just say that and don't make it seem like it's the customer's fault. To do that is nothing but unprofessional. It turns out I called another company (who had no issue getting in touch with me on my phone) and they came out literally the next day and installed the TV. It was done professional and without incident. For the third job of installing a new AV system in the house I didn't even bother given my experience with the first two job. Unfortunately, this business missed out on well over $10k due to their poor customer service. I'm someone who has spend well over $10k on my own personal audio setup. I expect a high level of customer service when shopping for high end audio equipment. I have always gotten this at other shops I mentioned above. Not getting it at audio exchange only proved that this is not an audiophile shop. This is shop selling expensive equipment to those who don't demand the best in customer service. read more

Sold me a Nakamichi System One rack on ebay and then contacted me saying it was sold the day before . Not cool at all . Excuse sounded like BS to me . I was going to drive down from out of state to p/u . Thanks guys... read more

In a day and age where everything's online, there's something in the experience of a storefront that just cannot be matched. In this case, it was Donny and the guys at Audio Exchange. I came in looking to put together a nice component stereo system within a budget. Donny did an incredible job of listening to my situation and wants and piecing together a system that has been an extreme pleasure to listen to. Where Audio Exchange got it right for me was: - awesome selection of high end equipment - equipment that could fit any budget (from ramen noodles to filet mignon) - knowledge staff - a patient staff that never made me feel rushed or out of place - great listening rooms - passion for delivering great sound I looked around and really couldn't find anyone else standing in this arena around Richmond. I'm glad I found these guys and will be making my future audio purchases with Audio Exchange! read more

My car got a flat tire outside this shop while I had a toddler in the car. Donny came out and helped the AAA guy (who had no idea what he was doing), gave us water, and let us come in out of the hot son. It was such a godsend to have his help! He wouldn't accept any tip or anything. I haven't been a customer here before, but I will definitely use them for any audio needs in the future. It just shows me that the owners are good, honest people. Thank you Donny! read more

Excellent sales and service. I came in with a vintage turn table that needed a once over to operate for the first time. I learned all about how to replace the cartridge as well as get demos on all their great new and used gear. Can't recommend them enough for all your home audio and video needs!! read more

I have been going to Audio Exchange for my Audio/Visual needs since the 1990's. All of my equipment came from them. Dave, Donnie, Steve et al. are experts in the industry and continually offer the best products in the industry at multiple price points with excellent customer service and even installation and set-up options. They also specialize in vinyl and turntables. Don't go buy garbage at the Big Box stores! Support a local RVA business that's been doing it right for decades! read more

I came into Audio Exchange first a few months ago looking to get a turntable since I was thinking about exploiting my brother's amazing record collection. I did a lot of research online about which TT I should get and they AE had both I was interested in. I settled on the Pro-Ject Carbon after talking to several of the guys there, including Donnie and one of the owners, Dave. You could tell how passionate these guys were about vinyl, and audio in general, right from the bat. There was no agenda, other than making me a happy customer. They were happy to sell me an entry level TT, even thought there were others in the store going for 10x the price of the Pro-Ject. Turns out Dave and I had a lot of the same musical interests and he hooked me up on some pretty sweet new vinyl, even giving me a $10 coupon to a local record store. Sweet! Well, it turns out my vinyl "experiment" took hold, and how. I've since been back more times than I can count and have ended up upgrading nearly my entire system. Every guy who works there is friendly and helpful, without fail. They all have an incredible knowledge of HiFi and are never condescending or aloof, as high end audio shops can be. Overall, I couldn't be happier with my experiences with AE. read more

Donny and Dave did a great job getting me a reasonable system for my home. Sundae the installer was very good , set the system up .i love the Sonus to stream music ! read more