My best friend bought me a cool Yamaha CD - 5 Disk changer player and there was something wrong with the drawer opening. It just didn't want to open. Fred diagnosed it and fixed it in the allotted time they told me it would take. At one point, they wanted me to come by and Fred wanted to show me the inner workings of the unit and showed me where some functions were obviously messed with by the previous owner. [this was purchased from an ebay seller, as in "working excellent shape". One thing to note for potential customers, if they tell you your stereo component will be ready in six to eight weeks it is because they are busy. If you want your classic audio system repaired by a pro, Fred is the way to go. He and Jimmy will take good care of it. Jimmy will also call you or send you a text with an update, if need be. Fred is a friendly guy and has a sense of humor. If you don't have a sense of humor you probably won't get his. Please make yourself aware of their hours -for- customer appointments. Keeping it simple: they are busy because they know what they are doing. I saw first hand the inventory of stereo units that are being repaired and on deck for repair. I am a business owner myself, the customer is so important, but it is important that the customer trust the business owner they are hiring. My CD player was fixed on time and works perfectly now. I can play all my favorite CDs, as well as, enjoy burning my own CD compilations [semi-old school] The sound and the clarity are perfect. Thank you Fred and Jimmy! read more

Classic Audio Repair - Kenwood on the left, Yamaha on the right, Polk Audio speakers - Electronics Repair Near Me - La Mesa, California

I made the mistake of approving this one-man operation to repair my component. Dont make the mistake of even reaching out to see if he can help - your component/stereo will sit for 3-4 months + excuses will condescendingly be directed when questioned. never again read more

This is the best place to go in San diego Period! These guys know what they're doing and every time I bring my equipment there, when I get home it Sings! I'm very appreciative of their expertise and handling my equipment. My Scott SS 380R receiver is so enjoyable to listen to & I thank them from the bottom of my heart! Fred keep doing what you do because it's a lost art in this world. From: Anthony Broussard read more

I took a 45 year old Crown Power Amplifier in for a diagnosis and repair. Fred the owner advised me that he could do the work but was really short staffed and was trying to catch up with a backlog of repairs. I told not a problem I could wait. He is having a tough time finding qualified recognitions that can work on this stuff. Well Fred came through and found the problem developed a repair plan and my amp is now working better than new! God Bless people like Fred yeah he gets a little opinionated but so what? He has more than earned some respect for his knowledge and abilities Thank You Fred! I highly recommend his services!! read more

Was having continual problems with the left outputs on my Pioneer receiver. Brought it in and within and hour it was fixed and months of headache trying to figure it out myself were finally over. read more

I took my 40-year old Technics turntable and 30-year old Yamaha CD player to Fred for repair instead of retiring them to the trash heap of history. I'm glad I did. Fred is the nicest and most informative electronics repair expert I've met. He diagnosed the issues in front of me, gave me a tutorial of the inner mechanical workings of both units, and fixed both for an extremely reasonable price. Good as new. I read the Yelp reviews for Classic Audio Repair prior to calling, talking to Fred on the phone, and scheduling an appointment. The way some people out there bash and hate on Fred is perplexing and quite ridiculous. People need to get over their entitled and self-important selves and realize that respect and deference to someone of Fred's knowledge, skill and experience is not only the right thing to do, it's required. Get over yourselves. Fred for the win! read more

While being a loyal customer of Fred's "Classic Audio Repair" since 2017, I have had to deal with his mercurial temperament of insults throughout the years in order to get my stereo equipment repaired. His loyal and experienced technician Jordan (who has done most of the work on my equipment) has left the shop for greener pastures, leaves me little reason to return to this shop. On my most recent phone call with Fred about a problem that I had with my receiver, here is his texted(written) response. The comment below was cut and pasted from my phone with no alteration to the text. "Based on our long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, time-wasting conversation, which showed disrespect for me and the value of my time and lost me over $100 in repair revenue, I'm going to cancel your appointment on Friday -- and all future appointments. You seem not to understand that all the services provided by me and similar repair businesses are based on CONDITIONAL PROBABILITY, which is not compatible with your incessant black-and-white thinking. Allow me to refer you to: stupidincompetentaudiorepair.com. I'm sure they can help you." If you want to be persecuted by this man, just go over to his shop. Please read all his other negative reviews that he has received and disputed. I'm sure they are all true, because there is a pattern. Let's see how he responds to this review, now that his comments have been confirmed and written in a text. He always has some sort of excuse for his personality disorder. ------------------ Response to Fred's Response ---------------------------------------------------- Fred's response are all lies, except that he has Aspergers! I've always been polite and accomodating when dealing with him. He does appreciate a loyal paying customer. His behavior never changes. Time to find another technician, and good riddance to Classic Audio Repair. I'm done with this nonsense. As I said before buyer beware. All my comments are confirmed by his other negative reviews. Fred is the only person I have given a negative review. read more

To potential customers: I am not any kind of engineer, but I know attention to detail and a systematic, logical, and efficient approach to troubleshooting and repair when I see it. This is what Classic Audio Repair delivers. Fred's business rules are reasonable, unambiguous and posted on his website. Take a look at them before deciding whether to engage his services. Then, if you do take your gear to him to fix, I expect you'll be very pleased with his work and fair prices, as I was. To Fred: thanks for getting my 40+ year-old Technics SL-D2 back in service. I'll be a repeat customer for sure. read more

I picked up my vintage 1969 Sansui AU-777 integrated amplifier yesterday. It was cleaned, adjusted and tested at length. Prior to proceeding with service, I received a text explaining what needed to be done and, after I agreed, they got my Sansui done quickly and at a very reasonable price. Once I got it home, I hooked it back up into my system and ran it for 6-7 hours, trying out all switches and controls, various inputs, etc. This 55-year old amplifier runs like new again with no static or clicking as was originally diagnosed. I highly recommend Classic Audio Repair for anyone having vintage audio gear that needs repair. Fred and Jordan really know their stuff! You can't go wrong by having the work done there. L. Ross read more

Classic Audio Repair - Electronics Repair Near Me - La Mesa, California

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Wow! Yes Wow! Almost got crucified for walking in without a appointment. I apologize thought since I was near by to drop in and see if my stereo receiver can be fixed. Very awful customer service I was in shock on how rude he was. I only took a few seconds from his time to tell me he doesn't work on the brand of my receiver because he can't get parts, ok buddy Thank you. read more

Absolutely professional business, extraordinarily nice people who are at the top of their craft. When I was there some bozo with an amplifier was trying to talk over the owner saying no this is what's wrong with it and I saw the exasperation on the owner's face. It must be so frustrating dealing with these know it all jerks when the owner and staff have seen it all before and know far better. They are saints. I am an electric engineer and also got super irritated with the customer just hearing the nonsense. Anyway thanks gentlemen, you had all of the parts I needed and got my gear back up in no time! read more

My Sansui 9090DB had been sitting for a long stretch and needed some love. I took it to these wizards to work their magic on it, andI am absolutely thrilled with the result! I was very happy with all aspects of the transaction, from the price to the service to the communication during the repair period. Zero complaints whatsoever. I enthusiastically recommend Classic Audio Repair to anyone who is looking to service their vintage audio gear, and I look forward to working with them again in the future! Thanks so much, Fred and Jordan! read more

Visiting this shop about a week or so ago for my Audio-Technica. Forgot the gentleman's name I was working with but he was very nice, professional, and explained things well. He was quick to diagnose and determined I needed a new power adapter. He showed me what I needed. He even recommended that I take a picture. So I did. They didn't have the one I needed on hand so he recommended I order from the jameco site. He also mentioned that sometimes they can send one with a different plug But that it can easily be changed out. Today I called to attempt to follow up, with my intention to try and get the plug switched to fit my record player. The gentleman was not understanding what I was trying to say and he interrupted me to tell me a anecdote about a time he'd purchased something and was careful to look. Then asked me if I had checked to see if the plus worked with the player I have. Every time I tried to explained he insisted on interrupting. When I asked him to listen, he told me he did and that he's not my slave. And also stated that he did listen to me, but that he disagreed with my assessment. He went on to say that he sees that I am trying to get the shop to cover the expense (of the power adapter I'd purchased). Which I never asked for, also it was like $15. Not exactly something to freak out about. Never once did I place blame. Just wanted to talk to the gentleman before. To which he refused and said he was the owner and what he says goes. So rude so unprofessional. He was so insistent that he was right that we never even got to the part about switching out the plugs (something the man I spoke with the first time had discussed). Would not return here. Especially since the owner seemed to be on a power trip. Two stars for the first appointment that went well. And the professionalism of the First Gentleman I dealt with. Wish he had answered the phone. read more

Classic Audio Repair - Photo taken in the store, day of diagnostic. - Electronics Repair Near Me - La Mesa, California

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My roommate has a Teac CD player in the living room that plays mp3 discs so I was going to play a CD but the tray wouldn't come out. I researched online and found a video that seemed to show what the problem was: the little belt inside that controls the opening and closing of the tray. I try to get things fixed right away so I found Classic Audio Repair on Yelp and felt like they knew what they were doing. I called and talked to Fred and he gave me an appointment for the very next day. I took the unit there and met with Jordan who fixed it right in front if me in 30 minutes! He told me he had 30 years experience fixing electronics and you could tell. He expertly opened the unit up and removed the disc drive and found the broken belt and replaced it and even tested it with an mp3 disc to be sure the reader was working fine. The cost was exactly what I expected it to be and now I have a functional CD player again. Me and my roommate thank CAR. I would easily recommend Classic Audio Repair to anyone. read more

I was killing time this morning and I just happened to notice that yelp wanted me to update my review. I'm not sure what review they are referring to, but all of the items that I have had repaired or restored by classic audio repair has been nothing but top-notch work. Very satisfied with all workmanship provided by Fred and Jordan. read more

Brought my Onkyo CD/Receiver in for repair. Very fast service. They get straight to the point when calling for the appointment because they want to make sure you're not wasting your time driving to them if they cannot fix what you have. Got to my appointment and the gentleman fixed it within 25 minutes. Very friendly and great value. read more

I have used this business many times over the years to fix my old but outstanding audio equipment and have an issue that prompted me to look up the business again. I had to chuckle reading the negative comments. If you can walk into that business, look around at what is posted on the walls and not recognize the personality type you will be dealing with, you have lead a very sheltered life and deserve Fred's wrath if you're a dope, as he has made it apparent he doesn't suffer fools. I really appreciate his skill and no nonsense attitude. Your results may vary from mine if you're entitled. read more

I made an appointment to have a bad potentiometer replaced on my 1980s vintage Adcom power amplifier. When I brought it in, I thought I was going to have to leave it. But the tech had the part in stock and he said it was an easy piece of gear to work on. He proceeded to replace the bad component while I waited. I was out of there in about 35 minutes with a very annoying problem fixed at a fair price. They seem like very knowledgeable, no nonsense techs. I would give them my business again. read more

I bought my record player from Classic Audio Repair when they were still in Normal Heights. La Mesa is not too far so I made an appointment for a minor fix that it needed to be done and the nice gentleman that had previously sold me my turntable, also fixed it in like 5 minutes and charged me very little. This was pre-covid but my BF went there again and said they are taking all precautions and are taking appointment-only customers, so make sure you call them before heading there! If you like to take good care of your audio equipment, I definitely recommend you to come here. The people working in this place are passionate nerds that will do their best because they love music and art and that shows in the work they get done. Will never take my record player anywhere else. read more

Their pre 2020 performance and their understanding of old audio was OK, However. lately it has largely diminished while their communication has gotten significantly worse. The customer here is not a partner, a source of income, s/he is the brainless, trouble-maker who must be lectured and berated. I might tolerate this still, I have been a long time customer - very few, if any choices in town - if the quality of their actual work were was still acceptable. I am no expert in vintage audio repair, I am just a user and know what I hear and see. When they "store" you equipment for two months and you only get the hostility, it's time to move on. Btw, how yelp calculates averages is beyond me - for the ratings of this place.... Regarding the owner's response: What you are writing conveniently misses facts, is full of lies, inconsistencies, inaccuracies. It's in the texts in front of me that contradicts your "points". Read the reviews, you call everyone who criticizes you names, you berate them, you write up long convoluted, weird tales about everything. Calling you delusional is a kind way to put it. E.g. your very last point: you never told me to make an appointment. There are no rules for picking up an equipment when you refuse to work on it due to your childish fits and crazy rage - after YOU insult your customer. You texted me to pick it up/take elsewhere, I texted you back when I would come for it. You texted me when you close, so I texted back that I would come at least 15 minutes before you close. And that's what I did. Last time you failed to fix glaringly obvious issues, I thought you must have been blindsided with something, and you told me it was working. Your work is absolutely useless now. You are spending more time on taking an equipment in (last 2 times it was over 45 minutes to just watch you walk around your shop aimlessly before you gave me a receipt) and on responding to yelp comments. You need serious help. I don't know if Jordan exists, but if he does, he should be communicating with the customers. Your decline in your ability in fixing audio over the years is sad, and your insults won't compensate for it. And I was never hostile or impatient with you, you have been very arrogant and insulting me as to most of your customers (hey where did the 100s of complaints went from your previous yelp page?) over the years so that's another lie. You are contradicting yourself in one text, comparing your texts to the story you invented below is confounding to say the least. At the end of the day, you lost another paying and patient customer, I think you are in this for the joy of attacking people who come to you with their trust and not for providing a service. One good advice: be careful with dumping personal information about a customer you obtained for business purposes and with no permission to disclose. You might easily cross a thin line.... read more

I took my Zenith Receiver in due to a popping noise. They fixed it in the exact time they told me and for half the price they estimated. It is good as new. You are also going to get A free lesson in electronics and your equipment. If I have any more problems I will definitely go back. Thanks Classic Audio Repair. read more

Fred did a great job repairing my 1960 'S Gerard Classic Turntable. He was super knowledgeable and a nice guy. He is also an accomplished craftsman. HOWEVER, this Fred was Mr. Jeckel, and then I , and others, met Mr. Hyde. A Mr. Hyde with severe Anger management issues. His Anger Management skills were not consistent with his accomplished Technical skills. When I called him out for trashing my Shipping containers, which FedX would use in their damage assessment, or a Picture, to proceed with processing my $ 500 FedX Insurance Claim. Since Fred threw out the evidence for my insurance claim, I asked for $ 500 in damages for destroying MY Property, which made me unable to meet FedX's requests. In an instant, Fred went BERSERK, and screamed, "If I was younger I would smash in your Face". I am 85 and never in my lifetime have I ever witnessed such a Scary Demented, Rabid Melt-Down. I reported the incident to the La Mesa PD and was referred to this site where I may find similar complaints. Many! read more

These guys fixed up my old Marantz 2220 within about a week. They communicated promptly and clearly and charged a very reasonable rate. I had previously taken it to another audio repair shop which took upwards of a month to tell me they thought the unit might never work properly and still asked for upwards of $350 for the work...total BS. I really appreciate the honest, great work Jordan and Fred did with my receiver and I would highly recommend Classic Audio Repair. read more

Classic Audio Repair - Electronics Repair Near Me - La Mesa, California

great service for vintage stereo equipment. It is pricey but what do you want, great service for your irreplaceable equipment or a cheap guy who can ruin your equipment. read more

Scratch that...don't go here. Customer service matters. When I came back to rectify another situation with my turntable and receiver, I was met with an attitude that words can't truly describe. Fred, you might be an "audio expert", but your people skills need a tune-up. I scheduled my appointment a week ago and was looking forward to having you guys keep some old, but decent, equipment in working shape. My sincere apology for being 5 minutes late was ignored (kind of wish I could rescind that one, or just missed my appointment altogether). I left with a new problem that you didn't want to own (and man, I didn't even accuse you...but you sure got defensive?!?). I'll find another repair shop - one that treats customers with some decency and dignity. I was a returning customer who won't be returning. There's a reason they screen their calls by the way - I'll put money on the odds that I'm not the only person who has left Fred's establishment feeling disrespected. Classic Audio won't be getting any more of my money or endorsement. For those of you who took the time to read this, holler at me if you can recommend a repair shop that does some good work. One that doesn't require having to tiptoe around bad attitudes. In response to your perspective on the situation... Your strong desire to make yourself feel "right" (because customers at your establishment never are), is further evidence that my point sticks. I blame myself for coming back in the first place, Fred. I've never in my life had an interaction at a business that even comes relatively close to this. Looking back, I spent at least 5 minutes on the phone with Jordan the other day, and it felt like we had a plan going into my appointment. He knew from my last visit that we've had an issue with the cue button on the turntable, and it takes a certain finesse to work it. But you just held it down, and it stayed down, and it's still down. At least you admitted that you did it. I hung around outside your store after I retrieved my equipment from you and told you that I was going to update my YELP review. You insisted that I leave, but I was never inside (your COViD plan doesn't allow it). I told you to call the cops if my sitting on the curb was a real concern. Too bad I didn't hang around long enough to talk with them. I would have let them know how I was robbed of my time and how good you are at "pushing buttons". read more

I have an old suitcase record player that was repaired here a few weeks ago, it's been sounding great and actually working so I'm very happy. They do a great job of explaining what they're going to do, they seem to know their stuff, and know a lot more than I do for SURE! On the final invoice, they included a description of the work that was done, and provided a website for the cartridge/stylus and provided me the model number. Overall, I highly recommend Classic Audio Repair. They've done a wonderful job on my machine! read more

I came in with a vintage stereo amp and two vintage speakers. The first sign of any great repair shop: when they tell you something probably isn't worth repairing. Just the investigation to see what was wrong with the amp was going to be expensive, and even then, there was a 50/50 chance that the issue would be irreparable. Plus, it was too powerful for the two speakers I brought in. I decided to skip the work on the amp, and Jordan had some great recommendations of brands to look into that would best match the speakers. Jordan did a quick test of the speakers and determined that they'd need a standard re-foaming. Fred helped me get checked-out and explained everything very clearly regarding the service agreement, work estimate, and timeline. A couple of days early, I got a call back and picked up my speakers; I've now invested in a whole stereo setup to match the speakers that sounds like honey. I will always come to Fred and Jordan for any audio repairs! Also, they had very effective COVID-19 protocols in place because they have a smaller lobby, which I greatly appreciated. Everything is by-appointment-only, both consultation/dropoff and pickup, which ensured that there was only one customer in the building at a time. Thank you for caring about your and your customers' safety! read more

This place is killer. These guys know whats up with your classic audio amd they can fix it. All the way correct. I brought in my damaged NES-77 Sony for repair. It was my late brothers. Jordan repaired it to working killer. Paired with SVS Prime Pinnacles this amp is incredibly powerful and sounds awesome. Thanks for the killer work. And for the naysayers because you don't like their rules I say you need to understand you are LUCKY if they touch your repair job. This isn't Burger King and you can't have it your way. I suspect they do this for the love of the equipment and the money you are gonna pay them is secondary. read more

Kinda felt like no warranty. We both lost. Gotta get record stylus. Gotta have a turntable. read more

Fred and Jordan recently repaired my Sansui 7070 and 9090 units. Both work great now, all for a more than reasonable price and within a reasonable timeline. They outlined what they found to be wrong, asked if I wanted to move forward with repairs, and, upon making repairs, detailed what parts were replaced on both units. I would recommend Classic Audio for anyone with vintage audio repair needs. read more

I have an old Thorens turntable that wouldn't spin. Jordan fixed it while I watched in 10 minutes. He saw what was broken and built a new part that worked better than the original design. Yeah I could have yapped about how he should be ordering the correct part, that's not professional yada yada, but I knew he was thinking of saving money and not having the problem reoccur again so I thought it best to just enjoy my turntable, focus on the music, and put the saved nickels into some more music or 15 year scotch to enjoy it with. 3/23 appointment set for speaker repair Monday. Looking forward to it. read more

Never seen a company like this. No response time and if they do response it's 2-3 days later. Anyhow I did leave my turntable for repair. It took them over 3 weeks to get back to me. Repair took another 3 weeks and on top of that repair was not done properly. Contacted them and took it back They wanted to charge more money for a repair they did not do in the first place. I'm not sure how good them are in any other repairs but I'm not going back read more

Fred and Jordan at Classic Audio Repair are two professionals that truly know what they're doing. How refreshing. They do what they say and are thorough with their diagnosis and repairs. It's obvious they have a world of knowledge and experience to draw from. If it's stereo repair you're in the market for, just come here. You won't regret it. If you want a longer winded explanation of my experience please read on... I have a Sherwood S-7100A stereo receiver and some vintage speakers that needed some love. The receiver's left channel was weak and the speakers needed a dead tweeter inspected/replaced. After a quick phone call with Fred, describing my situation, I set an appointment to bring in my equipment. On arrival I saw signage clearly explaining covid protocol. Nice. My receiver was attended to on a well padded work bench and immediate diagnosis was underway. It's obvious Fred knows what he's doing as one step at a time he went through the receiver and comes to the conclusion it's not a minor issue to make it work properly but would require more investigation. Fred had also called for Jordan from the back of the shop to inspect my speakers while Fred looked at the receiver. Jordan proceeded to professionally diagnose the speaker issue and then explained what would be involved for the repair. Jordan also asked me key questions about the sound of the drivers at certain volumes which was astute on his part. I was impressed. He could tell at high volume there was distortion due to age weakened foam surrounds and we agreed to refoam the drivers to solve the issue would be best. At the end of the consultation I was presented an estimate for repairs which was very fair. This estimate was typed/printed up confirming the work I agreed to which I then signed and received my copies. The date I could expect my equipment to be ready for pickup was also clearly communicated and listed on the paperwork. I then paid a fair fee for this initial consultation/diagnosis and was on my way. Having a set appointment time that was mine alone is a personal touch. I knew that was my dedicated time and I had their complete focus for my time slot. Fred called by the date promised for completion and let me know my receiver and speakers were repaired and ready for pickup! We set a date for pickup and when I arrived that time was set aside for me. It was my time. We went over the repairs performed and I paid the balance owed and was on my way home to try out my refreshed gear that performed incredibly. I couldn't be happier. What a professional experience by a couple guys that know what they are doing. I won't take my stereo equipment anywhere else and neither should you. read more

I had this shop repair an amp/pre-amp combo some months ago. It stopped working entirely a couple of weeks ago. The owner argued that a 30/90-day warranty was better than the industry norm (it isn't -- at best it follows the industry norm). So, he would not stand by his botched repair. The cherry on top? His parting words before hanging up on me: "Find another place that's willing to take your d**k up their as*." Pure class. read more

Reliable turntable repair. Got my RCA cables replaced and was able to have them internally grounded as well. They do quality repair.

Classic Audio Repair breathed new life into my old Macintosh Receiver that had been sitting for the better part of 35 years. Fred and Jordan are true professionals and were extremely clear on what their service included and gave me a thorough diagnosis before we decided to move forward with the repair. Their covid protocol was clear and organized and much appreciated. Its been a joy to listen to records again, and I'm looking forward to many years of music to come. read more

I've been to Classic Audio Repair several times over the years. Each time I found the owner "Fred" to be one the most difficult people I've ever done business with. He's rude, harsh, and arrogant. One time I walked into his shop, but no one was at the front counter. Fred was screaming at his tech for about five minutes. Then, his tech "Jordon" came to the front counter in a daze. Today, I made a repair appointment. Fred texted me about an hour later and canceled my appointment because of my comments to his tech about Fred's personality disorder. The best repair tech in San Diego is Mike Zuccaro. He is a McIntosh Factory Authorized Service Center and is located in Mira Mesa. Give him a call: 858-271-8294. read more

I took in my older radio CD player in for repair. They knew exactly what needed to be fixed and fixed it in a timely manner. They take appointments. I'd go there again. read more

i Was so excited to get my speakers, receiver and turntable back after all being meticulously repaired by Classic Audio. After getting everything set up, I noticed a small problem. I texted and within an hour or two, Fred I think, texted me back. Well for two days we went back and forth and Fred made a suggestion that solved my problem. These guys are amazing! You expect to get work completed that you pay for, but they go above and beyond in customer service. To spend that much time texting me over a two day period is just unheard of nowadays. It's one of the reasons I drive all the way from Oceanside to have them service my old stereo equipment. I am just so impressed. It's the only place I will take me stereo equipment, Fred, thank you!! read more

We received an old Marantz record player from our in-laws and the belt was all dried up. We also got a receiver and I wasn't sure if there were other issues with the equipment so I called Fred and set an appointment to bring the gear in. There is a sign that talks about the different services and costs at the front. He was patient and did the repairs in front of me over the counter. He was an interesting guy and we had a good conversation as well while he was working. The price was extremely reasonable and Fred helped show me how to use all the equipment since I was unfamiliar. He is clearly an expert in audio repair and would definitely recommend going here! read more