I'm so happy to have found NW Audio Service ! John took great care in repairing my Marantz SR-5006 Surround Receiver. It's great that there are still people that know what their doing ! I'd highly recommend this company Thank you so much John... read more

John is a master technician, has talked me through multiple issues and repaired 2 machines for me. While his prices and web-presence are a bit behind the times, his know-how is unbeatable. One perk he may not advertise- he has what one can only described as an electronics parts-yard in his shop. He has been able to swap out machines when a project I do for work required no interruptions. Really helpful and kind, it's worth the drive. read more

Nobody knows more about classic audio equipment than John! It's mind blowing the amount of knowledge he has, and how easily he can troubleshoot any audio equipment and know what is wrong off the top of his head. You can tell that he does this out of love, and not in it for the money. Just give him a call and he'll tell you what is wrong with your old equipment and even how to fix it on your own. read more

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If you want quality service and a reasonable price, go to NW Audio in Renton. I had an older JVC CD player that had stopped working. Called NW and spoke to John who gave me some suggestions as to what was wrong. Quoted me a price and I took it in repairs. He didn't charge a fee to look at the player like many others do. Dropped it off on a Saturday, Monday night, John called and said player was ready for pickup. Price was what he quoted. I would strongly recommend using NW Audio for your repairs. read more

John is a rare gem. Here's the story. My 40-year-old Technics cassette deck developed intermittent sound issues. Since it is a 5-hour drive for me one way, I called John to check his availability. So before I brought the unit in he asked me about the symptoms, listened attentively, and advised me to check a couple of items, to clean some connections with Deoxit, and re-tighten all the grounding screws on all PSBs, including the transport. He also shared a few stories from the old days of analog HiFi... I went on and did exactly as he recommended. The issues went away, and the deck works perfectly now. Simply amazing! I didn't even have to bring it in. Thanks so much for saving me the whole day of driving with a very quick diagnosis and effective solution over the phone! read more

Another rave review! I called to see if I could bring in my 40 year old Technics SL-D20 for repair since I couldn't get any sound out of it. John explained the real problem: the receiver that I was connecting to doesn't support a turntable! All I need is a pre-amp. Thanks for saving me the time, gas and aggravation with a very quick diagnosis and solution over the phone! read more

Finding John was a lucky day for me. I had him repair two classic solid-state power amps. His work was very professional and reasonably priced. He knows what he is doing! John has so much experience and knows so much history about audio equipment that he is very qualified and comfortable working on older equipment. He often shares his historical knowledge in interesting discussions. I feel very fortunate to have found an extremely competent and fair audio equipment repairman. Thanks John. read more

Northwest Audio Service - CM Labs 35D - High Fidelity Audio Equipment Near Me - Renton, Washington

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Truly great service! I called ahead of time, to see if John would be able to have a look at my Nakamichi cassette deck. From my explanation, he was able to diagnose the probable issue over the phone. When I brought the cassette deck in, he was polite, humorous and instructive, and completed a thorough trouble-shooting (mech and elec) of the cassette deck on the work bench, while describing his process clearly. He corrected the deck's roller inconsistency issue by using solution and an emory board, and showed me how I would eventually need to replace the part. Again, my wife and I were impressed by how he conducts business, and I would recommend Northwest Audio Service to anyone serious about keeping their HiFi units operating. read more

Northwest Audio Service - Nakamichi BX125 Cassette Deck (2-head) - High Fidelity Audio Equipment Near Me - Renton, Washington

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John did it again. Called about my Carver 2000 having amp issues. Before I brought it in he asked me to check a couple of items on the controls. Verified that and it works perfectly now. Didn't even have to bring it in. read more

I had a Realistic CD1700 that needed the disc tray drive belt replaced. The unit played cd's well, just difficult to get them to eject. Two hours after bringing it in the belt was replaced, but the mechanism to turn the cd was faulty and the tray itself was out of timing. I left it to be repaired. Two weeks later I called, still not fixed. I was told to give him another four days. I waited another week before I called. When I called, still not fixed, I was told he would work on it that night and call in on Saturday. Called again and was told he would work on it over the weekend and call on Monday. Called in yet again and was told he did not work on it and call again in a few days. I was told that if he could not fix it he would only charge me $10.00 for trying. I asked him if it could play cd's? I was told no. Now it did when I brought it in and now I have a cd player I was going to be charged $10.00 to have it unable to play. I called the next day and told him to keep it and that I bought a replacement. This is clearly a one off case but you are taking your chances by bring your equipment here. read more

I brought my 20 year old Rotel amp to Definitive Audio for service (they are the local factory-authorized service center) and they referred me to Northwest Audio Service. John cleaned, poked, and prodded until he found the culprit (a fried diode). In less than a week he had me ready to go. Even taped the dead diode to my bill so I could see what had happened. My final bill was HALF what it would've cost me just to get my amp up on a bench at Definitive Audio. John absolutely knows his stuff. I recommend him wholeheartedly and without reservation to anyone who chooses to repair their high-end audiophile equipment. I can only only confirm the previous reviewer's suggestion that you allow plenty of time when you drop off/pick up. John is a talker. A charming and most helpful talker to be sure, but definitely a talker. read more

Northwest Audio Service - Front & awning - High Fidelity Audio Equipment Near Me - Renton, Washington

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Well my 40 year old receiver that John and one of his guys fixed over five years ago started sounding a little crackely last night. So I put it in my vehicle and snuck out of work to go to see Master John around 10:00 today. After the customary conversation about all things important to old guys like me, I said my brain was too full of all of the phone numbers he was rattling off and finally and somewhat sheepishly asked if he could have my receiver looked at and given another round of TLC. After some more discussion about another audio great (W. J.) he said he'd take care of things. He has a guy that helps out with some stuff and he dialed him up and said the unit would be investigated promptly. A few hours later, I get a photo showing the unit in the bench being looked at. PS it must have been Cal Poly Day at NE Audio. John has a relation that is going to CP, my son (and my money) is going to CP, and then some other guy came in and said he went to CP in the early '70s. All in all, it was another good day at NW Audio. John rocks! read more

I brought a Sansui B2101 power amp in for repair, they had my amp for nearly 6 months. When I got the amp home it was clear it wasn't repaired at all, it continues to go in to protection mode. Not entirely sure what they did, but they did manage to put plenty of scratches on it. Extremely disappointed, don't waste your time and money. read more

John is quite a human being. If you just want to know about the repair work on my vintage Marantz 2270, it was stellar. It was a minor repair (blown fuse) but I mentioned something else wrong (inaccurate tuner), John showed me what the issue was, repaired it in front of me and taught me how to do it myself in the future. John seemed so into the unit and its condition. As a person, I don't even know where to begin. We called as we approached because we could not find his entrance. Once he clarified and we pulled up we were greeted by John, at the door, holding it open for us. Before we even parked! Oh and by the way, there were other customers in the store. For whatever reason, he just decided to welcome us. John is a fascinating person who has been in this line of work forever. He also shared some very lovely personal anecdotes while he was going about his work. I sort of want my stuff to break just so I have a reason to go spend time with him! read more

Simply the best. I have had a few vintage items repaired by John and besides the vast knowledge he has, he simply really cares about his work. My Pioneer 707 RTR sat for 20 years. John had it up and running like new in a few days! He has decades of experience and in a minute of talking to him, you will learn more than you can digest about your equipment. I can not say enough about the man and quality of service... read more

Great service and the work done on my vintage Marantz made her hum (in a good way). Thanks again John read more

I have had lots of vintage gear repaired by John. I have no doubt that he is probably the most knowledgable and experience electronics technician. However, getting something repaired can take months, even years. He keeps putting you off week after week and you may be lucky to have it back after several months. I've had a high end preamp in his shop for over a year and still no sign of completion. Furthermore, there seems to be no regard for keeping the unit in the same condition as when it arrived. I stopped by to check the progress and notices scratches on the wood side panels and on the faceplate. My piece was near mint when I took it there. I can no longer recommend Northwest Audio. read more

John is the best in the business. He really knows his stuff, familiar with every manufacturer's product line, quickly diagnosing problems and telling you what the cost of fixing them will be (always very reasonable). John is such a very refreshing cure for our throwaway society. There aren't many out there like him who are willing and able to do these repairs. No call center or Apple bureaucracy type aggravation either, just a warm, gracious human being at the counter who is a total character. read more

Peter helped me diagnose a problem with my Yamaha receiver, didn't charge, really nice guy, likes to talk. We sat for an hour just talking about this and that. Seems quite knowledgeable about electronics. Gave me some suggestions as he was not setup to service my receiver (subwoofer pre-out was not working). Peter is closing up shop in Seattle. He has to be out by end of June 2017. He is moving his shop to Renton down street from Ikea. So if you live in Seattle and don't want to drive you should probably go see him soon for your electronics questions. He plans to keep his phone number so you can still contact him after he moves. read more

They moved - he's up Aurora in Greenlake - 7614 to be exact. Parking available in alley in back. This guy is fucking awesome. In a nutshell, he's the Columbo of stereo repair geeks. He rambles on with old stories about things that are at best tangentially relevant to anything, but are perfectly enjoyable and interesting nevertheless. He knows his shit electronics-wise, as I verified from a semi-relevant (but interesting!) discussion of Kirchoff's laws as they applied to fail design of some shitty JVC receiver's LED lights like 30 years ago - and then 10 seconds later he was taking a phone call, ripping on Bose because he knows the people there. Definitely the sort of guy who has forgotten more about this shit than most people ever knew. The cherry on top is that he's an honest guy. I took my $800 receiver in for repair, knowing that's a good target for deep-pockets repair scam bullshit, and he charged me $50 labor + $5 parts for a blown capacitor. Oh - he doesn't take cards for payment. He was so disgustingly nice though that he just told me to mail him a check when I picked up the receiver. wtf is that shit? What country is he from, expecting people to be as honest as he is. Weirdo. :P Bring cash/check with you when you pick up your item(s). This place rules. If I was still a teenager, I'd be begging him for a summer job there. As it is, I'll just highly recommend his work. read more

John is the most marvelous of anachronistic men, meant in the best way, but it pains me greatly to say that. Not only is he uninfected by audiophilia, but he is an astute observer of the principle "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Now that people forego listening to proper Hi-Fi and restrict their listening to little iPod dock toys, I do not know who among millennials is going to pick up the knowledge required to keep proper audio equipment in working order. When John decides to call it quits, a vast reservoir of audio repair knowledge will be inaccessible. He is dead-honest and incredibly knowledgeable. Some years ago I brought him vintage Hitachi and Denon tuners for tuneups; he tested both according to proper RF protocols, found nothing wrong, and sent me on my way within days for very little expense. read more

I do not want to write this review. I do not want you to go there. If you go there it means that it will take that much longer for me to get my receiver back. Also, I doubt that John gives a shit about Yelp. He doesn't need the business. But I can resists. Being a fan of vintage audio I have to tell someone that John knows his stuff. Call out a model # (Sansui 500x...), and model # and John will give you a thoughtful story about it, and most likely have one in the shop for one of his customers. Not only is this the best audio shop in the world, it is old school Seattle. It's honest, they do great work, and it's always a pleasure to stop by. Not only to chat with John but almost every guy that comes in there is a vintage audio guy and has a story or two about his favorite speaker/amp combo. I hope that this place stays open forever (and that you don't go there) read more

John Ledbetter of Northwest is probably one of the most honest and passionate audio enthusiast I have met. When I needed my phono preamp or CD player serviced, John diagnosed the problem quickly and repaired them for prices far below quotes from other places in the city. In this age of audio equipment democratization through Walmart electronics, most consumers will replace their system like a new every 2 cell phone plan. If you decide to invest in quality equipment that requires minor maintenance, John at Northwest Audio can help you fix it for prices lower than most new CD players at Circuit City. If you want to talk audio with these guys, they are also great references and provide a historical perspective that cannot be gleaned from your Best Buy or Magnolia salesperson. read more

We have a Denon tape player that hasn't seen much use in the last decade. Imagine the horror of discovering it inexplicably wouldn't work! My wife heard about NW Audio Service somewhere, and yesterday we made the trip. TIP: even though the address is on Aurora, park in the alley and use the rear entrance. The shop is an Aladin's cave of electronic treasures, with a veritable wrecking yard of high end components lining the hallway. If you have a nice bit of audio equipment, John can likely keep it working. John popped open the case while we watched, explaining what the likely problems might be. His knowledge and decades of experience were apparent as he toggled switches and tested the drive belt. After testing with a couple of cassettes and cleaning the belt and drive capstans, he pronounced it good to go. He asked far too little for his time and expertise, and we happily offered him more. In an age of cheap disposable electronics, we need John to fix the machines that were built to last. read more

Called in today fully prepared to have to haul my powered amp in for repairs but instead got a crash course on my problem and a good explanation on how to fix it. I have the utmost respect for a business that respects my intelligence and time like that. I now know where I'll be taking ALL of my repair business. read more

Complete and utter waste of time and energy. Guy had my amplifier for nearly THREE months, and looked at it once. For the last six weeks I have been calling him weekly to get to it, and the response is always, "Oh, call me on Tuesday...I'll have looked at it by then." I call on Tuesday, and it's "Oh, call me next Friday..." On ad infinitum for two solid months. In addition to being a waste of time, while in his care, my amp suffered many scrapes and scratches, including a huge gash across the LED screen...I'm not surprised...NAS is a complete pig sty and it's clear equipment left for repairs is not treated with much regard. From other reviews for this guy it appears others have been more successful at getting their equipment repaired, but that was the antithesis of my experience--I quite frankly couldn't be less impressed. You've been warned. read more

I had an older turntable that simply stopped working. I went to NW Audio yesterday, was welcomed into the shop by John, and he looked over the turntable and walked me through what was wrong with it and began fixing it. I spent 2 hours in the shop listening to wonderful stories and learning about older electronics. The world needs more gentleman like John. If you need any work done on older electronics do yourself a favor and visit NW Audio. The costs was very reasonable and this could not have been a more pleasurable experience. read more

I feel lucky to have met John who helped me out with connection issue between an old high end turntable and my new Pioneer receiver. It took him about 1 second to identify the problem and recommend a solution that worked great. Many thanks. He knows his stuff. read more

John is one of a disappearing electronics repair business that is more interested in great and experienced service at a very reasonable price. One of a kind, actually, in the greater Seattle area and maybe even Washington State. He fixed a McIntosch C39 preamp for $80.00 when another shop wanted over $400.00 without really knowing what the problem was. He is a gem. I don't know what I will do when he retires. read more

Excellent service, owner new the problem with my unit before I put it down, fixed the unit in a day, and all for $55. It's difficult these days to find people that care about their work, but that is not Northwest Audio. A little tricky to find as they're tucked into a corner of the small complex, but finding them will be worth your time. I'm pretty sure they can fix anything electronic. Thank You read more

After multiple attempts to schedule some time to drop off two cassette decks (with other equipment wanting to be brought in) that need to be serviced I have given up. Would really like to get my stuff to John & bring him business but have been attempting since Fall 2016 with the response of 'Call me at the end of next week & I will see where I am'. This continued until this afternoon when upon request I waited for an entire week & contacted him back. He never seems to remember me even though we have been talking about these particular decks since last year. He keeps telling me to call him 'next week' & when I do the process starts over again. Today he said it was cause he took Monday off. Doesn't seem like he wants me to stop by the shop either as he is saying he doesn't have any room & has been telling me this for awhile. Whenever I make the attempt of 'When will be a good time to swing by & drop these off..." he tells me not too. Understand that this guy is the last bastion of hope for dying vintage electronics, he even mentioned he worked for Ampex back in the day, but don't continue to give out timelines that you cannot honor. Even went as far as telling him I would drop it off at his leisure if he could just let me know when that is. Just a little irritated that I have told him time is not an issue & all I want is to have him look at it. Seems to never happen. John, would love to bring you some business but make some time for customers that are willing to wait! read more

John is a good guy. He'll get excited about your old gear, particularly if its in nice condition, and he knows what to do to get it working good. He'll give you a starting figure and get your approval if it goes over. I'd be amazed if there's any brand he doesn't know about. I got the history of my lesser-known second tier Quadraphonics receiver (my grandfather's in mint condition), and it was a cool story. Considering the fact that many components of stereo gear have gone down in quality, not up, it's worth 100 bucks to get your old receiver or amplifier roaring again. If you're under 30, I highly recommend going here just to see what American and Japanese technology used to look and feel like, though I'm not sure how he would feel about you just coming in to take a look, but as long as you have some brains he'll probably greet you well. If you're over 35 or 40, this place will remind you of places your Dad or Uncle took you in the 70s and 80s, when real men didn't throw away their beloved Hi-FI gear, they got it repaired by respected technicians. If you show any knowledge or inclination, though John will talk you ear off, so don't keep bringing up topics if you don't want to talk a while. John's not doing this forever though. Go there while you can. Just don't go in there with an attitude or expecting to be out in 3 minutes. This place is to be taken at a savory pace. read more

Read all the positive and had to give him a try. The owner John, is freak-en awesome. Fixed two dead receivers, same day, for cheap. Saved me a bundle. read more

John at Northwest Audio told me today that he's "not an internet guy", but since I found out about him through Yelp, I figured I'd pay it forward in some small way. I took my Harman Kardon 330C in with a persistent blowing fuse in one channel. He knows his stuff: like others have said, he was able to give a diagnosis over the phone for most common problems with the unit, and I arranged to bring it in the next day. Although a few reviewers have called out timeliness of repairs as a weak spot, John had my unit diagnosed, repaired, and back to me in half a week, for a very reasonable price. But, he didn't stop there. On top of tracing my issue to a cracked solder joint and repairing, he also did a fairly through refurb on the unit: tightening/reinforcing the tuner barrel, fixing the stuck vu meter, replacing blown bulbs throughout. It should be ready for another 40 years of service. Top notch service with just the right amount of eccentricity. I'd definitely recommend him. read more

Damn Straight! Want to get your Dynaco 400 and PAT 5 preamp out of the cellar and heat up the Klipshorn corner horns? John is you man. Fixed my NAD, fixed my turntable, and gave good advice. Go here first! Avoid the nasty big name stores! He has moved and is now on Aurora Ave instead of Belltown. read more

John is a straight-shooter, a nice guy, and knows what he's doing. What more could you ask for? read more

I am really impressed by the knowledge and workmanship I saw here. I dumpster dived an old receiver and took it here because one channel was flaky. Guy took it apart and resoldered all the contacts and re attached ground wires that were loose. He told me all about how to check for solder joints that had broken, told me all about the history of his shop, and the nature of high quality audio hardware. I was an hour late for my next appointment but it was worth it. He only charged me $50 for some very specialized work. read more

John is the nicest, most knowledgable audio store owner ever! Great experience. Fixed my turntable in 5 minutes with no trouble...and no charge this time. I'll be back read more

Old fashioned service from an expert. I called John up to ask about bringing in an old United Audio turntable I was having issues with. He guessed the problem before I even told him what it was, then proceeded to spend 20 minutes on the phone with me telling me how to fix it. When it became clear to me that I was not the man for the job and told him I'd bring it in, he advised me to first go online and purchase the small part he would need because it would be much cheaper and faster for me that way. After getting the steurpimpel (the little part I needed) sent from Germany, I dropped the turntable off at the wonderfully cramped shop, packed with turntables and receivers from the front of the store to the back. Stacks on stacks on stacks. It's clear when you walk in that this is more a passion than a business. It turned out my turntable, long dormant, had a number of issues to fix. John spent several hours on it getting it to work smoothly, and the bill was extremely fair. When it turned out I hadn't brought in enough money to pay for it, John said not to worry about it, and just to send him a check when I got around to it. You just don't have many experiences with a business like this. 100% recommend. read more

This guy was very nice. I called to see if he could fix my Denon amp (he couldn't, as they only sell parts to their own licensed warranty folks) but he was very polite and talked me through several repair options, including recommendations of other shops to try. read more