I went in to look for a new set of speakers and got excellent service. Chris patiently took me through listening to several speakers in the listening room. When I found one I liked I was able to take the set home over night and try it out. Only downside is that you cannot do returns for special order items. However, IMO, this is still the place to go for great service and quality audio in metro. read more

The last time I was in Peak Audio I was in the market for a pair of head phones. My previous pair had met an unfortunate end in the wheel of a bike tire and I had the sad task of replacing them. When I walked in the door a gentleman quickly greeted me and asked if he could be of any service. I told him my story and he actually said he was sorry for my loss as though a relative had past away. Being an audiophile I really enjoyed his sentiment. I let him know that I was looking for a set of headphones in a specific price range and he quickly guided me to the the head phones within that bracket. He very candidly told me that all of these were top notch except for one and if I'd like a demo he'd be happy to help. Obviously I said sure and he guided me to a chair. He then brought me each of the head phones (six in all) and let me check out the sound quality on all of them until I found the ones that were right for me. It's amazing how much different music can sound in a good pair of cans! I sat back to listen for a little while and when I finally made a decision the guy knocked a little off the price for me! Peak Audio is a high quality shop for those of us who love our music and our home theatres. If you're looking for a real bargain, go elsewhere, but if you want top notch gear from people who know what their talking about, there's no other choice in the city. After this great experience I'll return to Peak Audio for all my audio purchases. You should do the same! read more

Last week I decided to pop into Peak Audio, to see what their turntable selection was like. There wasn't a ton on hand and the sales rep helping me didn't venture any info with regard to used/refurbished items. What he was interested in telling me all about was the Czech made Pro-Ject turntables which were going for $450-$700 depending on make and model. Perhaps he read me quickly and could tell that I am a sucker for being upsold on items based on non-tangibles like the fact that the $450 model comes in shades of: black, white, red, yellow, green, blue and gray. Overall, lots of interesting information. The pricing is a tad prohibitive at Peak Audio, but I would definitely come back here to get more info. read more

To compare, I dropped into a long established sound studio in the Woodlawn area. The sales rep was slow to speak to me, and my question given a one word answer before he hastily returned to his morning coffee. Dropping into Peak, within a minute I had chatted to a pleasant sales rep and offered a chance to hear a $10,000 + pair of speakers just for the experience. I later purchased a pair of high end speakers from Peak and am likely to update my amplifier with one of their products as well. I'm happy to see a retailer that still embraces service and building rapport. read more

I've been a Peak Audio customer many times over the hears, having purchased various headphones, a few sets of speakers, record player repairs, amplifier repairs, and other various parts for speakers and record players. In the past I found them to be reasonably priced, and friendly. I'm certain I'm very far from their best customer, but certainly would have remained a modest lifelong customer. Now I'm not so sure. Perhaps they are under new management or ownership in recent years. The last few times I've been in I've found them to be increasingly unfriendly and unhelpful. Recently I had a pair of speakers break at the spot where the banana plugs attach as a result of a fall from speaker stand. I called Peak and they suggested I send photos or bring it in for an estimate. I sent photos and received an email back saying "Estimate fee is $35", which perhaps I didn't read thoroughly enough as a result of previous context, and took to mean that they estimated that the fee would be $35. I brought the speakers in and the person I dealt with told me that I could do a $40 some-odd dollar deposit. I mentioned that they had estimated the entire repair would only cost $35. At this point the guy got a bit snide and rude and made no effort to placate me as a customer, instead proclaiming that they always charge $35 for any estimate, because this is their work, and that they are certain that I don't want to work for free (in fact I do always do estimates for free and get a lot of work that way...). Why have me go to the trouble of sending in photos if you refuse to make any kind of estimate? I mentioned that I had had numerous things repaired over the years and never had this problem. He snidely replied that it wasn't a problem. I explained that it was a problem for me and that if a potential customer has a problem then it is a problem for him, but that in that case he probably would does not value me as a customer. I asked him if he could even ballpark it - after all why would I want to pay $35 to get an estimate on a repair that might not be worth the cost of the speakers (they are an old pair of JBL speakers that we inherited). - he refused to give literally any indication whatsoever of cost. Flummoxed, I walked out with the speaker. I'll think twice about purchasing from Peak in the future as a result of this gentleman's attitude (and to some extent the estimate fee although frankly I would have been willing if he had not been such a jerk and kindly explained, for example, that it would be well worth the cost of repair versus the costs of replacing the speaker). read more

Rather than write a review I'll simply copy the email I sent to Peak regarding an experience I had there (which occurred about a year ago). They did not reply to this email: "I just wanted to provide you guys with some feedback re. my recent experience with your service department as I recently had my Sony STR-6800SD in for service. First off, I want to say how completely impressed I am with your tech guy. The reason I decided to go with Peak for my repair was based on a telephone chat I had with him and he was very thorough/concise with his answers to my questions. Other stores did not provide this kind of attention so I knew my receiver was going to be looked at by someone who knew what he was doing. Second, the service was completed in a timely manner as I was informed right from the start that your service department was busy. When I picked the receiver up I noted that two of the corners had been banged up, one more significantly than the other. The "wood" is only composite so I understand how a good bang would cause damage. I pointed this out to one of your employees and his response was, in a nutshell, that he believed me that they caused the damage but there was nothing they/you can do about it. I politely expressed my displeasure (he was polite as well) but left your store thinking I probably wouldn't do business with you again (despite your great service guy). One of the reasons provided by your sales guy as to why nothing could be done was that you don't have anyone on site to fix an issue with "wood" (he said you don't have a carpenter there). This never really sat well with me as I liken it to an oil change place putting a dent in my car and then telling me I'm out of luck because no one there does body work. Could I have proven 100% that you guys caused the damage I would have pursued it but knew I likely wouldn't get anywhere. Third, when I got the receiver home I didn't hook it up immediately as I was annoyed by the dented corner. When I did hook it up there were a couple issues (tuner sticking and weaker left channel) which weren't present before. Given my experience with the dent I was not optimistic re. your service warranty being honored but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. Without issue your service department took care of both problems and from what your service guy told me it was quite an extensive search (involving a microscope) to figure out what was causing the channel imbalance. I was really impressed with the work that was undertaken to make sure I was satisfied with the service. I have to thank you for that. I will add that I did take photos of the receiver before giving it to you a second time. I'm offering this feedback for your benefit solely. While I am displeased that I have a receiver in worse cosmetic shape than when I gave it to you I am very pleased that I have a receiver which performs much, much better than before your great technician got his hands on it. I can't say enough about your tech guy. I'm unsure as to whether or not I would use your service again or recommend it. In fairness, if I were to be discussing your service with anyone looking for repair I would just tell them what I've listed above. I hope you find this feedback helpful." read more

I took a Marantz sr7001 AV receiver in because it has been going into protect mode, even when I am just watching TV with the volume quite low. Of course you have to pay them $35 up front because, as they told me "We can only trust our own diagnosis". Their diagnosis was that my speaker wires might be crossed because they can't get it to go into protect mode. I have unplugged everything (inputs and outputs) and just sit the receiver plugged in and turned on all alone and it trips within 20 minutes. I have swapped AC power cords, tried different circuits in my home, it trips every single time. This is a known issue with these receivers, but I think they just plugged it in for a minute, saw it wasn't in protect mode and decided to move on. The repair tech was apparently just back from vacation so maybe he didn't want to spend much time on this one. It's like I paid them a fee to store my receiver for 2 weeks and that's it??? Nice scam. If you have lots of work you can just take the $35 and tell people there must be a problem with something at home because the equipment is fine and Peak is off the hook with their up front fee in hand. They'll tell you that the fee goes toward your repair anyway, but what they won't tell you is that if they can't figure out how to fix the problem, or even diagnose the problem, they keep the cash anyway. read more

Peak audio has ZERO customer service. Made two appointments with them, no show, no call for both. They never answer the phone, and when they do all they say is we'll have someone call you back. Horrible business. Wouldn't EVER recommend them. read more

Christmas time had me hunting for a used turntable. Another customer overheard us talking and shouted out, "Peak Audio!" Apparently they refurbish old ones and resell them. Thanks for the advice, random dude. It totally paid off with a great shopping experience. I called before visiting, to see if they had any on hand, and was told there was one and that it was easiest to just come in and see it. Once at the store, it turned out there were two to choose from, and although I don't know a lot about record players I felt completely confident buying one for my audio-phile boyfriend because of the 90-day guarantee and the helpfulness of the sales agent. He instructed me to "use it like crazy" in the first 90 days so that if there were any issues they would become apparent and we could get them dealt with early. Best part of the purchase was that he chopped $30 off of the sticker price on the model I ended up buying. Que bueno. read more

I called two weeks ago on a Tuesday and asked if they had particular stylus or its generic equivalent available. I was informed that they were out of stock on the generic equivalent but that it would be in the following Monday. I asked the price and they quoted me $35. I went to the store the next Wednesday, 2 days after the Monday it was supposed to be in, and the guy mumbled something about somebody being on vacation and that they would ORDER the stylii later that day, or the next day if the returnee was too busy. They were set to arrive the following Monday. I called first this time and was told they were in so I headed down there. The employee found the stylus and told me it would be $69.00. I told him I was quoted $35 and he said "Not for this one." I'm quite sure I was quoted $35 for "that" one. He told me to be glad I didn't need the $150 one. He was not in any way apologetic or sympathetic or friendly. I could tell I was bothering him. He said "Do you want it or not?" I bought it because my son had already been waiting extra time but I didn't feel good about it and I won't be back there. read more