12 Technology Drive, Ste. 13 East Setauket, NY 11733
Frequently asked questions
Why am I unable to speak to a technician?
You
do not sell parts - why?
I'm repairing my unit and just need some help...
Why
is my model not listed on your brand specific page- does this mean you do not
repair it?
Can
you give me advice on buying equipment?
Do
you dislike surround sound/home theater equipment?
Are
there any new products that sound decent (in your opinion)?
Why
does so much new equipment sound like junk?
Are
you "In House Service" " Stereo Repair" or "stereorepair.net"?
Why so many
names?
1- Actually you can, but he cannot answer calls, give directions, or answer
routine questions such as " do you repair amplifiers?", "Do you work on ( brand
name) equipment?" The receptionist is also the operations manager and is fully
qualified to answer 90% of your questions. When you need to speak in detail to a
technician or if she cannot answer your question she will either transfer you or
take your number for a return call from a tech. Please note: Any expression of
annoyance, frustration or impatience in not being able to speak to a tech "right
away" will effectively result in your never speaking to a technician at all - be
polite.
2- It is simply a area we do not
get involved with. The demands of stocking, research, shipping, order filling
are not something we take on, all of our time is taken up in repair work and
running a service business.
3
Not to sound arrogant or self important but
we are busy running our shop and repairing our customers equipment. Would you
call a Doctor at random and ask what you should take for bronchitis ? Or a
Lawyer you never even spoke to before advice on how to file for a divorce?.
Think this through a bit, hope you understand our point of view.
4- Specific models are listed
because they are common repair items or we have certain upgrade packages for a
specific model. If your brand is listed, we probably repair all models by
that company, but feel free to ask about the unit you have. Chances are that
unless it is a unit we know has a parts availability issue or is a real lemon of
a set we will be able to repair it.
5- If you e-mail and are
patient; good chance. By phone, none at all.
6- NO! Home theater is fun, we
install and set them up. We like to watch movies and sports like anyone else,
but home theater setups just do not cut it for music. This is our opinion,
anyone can disagree with us. Basic idea: Two ears, two speakers for music. It
just sounds better. Also most consumer grade home theater equipment is really
poor quality, made to fit price points in a very competitive market. Quality
costs!
7- Yes, but not at consumer
audio mass market stores. Entry level high-end equipment from companies such as
Creek, Cambridge, Arcam, Adcom, NAD and Rotel come to mind, but you will not
find these at your local bigbox store. Most new high end equipment is quite
good, as this is a very competitive market a poor quality product can ruin a
companies reputation and credibility. ( An example: A really fine company
from Canada made a CD player that a highly regarded reviewer found " lacking in
pace and that sense of overall cohesive musicality that is to be expected in the
very best of audio equipment". The company pulled the entire production
run from its dealers and crushed them.)
8- The answer
is found in #7
9- Our official business name
is " In House Service Company" When we started the company this was because
we repair all equipment ourselves in our own shop, and do not farm
out or sub-contract anything. "In House Service" was too vague for the Internet
- were we a house cleaning, dog grooming, home improvement or whatever company?
There was
no way to tell and too much confusion. "Stereo Repair" is a title and best
working description of what we do and is the best way to communicate what 90% of
our business is. "Stereorepair.net" is a really good URL, easy to use and
remember. (someone grabbed ".com", we got ".net".)
About Stereo Repair - In House Service Company:
We are located in the
Stony Brook Technology Center, a medical and R&D park in South
Setauket, NY.
Centrally located, we are easily accessible from all major highways
in Suffolk County. We are open 9-5 Tuesday through Friday, Saturday
10AM-2PM. We accept cash, MC/VISA, AMEX, and Discover. Major
repairs are guaranteed for six months. We have been in business over
thirty years, the past twenty at our present location.
Although we repair
all types of consumer electronics, well over 90% of our work is
repair, restoration, upgrade and modification of High-End and
vintage audio equipment and vintage tube musical amplifiers.
In the past ten years the diminishing quality of most consumer audio
products has resulted in increased demand for restoration of older
equipment. These items were actually built to sound good and last
for years rather than to fit a price point in a marketplace filled
with disposable junk.
Our service area is clean,
attractive and well lighted. We maintain an extensive service
library on paper and CD-ROM. We are well stocked with replacement
parts. We use original quality parts when replacement is made,
either supplied by Mfgr. or the same item from OEM sources. We also
maintain type integrity in our replacement of passive components,
never using a carbon resistor in place of a film or bulk metal type
or using a Mylar cap in place of a foil polypropylene, for example.
We use high quality, low residue solder from reliable suppliers and
silver bearing solder where required. We have (and routinely use) a
comprehensive array of test equipment, specially designed test
fixtures and standard and custom made test CD’s. We are very
familiar with vacuum tube equipment and have extensive experience in
this technology that pre-dates the current "Revival". We have
applied much time and effort in the setup of our shop in order to do
our work in a efficient professional manner. Taking pride in our
work and the relationship we have with our customers, we provide
prompt and professional service for the consumer in need of repair
of audio equipment.
Description of our repair shop:
The
main audio bench is a 15ft.triple station workbench. There is
sufficient equipment and flexibility so that any audio item can be
serviced at all three stations. The flexible nature of the repair
stations is due to the custom made test fixtures on each bench.
These allow the item being repaired to be connected to monitor
speakers, dummy loads or internal monitor amplifiers. The item being
repaired can be connected to Level Meters, Distortion Analyzers,
O’Scopes, CD audio sources or Audio Generators. This is
accomplished by relay switching or patch bay switching of I/O
sources . High level (speaker level) signals are input via 6
pin Alacatel 20A pro audio jack or heavy duty binding posts then
switched to monitor speakers or internal 200W Dale non-inductive
wire wound resistors. The instrument relays and switches connect the
various pieces of test equipment to the appropriate source. Low
level sources are input through high quality input jacks, then
routed to the internal monitor amps and, as above, the signal is
sent to the desired test equipment. All bench connection cables are
made from rope-braid copper cable of 12 or 14 gauge. Audiophile
grade cables are used for low level signal sources. A system of
adapters or designated cables provides secure connection to any
equipment regardless of the type of connector on the item under
test. All important tests can be done quickly and without having to
find patch cords, hook up equipment, search out adapters, etc. This
enables us to do complete and thorough tests on all equipment we
repair. All test equipment can be disconnected from the fixtures and
directly connected for special tests or equipment requirements. The
fixtures and wiring are of high quality, making use of heavy gauge
and low loss wiring. All instruments are well grounded to a common
bus consisting of dual 12 gauge solid copper wire. 12 gauge rope
braid wire is used for individual grounds to the bus. Equipment
under test can be connected to a heavy duty AC isolated supply that
includes a Variac and AC leakage tester.
Each bench has identical monitor speakers using Morel drivers and
custom made crossovers.
In addition there are burn-in racks and benches reserved for rebuild / fabrication jobs.