Classic Audio Repair Inc.

Classic Audio Repair Inc. Founded in 1994, we are the last remaining traditional Audio repair service, specializing in classic and vintage audio. We’ve been in business since 1994.

Please go to our website www.repairaudio.com, where most of your questions will be answered. Note that we specialize in repairing and restoring vintage home electronics--such as turntables, speakers, receivers, CD players, integrated amplifiers, boom boxes, cassette & reel-to-reel tape recorders, tuners, and MORE. We service a great many receivers by Marantz, Pioneer, Sansui, Kenwood and Yamaha. W

e fix a great many turntables by Technics, Thorens, Pioneer, Sony, and Dual. You can phone/TXT us at(619) 292-8642
You can email us at [email protected]
We’re located at 8872 La Mesa Blvd in east La Mesa. We DO NOT ACCEPT DISASSEMBLED EQUIPMENT!

05/29/2026

the AND1 belligerent dude ~~ May's worst customer

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He stormed into my store about 1:00 PM today, Friday 29th.

Said he had an AND1 turntable. He laid the cartridge body on the counter. It was a cheap ceramic cartridge, like you find on bottom-of-the-line Crosley and Innovative Technology entry-level sets. Lo-Fi, not Hi-Fi.

It had no needle. He wanted a replacement needle. The cartridge body looked like it was missing a spring clip. I'd never heard of AND1 as a turntable brand. So I excused myself, walked to my office and went online.

A regular Google search turned up nothing. Then I did AI. Here's what Google AI had to say: "No, AND1 is not a turntable brand. It is a well-known American footwear, apparel, and sporting goods company that specializes in basketball gear and streetwear."

I changed my AI query to ANDONE, and tried again. AI said that ANDOVER-1 was a "highly-prized, luxury" all-in-one turntable brand. But a "highly-prized, luxury" set would not use an ultra-cheap ceramic cartridge.

I returned to the counter and asked him if he had the original needle, so I could match it up. At this point, he flew into a rage, "Do you have the needle or not!!!!!!!!!???????"

He pulled his cap down over the top of his face, in a gesture of defiance and anger. At this point, had be been a hand-grenade, he would've pulled his own pin.

I told him to leave my store and try someone else.

05/19/2026

Still looking for a journeyman-level technician to assist with the large number of difficult repairs, many of which are victims of unsuccessful self-repair. Pay is quite good, if you're truly capable.

Contact me privately.

05/13/2026

THE NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS WHO GROSSLY MISREPRESENT THE CONDITION OF THEIR GEAR -- EITHER BY FEEDING ME A "WHOPPER" LIKE "I BOUGHT IT NEW" WHEN IN FACT THEY GOT IT FROM EBAY YESTERDAY IN A BOX THAT HAD BEEN SAVAGED IN TRANSPORT, OR BY FAILING TO DISCLOSE A "TRIVIAL" DETAIL, SUCH AS THAT IT FELL FROM A SECOND-STORY WINDOW -- HAS BEEN INCREASING TO ABOUT ONE CUSTOMER IN FIVE.

Then when I tell them about the TRUE condition of their gear, they get snotty -- and want to argue, and argue, and argue, and argue, and argue, and argue, and argue, and argue and argue and argue and argue and argue and argue and argue and argue and argue and . . . and often make disparaging remarks about my character. In many cases, their remarks are vicious.

The abuse from customers has risen to frightening proportions. I can barely stand coming to work. I am truly on the verge of closing the store.

05/05/2026

Today is a day when I'm wondering what the hell I'm doing with my few remaining years of life, getting endlessly interrupted while I'm repairing gear that's overdue by the very people who own those overdue sets -- and who don't have the IQ points to understand the contradiction.

I'll give you two phone calls, two texts, two hostile emails. After that, you get your set back.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
A customer phoned me yesterday to harass me. His extremely complicated repair was slated for completion at the end of June -- and this was in writing on his copy of the work order. I had to listen to him jump up and down and scream like a small child for fifteen minutes, not because his set wasn't done, but because he wanted someone to kick in the balls.

He gets his set back. I keep the money.

05/05/2026

No more referrals to the Audio Dictator. They will all go to Mike Zaccaro.

05/04/2026

IF YOU WANT ME TO DIE FROM A HEART ATTACK OR STROKE DUE TO MASSIVE OVERWORK OF MY 79-YEAR-OLD BODY, PLEASE SIGN BELOW.

05/03/2026

WHAT I DO WHEN A CUSTOMER BRINGS IN A SET ~~

The first thing I do is to greet the customer. Then I put the set on the table to the right of the door. I do a physical inspection. Is the set intact -- or are there missing parts -- or missing hardware? Are there signs of impact or of being dropped? Is there rust? Is the set clean, or covered with dust?

Meanwhile I'm conversing with the customer about what they want me to take care of -- e.g., "The right channel is cutting out" -- "My cassette is running slow."

This conversation will often turn up misunderstndings the customer has about what's wrong with the gear. It is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT to clear up these misunderstandings right off the bat, while the set is sitting in front of both of us.

No, the direct-drive turntable doesn't require a belt to turn the platter, and no, the set with a blown fuse does't require a bigger fuse. The set with rust all over it has not spent its entire life on Mount Helix.

Then, assuming the set allows this, I plug it in and turn it on.

I operate the equipment, looking for what's right about the set and what's wrong. If the set's a turntable, I check the needle and put on a record. If it's a cassette, I'll try to play a tape. If it's a receiver or integrated amplifier, I'll hook it up to speakers.

Often, I'll remove the top cover and look inside. In only a few minutes, I usually know enough to talk about remedies, time frame and proposed costs.

If the customer doesn't want to proceed with repair, I'll charge a small evaluation fee. If they do want me to repair the gear, I'll write up a formal work order and collect a deposit.

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04/28/2026

[NOTE: The store is in La Mesa, about 10 miles east of San Diego.]

I HAVE TWO PART-TIME TECHNICIANS, BUT AM FALLING MORE AND MORE BEHIND EVERY DAY.

I NEED SOMEONE WHO CAN TROUBLESHOOT AUDIO GEAR WITHOUT ME HAVING TO STAND NEXT TO THEM, REMINDING THEM THAT YOU DON'T PICK UP A SOLDERING IRON FROM THE HOT TIP, BUT RATHER FROM THE HANDLE, OR THAT YOU SHOULD CHECK THE POWER SUPPLY VOLTAGES FIRST, AND NOT THE FINGER SMUDGES ON THE VOLUME CONTROL OR THE DEBRIS ON THE RUBBER FEET.

Please contact me ASAP if you are such a person.

04/21/2026

TODAY'S LESS-OFF ~~

Customer had an SL-1200MK2. Evidently something had hit the top of the C-shaped portion of the gimbal assembly, which resulted in an infamous (and common) failure where the top and bottom needle bearings became slightly skewed from the impact, resulting in a huge, phantom urge of the tonearm to swing back toward the arm rest.

Misunderstanding the cause of this failure, the customer disassembled two of the three needle bearing assemblies that hold the arm in place. The third bearing assembly would not budge, and this made further disassembly of the arm impossible, unless . . .
. . force was used to MAKE the arm come apart further.

Which he did.

He still needs a new tonearm, which, including parts and labor, would run over $500. I also think he also needs to go to the Brain Store, turn in his old brain, and shop for a replacement.

04/15/2026

TWELVE DAYS AGO, I HAD MY FINAL ENCOUNTER WITH THE LEATHER-BAR TWINS ~~

Every interaction with them -- from the first moment they walked in the door to their total existential rebuke multiple months later -- was an exercise in dominance with me as the target.

I should've declined to service their gear from the outset. I should've followed my gut, rather than obligingly writing a work order with an implied promise of technical success.

But Classic Audio Repair was not doing well at the time they first appeared at my door. Jordan had moved to Tennessee, and I had failed -- repeatedly -- to find a qualified replacement.

I was too hungry for work.

Too willing to accept repairs, despite the gear being difficult and risky to service, and/or the customer overbearing and arrogant. I hadn't yet recovered from the shock-wave of Jordan's departure.

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It has now.

No, I will not repair your gear if you bring in a big bag of third-rate Chinese parts and demand I install them. No, I will not repair your gear if you tried to fix your gear yourself, and fu*ked it up in the process. No, I will not fix your set if you walk in with a weak and fawning friend in tow, expecting me to grovel at your feet. No, I will not repair your gear if you claim that the platter on your direct-drive turntable fails to rotate because the drive-belt has broken -- and you make a world-class effort to humiliate me if I don't cower before your nonsense.

No, I will not advise you on which brand of aluminum foil is the best for wrapping around a blown fuse.

Three years ago, Mr. Leather Bar came into my store with a BSR turntable where he'd taken the tonearm apart when he was about ten -- and had reassembled it wrongly so that a needle bearing hit dead plastic rather than the appropriate ball-rearing race -- and as a result the arm mistracked. He tried to bully me by claiming openly that his ten-year-old mind understood audio gear better than my half-century of experience.

I threw him out of the store. I should've "politely" done the same with the leather-bar twins.

Address

8872 La Mesa Boulevard
La Mesa, CA
91942

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 5:30pm
Wednesday 10am - 5:30pm
Friday 10am - 5:30pm

Telephone

+16192928642

Website

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