Harms Sound Labs

Steve is the man! Can’t go wrong with any of your audio needs at Harms, he is extremely brilliant when it comes to sound. I was installing a new sound system in my 2500 HD GMC and i needed something that sounded clear, crisp and loud, i’m a dj after all and require my sound to be perfect. Steve did not let me down, he quoted me 700 $ cheaper than car toys plus got a much better deck out of the deal that included Bluetooth and hands free capability for my phone, had the parts overnighted and installed the very next day. I dropped my truck off at noon and had it back when i got off work at 6, he even offered to loan me a vehicle if i needed it. I did have to go back the next day to have some spacers put in my rear doors cause the speakers were to big! Bigger the better they always say ;) He even tuned the system to sound perfect and showed me how to operate everything. Stand up guy, if i ever have any more audio needs i’ll be calling Harms! Thanks again! (this same review is posted under google)

I’ve bought several TVs, a lot of stereo equipment and had everything installed by Harms. They did a great job and are very easy to work with. Good rates too.

Over the past 8 years I’ve been to see Steve 4 or 5 times, once for my Bang & Olufsen Beogram 1900 turntable and the other times for a couple of different Yamaha CR-​2020 receivers.
Each time Steve has over promised on turn around time and over delivered on quality of repair and cost. After the second time of delayed return I realized that he really wants to get your items back as soon as possible but things don’t always work out that way. If he told me a week I planned on three weeks and never was disappointed again.
I’ve had similar units repaired in southern California and the Chicago suburbs and Steve’s prices are reasonable. Additionally, anything he has repaired for me has remained in full working order. I recommend his services without reservation. I trust Steve knows what he can repair and what he cannot… and what is worth repairing and what is not.

Had a friend have work done by Steve at Harms Labs a number of years ago and said he was fast and reasonable for electronic repair work. Saw his on line reviews were not very good, but what the hell.
Week one– early in the week– Brought in a mid-1990’s Harmon Kardon amplifier in its original box that had not been used in years because one channel was cutting in and out. Steve said it was a nice older piece of equipment and he had over 40 years of experience. He gave me his basic rate as well as how much it might cost if he ran into problems and I had no problem with either number. I told him to fix it right. I asked about how long it might take– a week or two to be fixed as it looked like there were a lot of things in the shop. He surprised me when he said it would be no problem and he should have it end of the week or so. I thought wow– this would be cool. Was in the area and stopped by on that Friday. He said that he found he problem and that another problem had cropped up and he was working to track down that issue. Told me that mid next week was the time frame for completed repairs– OK. End of the next week I drop by again. Sorry he said, but we replaced the transistors but we are now getting feedback and are trying to figure out where that is coming from. OK. I don’t make any contact with him the next week, figure I’ll just let him work. The following week I call on Tuesday during their open hours and leave a message asking for a return call with an update and if the unit is fixed yet. No response all week. I wait until Friday of the following week, four weeks into this ordeal, as I wanted to give him plenty of time to either contact me or complete the job. I walk into the store and Steve greets me and I ask if the piece is repaired. At this point I want to be clear that I am very polite, as I have been the entire time, and Steve has been very polite as well every time I have stopped and talked to him. He makes a joke about the unit being «haunted» because he worked on it last on Halloween and still could not get it working properly– ha ha. I politely ask him for the unit back and I offer to pay him for any parts he has replaced and the time he has already put into trying to repair the unit. He tells me it is in pieces; as a matter of fact several of the transistors are sitting on the front counter and he can get it repaired, he just needs time. I calmly say that’s ok, just close it up and put it back in the box «as is». His assistant tells me it will be 20 min or so while he solders the transistors back in place. I tell him that it’s not necessary, just put it all back in the box and I’ll pay his bill. Off into the back room the assistant goes to reassemble my amplifier. Steve then begins to tell me about how poorly the amplifier is made and how every time he fixed one thing, another thing when wrong and because of the poor build quality and how difficult it has been to try and tract down the problems on the oscilloscope. If it was built so poorly and was so difficult to fix, why did he think he could fix it in the first place and tell me it was a nice amplifier when I first dropped it off? Steve and I remained polite at all times and when I asked him what I owed him he said that it would be his basic rate since he did not fix it. I respect that and did offer him a bit more as I know he did seem to put some work into trying to fix the amplifier. Steve seems to be a nice guy but I don’t think he is a very good business man on several points. If he could not fix the unit, he should have just said it was too much for him-​fine no harm, no foul. Next his communication or lack thereof, was disappointing at best even when I left messages to give me an update. Finally the only reason I can figure out he is still in business is because he has no competition. Anyone looking for a business niche in this economy that has an EE degree, can trouble shoot, and communicate with the customer could wipe this guy out in under 6 months. Conclusion– nice guy, I just won’t be taking any electronic repair work to him again.