Barrett’s Technology Solutions

High end products with competitive pricing. Dealt with Dave and he was very knowledgeable and not pushy at all. I will be finishing up my home theater with them for sure. The install team did a great retro-​fit that was less than easy. Thanks Barretts!

I can’t say enough great things about Barretts. Ok so maybe you can find some of the stuff they sell online for cheaper but these guys are going to take care of you after you buy as well. I have bought a few items here and haven’t ever been disappointed. I also bought a set of speakers that were damaged in shipping (from someone else not here) and they fixed them as good as new. Another stereo store in the area wouldn’t even look at them sense I didn’t buy them there. It is the service here that keeps me coming back. Also unlike store like best buy these guys know what they are talking about and sell top quality gear. If you are serious about your home theater be sure to stop in… You will not be disappointed.

Better than Best Buy.
Yup, you heard it here first! While I didn’t actually buy anything today, I can tell you right now after copious perusing, when I choose to flex my money muscle and throw around some cashola on high quality, techno savvy, utterly fabulous, professionally installed home theater gear, I’m coming to Barrett’s and only to Barrett’s!
Service was top notch and uberfriendly, the showroom was flawlessly impressive, the level of technology was phenomenal (um, hello 3-​D televisions!) and the prices were right in-​line — if not better — than where I’ve researched elsewhere. An utter gadget geek haven; think Blu Ray, Surround Sound, Bose, LCD, Viera, Sony and Plasma galore, with a locally owned, appreciate each-​and-​every customer kind of vibe. Perfect!
Will definitely be back, even if it’s just to watch ‘My Furry Friends’ with the nifty 3-​D glasses again. Kudos, Barrett’s, you have a new fan!

When I first moved into my home in 2002 in Downers Grove, IL, I searched for knowledgeable people for each part of my home. Since it was my first significant purchase I wanted to install the correct TV & stereo components. The search paid off then by hiring Barrett’s to install a great surround sound system with a 42″ flat panel TV. Well, now that’s 8 years later, I wanted to get a bigger TV and went back to Barrett’s for a 54″ TV and Blue Ray DVD player. Wow, have things changed in those 8 years. The TV & DVD player that the Barrett’s people suggested was totally right on track. It was both the terrific service and attention that I liked about Barrett’s in the first time around and they are still up to providing the same quality today. Also, I’m very happy to buy from a local company too. By the way, I worked with John 8 years ago and Dave this time. Kudos to Barrett’s people and keep up the great work.

I recently went in to Barrett’s to check on their selection of B&W loudspeakers, basically attempting to convince myself that I really did want to spend the money for a new stereo. I was pretty happy with my experience.
The specific speakers I was looking for were not on display in a listening room, but rather kind of on a display intended to showcase the entire line of B&W gear. Rather than make me stand awkwardly and listen to them, the sales person (Dave) moved them in to a listening room for me. Much better experience, and something he definitely wouldn’t have had to do.
Even though I hadn’t brought my music that day, Dave ran me through a couple of his recommended demo discs, things that highlighted capabilities, etc. Very enjoyable. When I came back, he basically left me alone for almost two hours while I listened to some of my own CDs. No qualms about just giving me the remotes, and letting me go to town. He checked in periodically to make sure I didn’t have questions, but didn’t hover and make me feel uncomfortable.
Dave was pretty upfront about being new to the store, having come from a different hi-​fi retailer (I think Tweeter, may they rest in peace), so he wasn’t bashful about saying «I don’t know — let me get you an answer» when confronted with a question he couldn’t answer. Much more satisfying that trying to BS me. And overall, he was very knowledgeable, and not snobbish audiophile about the specific music I listened to. No, not all of it is perfect… but it is what’s gonna get played. So it’s important that it at least sound decent. Additionally, I’m upgrading from a pretty Best Buy class stereo, and I told him I was just looking for speakers. He respected that, and made some recommendations as far as «here’s what I would do as my next upgrade» but didn’t insist that buying speakers was pointless without a couple thousand dollars worth of new amplifiers to go along with it, which was nice. I mean, maybe it is pointless, but he at least respected that I wasn’t going to buy 500W monoblock amps that very instant.
And when it came time to finally plunk down that cash, he didn’t try to up-​sell me on stuff I didn’t want. I’m on the fence about your expensive interconnect and speaker cables. So yes, I’ll probably buy some, someday. What I have now is decent, and when I said, «For right now I’ll just use what I have,» he accepted that without trying to pressure me.
I did end up picking up a used amplifier that had been used as an in store demo piece — and that’s where the star got lost. Another sales person tried to convince me to buy two identical amplifiers, and bi-​amp/​bi-​wire my speakers. Yeah, that would have been super sweet, but I wasn’t intending to spend the money on an amp that day anyway (only did it because of the amazing price) so I felt that might have been a bit of a money grab…“maybe we can get him to buy *two* amplifiers!!“
But, all in all, I would recommend this as a place to listen. Kind of a limited brand range — I saw B&W and Klipsch speakers only, Marantz, Rotel, Sony, and McIntosh source/​amplifiers only. So great for me, since I was pretty limited to B&W and Rotel or Marantz as far as brands I was interested in, but if you’re walking in with a blank slate, your options might be a bit limited. Maybe it’d be best to say, Barrett’s carries only your popular premium brands, and not the less common boutique brands.