AudioVision

Great and friendly customer service. I had auditioned a number of Speakers for the Home Theatre system I was building five years ago and came away with a great pair of speakers that I am still very much enjoying to this day.

They get annoyed if you don’t set up an appointment but they don’t respond to emails. When you get there expect to be talked down to and be given the attitude that they are annoyed to be dealing with you.

AudioVision is my baseline for what a good audio store should be. They have a great selection of gear at a wide range of price points, they’re extremely knowledgeable about the equipment they carry (and some stuff they don’t), and they’ll help you find the right gear for your needs at the right price point (although they won’t be shy about tempting you with stuff that’s just a little out of your range!). Antonio & Randy have both been very helpful to me in the past, but extra props to Marlen, who spent HOURS advising me and helping me audition amps when I was ready for an upgrade. They also have a great selection of used gear and a cable bargain bin, neither of which are listed on their website, so it’s worth a trip to the store.
As a final note, I have to disagree with the $$$$ price rating. You can definitely spend a lot of money here, but they have a better selection of relatively affordable equipment than most of the other high end audio stores in the area.

Arrogant, condescending, and completely unprofessional. There’s a good selection of equipment available, but if you’re a musician or audio engineer, steer clear. These guys have a superiority complex and will spout absolute non-​sense and/​or berate you in order to «appear» knowledgable. This was my experience during what I now refer to as 12 minutes in audio hell.
Honestly, I should have just left after being yelled at within the first 60 seconds for wanting to try headphones without bringing in my own DAC & amp… Or I should have left during minute 2 when I was mocked with condescending questions like, «You DO know what an amp is, right? You DO know that it will change the sound, RIGHT? If so, then I don’t know what you’re doing here.» Or minute 3 when I was told what I can’t afford. Honestly, those first three minutes were the high point. It only got worse, and fast. The whole thing was surreal.
I can’t recommend this place, won’t buy anything here, and won’t return.

AudioVisiom ha a great selection and, in my experience, the guys in the store couldn’t be nicer. I’ve made several purchases here, none of which were particularly high dollar, and Antonio took a huge amount of time to go over the options with me and let me try everything out without being rushed. The result is that I’ve been extremely happy with each purchase.

This is the classy shop I will go to for all of my audio gear needs when I’m not a broke student living in the TL. Everything in here is so beautiful, so expensive, and it really looks it. I would love to buy the well designed cans I tried on today, but the risk of getting robbed is too great.
I walked in there and took a look around then asked the men behind the counter for their recommendations on headphones, warning them up front that I definitely wasn’t buying anything that day and was just trying things out to make an educated purchase. Despite this, they were totally helpful and willing to answer all my stupid questions and let me try all the pairs within my price point ($ 100 – 300) and what I would be using them for. The man was very nice to ask me up front how much I was looking to pay instead of looking me up and down and muttering, «broke ass,» then ignoring me. It was a cool and unexpected gesture for such a nice place. He showed me a couple of pairs and also showed me the amplifiers when I asked, «what are these beautiful machines here for and why do they look so cool?!» Both of the dudes in the store were so helpful and my only regret is that I couldn’t support them with my headphone purchase as I ended up getting a much cheaper used pair.
I loved everything I tried but I figured that I shouldn’t drop $ 300 on a pair of headphones as a first time buyer. I don’t want to buy a pair of headphones and never use them for fear of them being snatched off my head when walking to work. However, if you have disposable income, don’t live in a dangerous area, and really want a great pair of headphones (or other audio equipment), I would highly recommend.

I was very pleased with the guys at AudioVision. I was looking for some new speakers, and they took the time to understand what I was looking for, the configuration of the room, and how I was planning to use them before offering some suggestions. I never felt pressured on price, and am extremely happy with the speakers that I chose.

Bad store!

The best audio store in SF! Fantastic service and recommendation! Gonna doing business with these guys during the lifetime!

Walked in after years of debating a turntable upgrade. I live in the neighborhood and went into the old location a few times to look around. But the other week Marlen styled me out with the just the right Pro-​Ject table for me. Buying local is always a good choice, got her setup before I left and gave me all the advice I could need.

I’m a student and I look like it. But despite that, when I walked into AudioVision at the end of the day, Antonio treated me with the utmost respect, especially as he realized I was seriously considering investing in a decent turntable. He and Marlin spent nearly an hour with me reviewing the entry level TTs they had, being honest and open with me about quality and options at my price point, never trying to oversell me. They knew I’d need to invest in a better amp and loudspeaker setup but only educated me without pressuring me — they let me discover that on my own when I setup the TT and came back the next day to complete my setup and investment.
I spent nearly two hours with Antonio, Marlin, and Randy over two days and I deeply appreciated their time, attention, and respect — especially as I was investing only in the entry-​level options they offered. I had an extremely positive experience and I look forward to working with them in the future as I make improvements to my setup!

This was my first time in a store like this. My knowledge wasn’t nonexistent… But it was limited.
So what did I do? I asked questions! Lots of questions! Till the point where I certainly must’ve been annoying.
They answered EVERY single one! The one instance where Marlen wanted a second opinion, the other gentleman was more than happy to take a turn edcuating me. They took a genuine interest in their trade… Which is huge. All things being equal, people tend to go with the price. So I absolutely get their concern at being used as a test bed for people to simply buy online, at a later date. These guys put in the work to bring facts to an industry that’s very much opinion based.
Anyway… The won a customer for life, really happy I found them.
Almost forgot! When given a price range, he actually stayed inside of it!

Visited 3 stores in the city today, and made it clear that I was looking to purchase high end bookshelf speakers for my home office. The first two shops offered excellent advice and made sure I was able to listen to a few options. AudioVision was my 3^rd and last stop, and had what appeared to be the best selection of the 3, so I was excited to listen to a few options and buy some speakers. Problem was that Antonio couldn’t be bothered to plug in any speakers, telling me that ‘when you’re serious about buying to come back’ and he’d hook up a few pair to demo. I was pretty clear that I was interested in a few models he had on display but he repeated that ‘when you’re serious…’. I’ll be going back to one of the other shops to spend my $ 2k.

I love the fact that there are still places like this to visit and listen and audition audio equipment. Their website is quite helpful as well. I recommend that you browse their website first and note what particular equipment you’re looking for. Then go to the store and audition that equipment and any competitors in it’s class and make an informed decision. This will also expedite the process especially when you park in metered parking. Keep up the good work fellas, I really appreciate your services and offerings.

This store has just about the best selection of high end headphones, amps, and speakers that I’ve ever seen, but the staff are a bunch of condescending snobs. Sure, they know what they’re talking about, but as a music lover/​listener with little experience in the audiophile world but with real interest in learning more, I did not have a good experience.
I came into the store to browse and before anyone would help me they made me agree that I would not buy any of the headphones I tried anywhere else. They also made me promise that I was «seriously looking to buy» a pair of cans. I agreed that I was interested and I understood that they have trouble competing with online prices.
The man helping me then asked a few questions about the music I listened to and the sources of my music (audio files, vinyl, etc). His attitude quickly changed when he realized I didn’t know a lot about different compression methods and audio file types. He became less attentive and suggested that I didn’t «waste my money» on a pair of their hifi headphones. After 5 minutes of standing around awkwardly, I left.
In the end, it’s their own loss. Perhaps they thought that my twenty-​something self couldn’t afford their equipment (FYI we’re in SF, just about every techie is some poorly-​dressed kid with money to blow). If they’d bothered to explain a thing or two about audio systems I may have actually invested in some equipment, but I guess it was too much of an insult that I’d set foot in their shop with my plebeian ears.

I have been a customer for about 6 years but I have never purchased anything hugely expensive, nontheless they have been amazingly kind and helpful. I am having a problem with an out of warranted receiver, and the owner, Randy, told me to just bring it in and he will send it out to get it fixed. Now that is superb customer service!!!
Somehow, this was never posted and today my opinion is the same… this is a great business. They just guided me through a turntable purchase with ease and patience along with great advice.

Needed new speakers to address a dead sounding room. The team was open and approachable, listened to my exact situation and needs and found the best options for my setup. They could have over sold me but were honest about the options based on what I already have at home. The solution that they came up with sounds fantastic. Highly recommend this shop, they made what could be an intimidating experience (they have really amazing sounding high $ gear as well) simple and super positive.

I’m not usually one to write reviews, but I felt my on-​going experience with AudioVision might be helpful to other Unilocalers. This is a top notch HiFi dealer. If you’re looking to build your first high quality audio system, looking to put together a cost-​no-​object setup or even somewhere in-​between, this is the best place in the Bay Area to do it.
I’ve put together several increasingly nice HiFi systems over the last 15 years along with a pretty decent home theater. I love hanging out in HiFi shops, so I’ve had pretty decent exposure to a wide range of dealers. Some have great stock, but lousy product knowledge or service. Others have fantastic service, but a limited selection. It’s rare to find a shop that does it all with staff that all know what they are talking about. AudioVision is that kind of shop.
When I first visited AudioVision, it was after I had already purchased a pricey system elsewhere. I wasn’t happy with the sound I was getting from the amp/​speaker combo I had purchased, but that dealer had a REALLY limited inventory, so my options were also limited. Since I hadn’t taken delivery of the items (they were letting me use their floor models while my stuff was enroute), I decided to see what AudioVision had in stock. I immediately wished I had come there first.
First, the store is WAY bigger than it looks from the outside. And they have an incredible selection, more than any other shop I’ve visited in the Bay Area. They stock some big brands, but also a bunch of really high quality boutique brands. There’s something for everyone. And there’s a decent amount of used equipment people have traded in.
We chatted about my situation, what I liked in a system, budget, musical preferences, etc. Then Antonio let me listen to a bunch of stuff for probably 2 – 3 hours. I wanted to come back with some of my own music, so we made an appointment for the following day. There was no pressure and they never hurried me. They also gave me some whiskey, which really is the only way to evaluate HiFi.
Long story short, I ended up returning the amp I purchased from the other place and got an amazing tube amp, turntable, and phono stage from AudioVision.
Since then, I’ve probably spent another 100+ hours in the store. I like to drop by with beers for the guys and listen to new stuff that comes in (they’re constantly getting new stuff to check out and have a nice little collection of LP’s for sale). I’ve probably drooled on everything at one point or another over the last few months.
In that time, I’ve added a CD player (picked up a used one from them) and just recently traded in my 3 month old speakers for an amazing Italian speaker they had tucked away in a corner.
I couldn’t be happier with the results I’ve gotten or my experience with AudioVision. Antonio, Marlen and Randy all know their stuff and have great stuff to boot! If you’re looking to put together a HiFi setup, I highly recommend you start and finish your search here.

Great neighborhood hi-​fi store. Antonio really knows his stuff. I was introduced to this place by a friend of mine who used to live around the corner. We’re both big audio buffs, and I finally made made my first purchase – a pair of Grado RS2is. I came in with some test CDs, and the guys set me up with a nice reference rig. I listened and compared with a number of different pairs of headphones for about an hour and finally pulled the trigger.
Great gear, great guys, great shop!

Da Best