20th Century TV & Stereo Ctr

This business is very bad. Don't even go near the door. I brought in a stereo unit to be fixed. The ""very nice"" in person gentlemen said that he would look at it. I needed to leave $40.00 as ""possible"" deposit toward ""possible"" repairs. I specifically said that I didn't want repairs done to the unit if it was over $70.00. He calls me today and says that it will cost $300.00. This time on the phone, he is ""not so nice."" I ask for my $40.00 reimbursed toward me. He refused. Said that he spent time working on it. How much time could that possibly be? 5 minutes to open the unit up and know immediately that the unit was not fixable? He has been, or so he says, in business doing this for over 40 years and he can't tell by looking at it, it's a gonner? Come on! I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau today. Sure maybe I will be out $40.00 but his guy has stolen my money as a thief on the street would. Please never enter these doors and don't trust this guy. This gentlemen is a first rate rip off artist. Obviously he has had years to perfect his ""act."" more

I brought my Dynaco SCA-35 (stereo integrated tube amplifier) in for service on a Wednesday night just before closing time. I was a little skeptical when they told me it would take at least two weeks before I heard anything, and the $50 deposit was higher than I expected. Turns out there was nothing to worry about. I got a call a week later first thing Thursday morning saying it was done. Labor was $85 (only $35 after deposit) which is very low considering the work that was done (resoldering over 100 points, tube testing, cleaning and full diagnostic). They also recommended a full set of new tubes, which I priced out online before approval. They were able to provide me with a full set of matched NOS vintage tubes (American and German) for less than I would have spent for the cheapest (Russian) tubes available online. When was the last time you bought something locally for less than online? I will bring them all of my vintage audio from now on. Pros: Fast, Cheap more

I've been putting together some old audio components and needed a new stylus for a vintage turntable. I couldn't have been treated better by Mitch and Ursula at 20th Century. I also picked up some speaker wire (they cut the ends for me) and cable. Very reasonable prices. But the best part was looking at the equipment on the shelves -- from reel-to-reel to new receivers. It's like a toy store for aging baby boomers like myself who remembers handing around Musicraft for hours. Great service, great people. I'll be going back often. Pros: Service, selection, atmosphere Cons: None I can think of ... 25 cents for parking meter out front more

20th Century looks like a quaint storefront repair shop, and the elderly couple who run it know how to fix pretty much anything. But the cons here far outweigh the pros. You'll wait six to eight weeks for any word that your equipment is being serviced. The prices on new gear are exorbitant. And don't even think about returning something. I tried to do it once with an unopened box of speakers, and even though the copy on the receipt stated the receipt had to accompany returns, Mitch, the owner, looked at me like I was about to rob the place when I came back the next day. He told me he didn't need customers like me, swore at me, and his wife accused me of lying. He pointed to a sign, ""All Sales Final,"" way up in the corner of one wall. Amid all the clutter, you'd never see it, and he'd never explained the policy to begin with. I'd taken my stuff to him a few times before for repairs, and had told many friends about the shop, so I was shocked by their behavior. I guess they're terrified at the prospect of becoming extinct in an e-commerce world, but that ain't the way to earn anyone's respect. I felt absolutely ambushed. Pros: Independently owned, repairs on older equipment Cons: Hostile attitude toward customers, long wait for repairs, high prices more

I had my vintage stereos serviced here a couple times and the results were very good. The place is a little hole in the wall that is easy to miss but I hunted it down mainly because the guy that does the repairs specializes in fixing stereos. The walls are lined with numerous interesting pieces - vintage and new - that are for sale and the repair prices are fair and well done. more