Champlifier Audio Services

I stumbled upon Champlifier Audio a while back and went in to talk with Sheldon about setting up a home audio system that I had wanted for a long time. He was great, and with his help, I put together a system that brings me a lot of satisfaction. Now, I cannot understand why it took me so long to put a quality sound system in to my home. Since then I have had a couple additional jobs that I had taken in, and in each case the work has been first class. Not only did everything work properly and sound great, but I learned something from talking with Sheldon about that piece of equipment. In this day and age, it is hard to know what to expect from a service provider. When you find one that exceeds your expectations, you just want people to know.

Just got my Carver receiver back from Sheldon cleaned and refurbished and it never sounded better! Very reasonable price and personal service, I highly recommend Champlifier for vintage audio repair and restoration.

My Sansui AU-​777 needed some work and Sheldon is the amp doctor that I needed, this amp received a complete and clean restoration and I am so happy!!! Sheldon took his time to do the job right, there are those who think he charges too much, this is a case of where I got what I paid for. Understand that good work is not cheap and cheap work is not good! My amp sounds better than it ever has and I don’t regret going to Sheldon. Take your vintage gear here, you will not regret it!

Sheldon at Champlifier is a Professional. I was gifted a 2008 pioneer VSX-​01TXH.
The amplifier and front panel had issues. The unit had flashed an AMPERROR message and then died. I brought it to Sheldon and he not only did he fix it he re-​soldered the joints and cleaned/​de-​oxidized all switches and potentiometers. All told $ 427 to resurrect a dead amplifier with a retail value of $ 1500 at the time it was bought. The only reserve I have is that it took me a week to get in touch with him and schedule an appointment. I brought it in on 12÷11÷15 and due to his massive backlog he said it wouldn’t be ready until after the new year. I got a call and he was able to get the unit back to me on 12÷21÷15, so a surprising 10 day turnaround and the quality of the work made the cost and time well worth the wait. The old adage «you get what you pay for» applies here and you will pay for quality work that will not disappoint. Sheldon’s professional demeanor and direct communication skills are also worth mentioning. He was professional and courteous in every respect. I had spent the last 2 months trying to get the unit fixed and the attitude i encountered with other dealers is what led me to Champlifier.
Highly Recommended in all aspects. Professional and Competent.

Sheldon of Champlifier amplifier repair is a gentleman and master craftsman. In my experience he is an ethical, hard working, and incredibly knowledgeable and a kind thoughtful family man.
I brought to him —
1) Velodyne HGS 10 sub woofer — he was unable to repair the unit. I was refunded the inital deposot, then Sheldon referred me to Velodyne Corporation in San Jose. They fixed my sub.
2) Sunfire Cinema Grand IV– this unit i have had for 8 years and it had seen better days. I brought it in Thinking it had one issue. Had Sheldon just corrected what I asked him to do I still would not be able to use one of my favorite pre-​amps.
Sheldon put many hours into, and going through every aspect of this unit functions. Sheldon notified me and asked how I wanted to proceed. Long story short, Sheldon saved the defective parts. At the same documented with his cell phone video the newly found problems .
3) Monster power AVS 2000. This unit had begun to produce a loud humming noise that was very irritating. Cleaning the unit and brushings
4) Bob Carver cinema grand 5 chanel amp. This amp has also served me well, providing clean power to my keff reference 4 speakers L/​R and my Martin Logan theater I center speaker.
The light and power meter on the amp had failed. Sheldon yet again came through and I can say without reservation my system sounds better than the day I bought it brand new .
Bottom line — Sheldon is an honest, fair craftsman. He is a true gem and a rare find these days.
Sheldon will have my business for as long as he is in business.

Champlifier rescued an NAD amplifier with a bad potentiometer from the scrap heap, while redoing some weakened solder joints and replacing noticeably swollen capacitors. Advised *against* repairing a more modern Onkyo A/​V amp. While his location is a little difficult to find because of the street layout, it’s well worth tracking down. Sheldon’s knowledge and experience makes me almost wish I had more busted audio equipment so I could hang out at his shop. His craftsmanship and honesty will make me a loyal and referring customer for as long as he’s in business.

Sheldon is the best! Highly recommend. Came to my home and took his time to repair my stereo. Without a doubt, he did it right. Overall, he went above and beyond what I asked him to do.

Champlifier saved my life. I have had the same Vector Research VR-​5000 receiver for over 25 years when I got it as a hand-​me-​down from my stepbrother. I am listening to it now for the first time in weeks, maybe months. I love this receiver, and never want to part with it. It anchors an aggregation of suitably ow-​end components (Klipsch book shelf speakers 2.1, a massive ancient Heathkit AS-​21 speaker, and a BIC 940 turntable). It started cutting out (3 years ago), so I finally called Champlifier. Sheldon asked me a lot of good questions over the phone, and was able to pre-​diagnose the issue (mostly dead capacitors in this old unit) without even seeing it. When I brought it in, he asked some more questions, and gave a conservative, but accurate for his workload, estimate of a few weeks before it would be ready. He said he would call me with an estimate, which he did the next day! I had no idea how much it would cost, and was happy with price ~$ 275. Also, instead of a few weeks, he ended up finishing it in a few days, because it was a relatively simple job for which he had parts on hand. I don’t know if this would happen with more complex issues, of course, but I really appreciated that he could fit it in, and did!
For first contact, I recommend calling. He calls right back, and then you can talk to him.
What I loved the most about this experience is that I learned a ton. If you are interested, Sheldon is happy to share his knowledge with you. He opened up the receiver again, because I had a question about the loose tuner knob, and after showing me how to tightened the cord in the tuner mechanism, he walked me through his repairs! THE BEST! Then I bought a pair of new speaker wires since mine are so flimsy, and I got to be an intern and help him set them up with the pitchforks for the speakers screw connection. It was, hands-​down, the highlight of my day. Maybe week. I’m sure if you are the sort of person for whom this would not be the highlight of your day or week, he would do the whole thing for you, too. He is a stereo repairman, after all.
So, if you have a stereo component you love, you should take it here. Even if it weren’t the case that there are not a lot of people who provide this service anymore, so your choices are sort of limited, THIS WOULD BE THE PLACE TO GO. People come from far and wide to have Sheldon fix their beloved equipment, and we are so lucky to have his shop here so close. I could not be happier with the work.
Here’s a quick summary of the repairs:
Vector Research VR-​5000
Replaced capacitors (16)
Replaced lamps (even added a third!) and modified mounts which had become brittle and disintegrated.
Configured (?) two speaker cables to fit screw-​in speaker connection (this was extra, so not included in above price, as it happened when I picked it up)

Sheldon is very informative and complete in his descriptions of his business procedures and policies. No problem there. I am aware that he is the lead technician AND runs the business end of his shop, indeed a time-​consuming occupation in addition to doing the actual repairs. I believe he may have a part-​time technician working with him. With that in mind, I knew not to expect my repair back within less than a month. No problem, I have another 3 speakers identical to the one he was repairing. He did a great job repairing my speaker and was very informative along the way, disclosing all that he found out about my malfunctioning speaker.
I’m really pleased to find such a competent technician less than a mile from my location.
Thank you, Sheldon!

Brought in an older NAD amplifier that was having some issues for Sheldon to take a look at. He initially estimated a three week turnaround, but called me back a week to the day later to give me an estimate. It turned out that the amp didn’t have the problem I thought, and Sheldon recommended I bring in my a turntable so he could take a look at it to see if the problem was with my source. In the end I walked away with my amp cleaned up, everything restored, and he threw me a spare component cable in case the one I was using failed. Highly recommend Champlifier. Great shop, great guy, and great work.

Sheldon is super helpful! I brought in an old record player and he gave me really great advise on if it would be worth it to repair. In the end, I decided to not have it repaired because it wouldn’t be worth the money so he didn’t get any business. I think that’s the sign of a great businessperson that they help someone make the best decision for their situation. I will definitely bring any more business his way!

Talked to the owner on the phone, the said to bring my equipment in and he will tell me quickly wether he should work on it. So I pack up my turntable, drive there and I stand in the office for some time while they are having a conversation amongst them selves. No «hello», no «we will be with you in a minute», nothing.
Then a woman hands me a clipboard abruptly and I notice a $ 70 charge on the sheet. I don’t mind paying for someone’s time, I think that is fair but I ask the owner about the charge because he said on the phone he was going to tell me wether it was worth fixing or not when I brought it in. But never said it would be $ 70. I then tell him I don’t really want to spend $ 70 if it’s not worth fixing… And remind him that he had told me on the phone that we were going to see if it was
He asks what is wrong with it, and despite having had this conversation already, I start to describe what js happening and he just cuts me off and says then I should just buy another one.
At this point I just give up day tank you and leave. What a waste of time

Sheldon is without doubt the one and only that can bring back to original life any of your audio equipment. Period. After having my Mac 4100 repaired (yeah, right) a couple of times across the Bay (Daly City), I had given up on ever hearing that sweet sound on my Mac again. Then there was a divine intervention ( Unilocal) a couple of months ago, and I was lead to Alameda.
Damn this guy is good. You’ve got to see the stuff he works on. His mother gave him a multimeter at the age of twelve, and he’s never looked back. And unlike that other place across the bay who wants your first born son for him to stick his fingers in your precious equipment (and doesn’t know s**t about what he’s doing, while pretending to do you a favor), Sheldon treats you like royalty right off the bat.
And the kicker is he’s totally reasonable, and gets it done promptly. He even takes pictures of the work he performs on your gear. This guy is a true rarity. Get your gear back up to factory specs (better even) now while he’s still young and here with us.
I just love my Mac 4100 now. Like it’s gotten a heart transplant.

I’ve been waiting for Sheldon to repair my audio equipment.
Years. No kidding.
Here’s what was delivered to my new friend recently — based only on his Unilocal reviews — and have been enjoying ever since they were delivered back to me:
Marantz 2245 — LED lamp upgrade and service. It’s so legit now.
Yamaha CR 820 — LED lamp upgrade.
Marantz 6100 — Sheldon upgraded my cartridge because he accidentally damaged the needle on the cart that was on the table when I brought it to him. New belt and RCA outs. YEP — legit.
JVC Sea 80 — Service and was honest with a portion of the repair that wasn’t worth my time.
Why did I wait years to repair this equipment? Because I was waiting for Sheldon. Have you read the other electronic repair services’ Unilocal reviews? Anything less than 5 stars isn’t worth it.
Sheldon is a rarity in the electronics repair world and I’m glad he is in business.
Bring in your equipment, give him the space and the time to work on your treasured items, and be prepared to be amazed by customer service and repair expertise that you thought wasn’t available.
It is.

Sheldon took great care of my sentimental old record player and made it play like new. Genuine guy. Genuinely good work.

Excellent customer service, excellent work, excellent everything. We brought an old tuner to Sheldon, and while it took a minute for him to sort out since the tech is old & needed some serious TLC, he made the wait so entirely worth it… Knowledgeable, dedicated, clearly loves what he does, and makes his customers feel like family! We’ll be back, for sure!

I have always wanted to have one of the greatest integrated amplifiers from the golden age of Hi-​Fi finally I came to find a nice unit in a small farm out of Madera Ca. The unit still power on but the sound was bad, it was noisy, it had some transistor parts broken inside and after 35 years living on the country it had a lot of dust but still a great system. Bought it real cheap and looking for someone to make it sound like it was mean to be. I knew was going to be difficult. The unit is rated at the best that Pioneer ever build SA9800 from 1980 silver face fluoroscan receiver. It did took a bit over 3 weeks and it cost me around 600 dlls but the unit now sounds amazing. Done several sessions of listening to Sinatra, Beatles, Dire Straits and is amazing how wonderful sounds and how quiet it is. Sheldon is a professional of this trade and is not cheap by any means but this is a hobby were you know you are gonna spend some greenbacks to get the quality you lust for.
The unit was repaired and restored to Pioneer specs and now it’s worth 3 times what it cost me to buy and repair. Great job. Highly recommended but be patient. Good job takes time.

Sheldon is THE MAN. I have a 1967 Magnavox portable suitcase style record player that one day just stopped turning on. SADDEST DAY EVER. I was referred to Champlifier by Gene (of Gene’s Sound Service) because he couldn’t see me for a couple months.
Sheldon said it might take up to 2 weeks so I was obviously ECSTATIC when he called me 5 days later saying it was fixed! When I went to pick it up he took the time to explain the issue to me as well as give me a crash course in stereo electronics. He also showed me how to replace my record needle and emailed me links to buy new needle.
What makes Champlifier awesome is you can tell Sheldon is honest and sincere, and actually enjoys his work. He is definitely a very busy man, so if your issue is a little more complicated than mine was, it may take a few weeks, like he says. However, if you love your sound equipment (like I do) then Champlifier is definitely worth the time and money!

Great Service! Champlifier was willing to work within my time frame to get my Crest Audio Amp working again. I would suggest giving Champlifier a call whenever you need stereo or pa repairs. Sheldon’s communication was top notch. He was informative and responded quickly and clearly to my questions.

If you’ve got a beautiful old 70s or 60s piece you want to bring back to life, this is the place. Sheldon did an incredibly thorough clean and repair of my vintage 1977 Yamaha CR-​620 receiver, then spent half an hour with me testing it and relaying best practices to keep it in tip-​top shape. I liken Sheldon’s approach to a car repair place that tests and repairs every part of the car to assure that its running at its best rather than one that just addresses the symptom.
Fair price, good work and — to judge by the work bench — experience with just about every kind of DJ and vintage home stereo piece worth restoring.