The Analog Room

Folks here were super helpful. We had an old record player which needed a new stylus/​cartridge and The Analog Room prices were on par with internet pricing, but also included free installation! After we brought in the player the guys checked it out and told us it that the player had playback speed issues and wasn’t worth buying a new cartridge for. They could’ve easily sold us the cartridge and let us go home with a sub-​par experience, but they chose to be honest with us instead. They even went as far as educating us about what to look for in terms of purchasing a new player. Would definitely recommend this place for all your record player needs!

Ever since I got back into listening to vinyl and building my collection, I have been making the rounds to many record stores in the greater Bay Area. I would give the Analog Room 5-​Stars if I had a much bigger budget as everything in the store is ultra expensive. They are clearly audiophiles and know their shit, and I think their «cheapest» turntable is a Rega with an Ortfon black cartridge… do you have $ 3,000-$ 5,000 to drop? They have a small rack of vinyl but most are Fidelity quality stuff starting at $ 25-​$ 50. Nice store, very friendly owner and if I had more $$$ or was single, I’d probably take a 2^nd on my mortgage and go shop there — haha.

An analog shelter in the digital hurricane that is Silicon Valley. Impressively curated vinyl for sale and audiophile equipment that makes me want to cry. Shop here!

I just happened to be in the area and decided to check out this store after hearing about it. As the name implies, it’s vinyl only. Didn’t see a CD or CDP in the shop. It’s a small store (new location) with a main lobby (w/​lots of LPs to flip through) and 3 very impressive listening rooms with a lot of very nice (read: expensive) equipment on display. You can see what lines they carry on their website.
There were 2 guys in the store; the owner and an employee. Told them I was just looking and they left me alone while I browsed around the listening rooms — I swear didn’t touch anything! However, it surprised me that they didn’t bother to try to talk w/​me to find out what kind of gear I already had (I own over $ 20k in high end gear) and if I was in the market for anything else in order to build rapport with a potential new customer, which I though was a lost opportunity on their part. They weren’t unfriendly; they just seemed disinterested in engaging me and more interested in talking w/​each other and/​or checking things on their phones/​computers.
Spent most of my time at the store browsing the LP bins which were full of some very expensive new reissues in the $ 35 – 50 range — most of which I fortunately already owned. However, there were quite a few used records in the bins too but they were mostly priced high at $ 15+. Not much priced less than that but I did find a 4LPs between $ 7-​$ 18 that I was willing to take a chance on. So, I didn’t leave w/​o buying something.
I was interested in buying an Ortofon 2m Blue cartridge for a vintage AR turntable that I just bought. They were selling it at the list price of $ 236 and I may have bought it from them if they actually made an effort to sell it to me, which they didn’t. Ended up finding one on sale on the Net for only $ 199 (no tax/​no shipping) which (factoring the sales tax) saved me around 20% off the price I would have had to pay in the store.
If you’re interested in seeing some very nice audio gear in person and like to browse for LPs, it certainly should be worth the time to visit this shop. Whether you buy anything or not will depend on whether they have what you need/​want and can afford the freight AND whether or not they make any effort to talk to you and sell you anything.
I hope the store does well but with their apparently lackadaisical sales attitude I’m not sure how successful they will be. Time will tell. ..

Last weekend I dropped by The Analog Room at their new location near the corner of Bascom and Camden Avenue to upgrade the cartridge on my Linn LP12 turntable and to have it adjusted. I called ahead and spoke to Brian. He told me to come by anytime and he would install the cartridge for me and perform any needed adjustments on my turntable. A short time later I arrived there with my turntable and Brian immediately began checking it out. He set it on a service rack on the front counter and quickly noticed that the suspension was having problems. It didn’t bounce like it was supposed to. He then removed the bottom plate and adjusted each of the suspension springs so the platter and arm board sat level and bounced properly. He also made a couple of adjustments to the tonearm. Then as an FYI he had me take a close look at the Valhalla power supply on the underside of the turntable and pointed out to me a couple of capacitors on the power supply. He explained that due to the placement of the capacitors within the turntable and the tight amount of space around them they tend to burn out eventually on most Linn turntables. He said when the day comes when that happens to mine he could repair that for me. It’s great to know that I have such an expert on Linn turntables right up the street from me.
In addition to the turntable adjustment, I also went there to buy a new phono cartridge to replace the low-​end Grado cartridge that was on the turntable when I purchased it. I asked Brian which cartridge he recommends for the Linn and he mentioned two cartridges that he felt were great on the Linn. One of those cartridges happened to be the same cartridge that was on the Rega RP6 turntable playing there behind the counter at that moment. The quality of sound I was hearing coming from that turntable sounded really impressive, so after taking a moment to consider the options, I ended up purchasing the cartridge my ears were hearing: the Ortofon 2M Black. It was a little more expensive than the other cartridge option, but now that I have it and have played numerous records with it, I’m very glad I chose the one I did. What a huge difference that cartridge has made to the sound quality of my system! There is a clarity and depth to the music now that I never heard before, either on this turntable or any other turntable I’ve ever owned. I’m not sure how much of the improvement I’m hearing is due to the new cartridge and how much can be attributed to the adjustments Brian made to my turntable, but it’s a night and day difference!
I’m very happy with my purchase and with my experience with Brian at The Analog Room. The cost of the cartridge was the same as if I had purchased it anywhere else (even online, I looked) and the level of service I got there was second to none. Brian didn’t even charge me to install the cartridge or for all of the adjustments he made to my turntable! Needless to say, I’m a very satisfied customer and plan to visit The Analog Room now on a regular basis, especially now that it’s located only a few blocks from my home.

Wonderful experience! Friendly, knowledgeable, and very helpful. They set me up with all the right stuff and very reasonable. Will always do business with them.

There is a certain allure to this place… first off, it is completely unmarked. Only the hours posted on the door give it away that it’s a business. Walking into the shop is like being transported into the past and going to the future all at the same time!
It takes about 20 seconds of speaking with Brian to know how passionate he is about music, and he really knows his stuff!
I went into this knowing nothing about record players… I was hoping to get a turntable that would hook into my existing Sonos system… Brian picked up the phone and called Sonos to make sure we understood what would be required to use a record player with my Sonos.
While deciding which color turntable I was going to get, Brian offered great feedback, with solid reasons to back up his opinions. When I came back to pickup the record player, Brian gave me a very thorough introduction to operating the machine. Then we discussed music preferences, and in no time he had some excellent recommendations for albums to get my collection started.
If you’re anywhere in the Bay Area, this is the place to go whether you’re brand new to vinyl or you’re looking for something new to add to your collection.
Off the beaten path, and worth the journey!
Thank you Brian for hooking me up!

WOW! Lots of cool stuff here but you would have to sell your first born to pay for it. This is big time gear for big time bucks. There are big tube amps, super fancy turntables and cool speakers, all for the super audiophiles.
You might just have fun looking around. They also have vinyl– these seemed higher then say On The Corner in Campbell. But, it is always fun looking through the vinyls.
I didn’t buy anything but had a good time checking stuff out.
Three stars just because of the cost.

This place is insane. Super polished collection, beautiful listening rooms that will make you depressed that you don’t live here. And, they could talk to you about just about any album you want. I love this place.

They know their stuff-​especially Linn Turntables! The only ones in the bay area that I would trust working on my expensive Linn LP-​12.

I came here after reading an article in the Metro about it. I’ve been a San Jose local for my whole life and I never knew about this place… even lived literally down the road from it at one point. When I walked in, owner Brian was wearing a SF Giants club shirt and was drinking a bottle of my favorite tea. I immediately took a liking to him. LOL. Prices were kinda high in my opinion, but this is more a boutique store as compared to a Streetlight or Rasputin’s. As soon as I walked in I spotted a copy of English Beat’s «Special Beat Service» on the rack, an album I had been wanting for a while. It was a limited edition copy and I was thrilled to take it home. If you like rock, blues, jazz, and classical, there seems to be a pretty good selection of that here. High end equipment fills several rooms or «listening stations» within the house and it feels almost as if you’ve entered some sort of analog museum or exclusive club. I spotted a Buena Vista Social Club Box Set at the top of a bookcase and was amazed that he had this valuable rarity. A customer asked if he could play something on one of the tables and on played Robert Plant and Alison Kraus’ «Raising Sand», which sounded so awesome I nearly purchased a copy. If you’re concerned about cigar smoke which some other reviewers mentioned, he doesn’t smoke inside anymore. The turntable of choice here looks to be REGA. I think Brian is an authorized dealer for them. While I was there he was replacing a cartridge for a customer. I would definitely make it a stop on your vinyl shopping adventures.

Brian has earned the right to run his business any way he wants. If you’re ready to open your ears and hear what the artist intended to put out there, this is the place to go.

Came here to look for some vinyl records and possibly a new turntable. The owner was helpful and gave me some pointers on how to set my room to get the best sound out of my speakers. I purchased a new Rega turntable which is night and day from my audio technica turntable and also a few vinyl records. At first the sticker price for the records was a shocker since I was use to Rasuptin and used record stores. I realized most records were brand new vinyl recorded from the master studio. This does make a difference, I will be a repeat customer for sure.

This shop is an audiophiles dream.
Although I’ve drove past this many times and never bashed an eye at it being the best record shop in the South Bay, I’m glad I found it. There are no other places that stock Jazz records from the 60’s and 70’s like The Analog Room.
This place will remain a staple on my month vinyl outings.
The rooms they have dedicated to listening are out of this world. It changed my whole perception on sound and recordings listening to the sounds of a 180 gram pressing.
Highly recommended.

Everything but the smoke is great.
Very good selection of records and they are true experts in analog gear. However, they really compromise the experience with the cigar smoking. I wanted to buy a Rega RP8 from them since I really want to support independent high end audio stores but last time I went in to get a 180 gram record, the smoke was horribly strong. Lost business but I don’t think they care.

Can’t comment on them as a dealer, but as a tube amp tech shop:
WORST EXPERIENCE EVER.
I made the mistake to ask them if they could repair and change the voltage of a foreign made tube amp. Despite their initial assurances, this went on for months, WAY over budget, and with appalling customer service all along the way (no calls returned, no credible explanations provided, very unpleasant tone …).
I had to threaten them to sue to get my amp back, paying through the nose, and discovering they had outsourced the repair to another technician … I will never set a foot in this place again.
I since then discovered a great tube guy, Warren Gregoire, unfailingly competent, honest and kind. Wish I had earlier!

I found the Analog Room through the
website in Aug 2012. I rolled over there and like others found the place pretty hard to find. The second I walked in I saw Brian sat on the couch with a big cigar and a smile, I heard jazz music filling the shop (can I call it that… it feels more like a home in a neighborhood to me) and I saw a breathtaking collection of turntables, amps and speakers all set up to be listened to and appreciated. It only took that one second to acknowledge that this place is in a class of its own.
The reason I went there was to listen to a Rega turntable to determine if I wanted to go back into vinyl after being on CD’s for 25 years. That was my opening question to Brian. After two uninterrupted hours of talking about everything from turntables to vinyl to scotch to cigars to houses to family to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and listening to a whole bunch of records on various systems this place was cemented in my mind as one of the best purchasing experiences of my life.
I no doubt bought the turntable. It does have a far greater sound than CD’s…more mellow, clean and true and have since been back a number of times to chat some more and buy records. Yes, the records aren’t cheap so this isn’t the store to hit if you’re trying to save pennies… but you get what you pay for and then some.
I don’t understand the few comments about Brian being snobby and elitist. I’ve never met anyone more opposite to that. Maybe I’ve just caught him on great days. However, I can see that if you go in there and get an attitude about wanting to be treated like royalty and start snapping your fingers, you’ll probably get what you deserve, which is a nasty look and a cold shoulder.
This place is a legend. Go there and see for yourself.

If you got the cash and a hardcore love for vinyl this is your place. So good. I don’t want to be hyperbolic but gosh darn it this felt like heaven. I found 5 out of print record pieces that were so expensive online and were priced down considerably. I felt so comfortable there. Brian knew so much-​I couldn’t stump him at all as far as music trivia was concerned. Found a couple pieces I was looking for for a LONG time. So excited to hit home and listen to these beauties.
Its tough to find, it doesn’t have a sign. Go there! Do IT!

I had no idea there was a place like this anywhere near where I live. I’d been thinking about getting a decent turntable for quite some time, but not quite ready to order something online. So on the same day I read the reviews for this store, I ended up there a few hours later.
I was pretty intimidated as soon as I walked in the door, but a few minutes later I was talking with Brian about getting a new turntable. He was great to talk to and clearly knew what was up. Plus I got to watch him set up my new Rega RP1, which made me pretty happy I hadn’t ordered one online.
I’m now listening to some of my vinyl and it’s sounding better than I ever thought possible. Thanks Brian!

Great place for high end audiophile vinyl gear, speakers, amps etc. Not that I can afford any of the $ 60k amps, but sell plenty of affordable higher end turntable parts/​equipment. You have to walk in there with some bit of knowledge and research on your end to get these guys to help you properly.
AWESOME selection of vinyl, but very limited to rock, classical, jazz, and scores.
This place also smells awesome if you like cigars.