La Audio Video

I discovered this place upon looking for an authorized paradigm dealer, which is one of the highest end speaker companies around. Bill is the main sales person I spoke with and he is very charming and willing to work with you to ensure you are happy when you leave the store. Calvin, another sales representative helps to make your experience run smoothly. If you want to get audiophile quality speakers like Paradigm brand and video enthusiast quality equipment, your best chance at finding it around this area is this store. Most people probably drive right by this place never knowing what’s here. It’s worth a stop here if you are looking to upgrade your audio or video equipment with something that the the big retailers will not offer.

This place is wonderful. The owner Bill is very down to earth, indulges your curiosities (in this case my boyfriend’s), and gives objective advice. It’s a Sunday and the shop is technically closed… but we’re here testing out speakers for the second day, this time with our own receiver (the first day Bill spent 3 hours with us letting us try out various configurations with what he has in the store). If you want to test out audio equipment in a laid back and intimate atmosphere that feels like home, with a knowledgable and friendly salesperson… this is it.

I drove all the way out there because they told me they had a certain piece of equipment and it turned out they didn’t. The rooms aren’t set up properly. My questions weren’t really answered.
There are other better high end audio stores.

this place looks like nothing from the outside but inside it looks like a living room (albeit one with a lot of stereo equipment in it).
Most importantly, the salespeople here are very patient. I went in a novice at buying surround sound equipment and I never felt rushed or felt like they were annoyed with me.
They are one of two Paradigm dealers in Los Angeles and they had the speakers I wanted to audition in stock. They gave me a room, hooked up the speakers, shut the door, and gave me time to listen to the CDs I’d brought with me. I would definitely go in with something in mind you want to listen to and bring your own sample material (CD and/​or DVD).
In terms of pricing, they quoted a price and then let me know it was negotiable. You can probably get 15%-20% off the list price.

I bought a pair of Paradigm Mini Monitors from L.A. Audio/​Video a couple of months ago. First off, there are only a couple of stores that carry Paradigm, B&W, & Dynaudio, a.k.a highend speakers bookshelf and floor-​standing: they get stars for this. Most dealers only carry one, two at best. The two brothers (and family) that run the store are nice and helpful. They are not overly friendly, but I wasn’t there to make friends but by speakers. What they are is patient and reasonable, and that is the other part of the winning formula of a good shopping experience. One of the brothers is the main floor guy and he let me do at least a half of an hour of comparison listening, with my own music, between the 4 different bookshelf speakers I was interested in. He gave me a small break on the price: 15%, which I appreciated greatly, but I would have paid full price anyways because: he had what I wanted and let me do my audio research. They cater to both home theatre and hi-​fi shoppers (sacd, high end connectors, amps and cd players). Really cool people and nice family there which contrasts the retail hustler who does not care about the business because «this is temporary». Don’t be intimated by the look of the store, I’ve been to more ostentatious stores that make you feel weird if you don’t have a black american express or look like you are one of the couples on a spread of Dwell magazine ;)
Parking is easy. Give the place a try. If you have the money, and want to upgrade your speakers, you won’t regret it. I hear sounds from my records and cd’s that I never new was there, by simply upgrading to one of the speakers they sell there. I recommend the Paradigm Mini Monitors, Atoms or the B&W 605’s.

How hard is to understand that a good demo with components your customers request is crucial to make a sale? I kept asking them to show me speaker demos in my price range. But the guy kept hooking up something 4x my price range. It was like i was speaking Greek. Very salesman like demeanor although not pushy. They just were not interested in showing me any of lower end tube integrated amplifiers. It might just be that all their clientele are people that have 20k + budgets. I was there to spend a good 4 grand to pick up a pair of speakers and an integrated tube amp. Walked out frustrated. I am going to try out independent businesses or secondary market and not deal with these big showroom types.
You might get lucky if you already own a good set of speakers and are trying to upgrade the amp. Or vice versa. But dont walk in there thinking you can figure out speakers and anything else you will need for it to make it sound right. Their setup is not very flexible.
On a positive note, they carry more brands than any of the smaller shops. Some of the speakers they carry are
B&W
MLs
DynaAudio
Thiels
etc

LA Audio Video is a high end video and audio dealer in Los Angeles (duh) so dont expect to find your cheap brands like dynex, vizio, etc… and for all of you non audiophiles, bose is not quality. the owners are brothers so you will most likely run into either one or both. You can feel free to tell them all the components you want them to setup for a private room and sound/​visual test to see if everything you would like will compliment one another. The store front isn’t super huge, but they do carry a lot more in their storage wherehouse right in the back. If you do not see what you want be sure to ask them and they just might carry it in the back. I’ve gotten a few freebies here and there such as cables and the like, but then again I would expect it if spending 10’s of thousands of dollars; its the least you can do. It might be a hassle, but try and bargain the best deal from them as you can… markup on electronic equipment is huge and you dont really have to pay as much as you think. They will also order something for you if they do not have the item in question in stock. They have 3 main rooms, one with speakers, and the other two with televisions. They carry a wide variety of cables, cords, a few misc items and dvd’s. They even have a little lcd in the bathroom for you to enjoy.