Solutions!

One of the best places to have your gear repaired. I have used Solutions for years and they have an impecable respect and integrity. Very easy to deal with and repairs are done timely and with pride.

I have always taken my speakers for repairs to this place. Stephon is a genius. He may not be the most social person but he knows his stuff! I recently took him a set of B&W speakers for a tweeter repair that the maid dented when dusting and he not only restored the speaker but he did something I don’t fully understand to the wiring and circuitry and the sound stage is beyond amazing. I feel like I just got a new set of speakers and all my old music is like Im hearing it for the first time. Don’t go here if you want a cheap fix. If you love music and you love your speakers this is the place to go.

This experience was a travesty. They claim to be a a Yamaha service facility, and I need my M7CL-​48 repaired. The fact that I called in, and had the guy tell me I should just do it myself, just left a terrible taste in my mouth. I AM TRYING TO GIVE YOU WORK! And just a note to this company, when someone is looking to have something repaired, it probably means they don’t have the means to do it themselves, or in this case rather, I don’t have the time to spend on it. Don’t waste your time. Go somewhere that really wants your business, not a place that relies on an iconic mural to keep people coming back.

Let’s see, you live in Hollywood, are in the entertainment business, and can’t take someone who is a little different than you are and refreshingly oddball?! Come on, give the guy a break — he does good work and charges what he is worth — you get what you pay for, and in the case of this store, you get a lot of what you didn’t pay for, namely a lot of really off-​the wall-​conversation that you won’t (can’t) forget. What’s wrong with that?

Been meaning to write this review for a while but haven’t gotten around to it due to always staying busy –thanks to these guys. There are just some things the general population will never understand.
I’ve been working with solutions for over 10 years. I owe a lot of the success of myself as a DJ and my company to Solutions.
Let me first explain why there are many bad reviews on here. People go here expecting a Guitar Center kiss-​ass customer sales rep and a neat shop with all the biggest brand gear.
No, this is not them. But if you know anything about quality in life, you do not get quality from big brand name shops. These guys are so far above all those standards that people don’t understand. When you want the best dinner, you don’t go to a Red Lobster or an AppleBees. When you want the best cocktail, you don’t go to a Dave & Busters or The Standard. No, you seek out that whole in the wall place no one knows about, where the owners have spent their entire life perfecting their craft rather than selling themselves to the sheep-​like public. They know the true seekers of quality will find them. Mr. Lew walks that fine line between borderline insane and borderline genius. That’s how you know its the best. If you don’t want to listen to his stories about Chinese nipples, you don’t have to. I think they’re entertaining, and I happen to be actually open minded enough to understand the analogy myself.
I first went to these guys when I needed to borrow some gear for a gig, a buddy of mine from highschool’s dad owned the place. I’ve never looked back since. Their sound is far superior to industry standards, and it makes a huge difference on my dancefloor.
Here’s an example through results:
I once was DJing an event in a location where several other events were going on that night. I did do anything out of the ordinary, just played the regular Top40 jams. As I am playing one of the current radio hits, I step outside for a quick breather and I look at the other rooms. Next door, the DJ was playing the same exact song. I look at my dancefloor, and its entirely packed. Not a single person sitting. I look at the event next door, maybe one or two couples on the dancefloor. What’s the difference? Solutions.
Simple as that. My dancefloor remains packed, each and every time, almost regardless of what I play.
You want some crap mobile DJ system that leaves you with a headache and womanless after she realizes you’re talentless, go to Guitar Center. If you want everlasting quality, go here.
He even put some work in on my headphones (which I have had since I was 16 and will never change) and they sound 10x better than before. I sent my friend with his bass guitar amp, it changed the entire energy of his live show.
Try it out by renting some gear first if you’d like… and let the product speak for itself. Whatever special magic Mr. Lew does to customizing everything from the speaker down to the very last cable connection, it works.
As I said, I owe a lot of my success to them. Top quality sound, way above anything else I’ve heard, and I’ve been DJing for over 16 years now.
Listen to me now, believe me later on.
Cheers!
Thierry
HiFi5 Entertainment

I had a nightmare experience and paid way too much for it.
I brought in an antique 1960’s Motorola turntable and described to the owner the problems I was experiencing, how I thought it needed a new needle and repair the connections to one of the speakers. He says of course he’ll take care of it, give it a nice look over and polish it up.
When I returned to pick up the turntable, the needle wasn’t replaced — he told me they didn’t replace needle (which I discussed with him specifically when I brought it in and he never bothered to mention), the issue with the speakers was not fixed, he told me that aspect was unfixable, and he told me that he went in and cleaned the heads (or knobs or something like that) which was supposed to Improve the control over the sound, the bass and treble — but originally there was no problem with this, and he actually made the knobs work much less effectively. And he wanted to charge me $ 150 for all of this!!!
When I pointed out to him that none of the things I brought this in for were fixed, he became incredibly defensive and demanded I pay him the full amount. I told him that was unreasonable, and said I’d pay him something for his time and whatever effort he put into doing what he did, but not the whole amount. He was fuming and yelled at me in front of an other poor customer as I told him he must reduce the price. He said he would reduce it $ 3! Yes, $ 3!!! Absurd. Infuriating. Despite my anger and incredible disappointment, I paid the bs $ 147 for a vintage record player in worse condition than I brought it in and stormed out of this hack joint.
A horrible, extremely disappointing, infuriating, expensive experience. I tell everyone I know to steer clear of this place for repairs.
Sure this store is behind the famous Eliot Smith wall, but if Eliot came to this shop today I’m sure he’d write an angsty pissed off song about the fraud shop owner who screwed his customers and charged them an arm and a leg. I wonder what the last line to the song would be…

Do not take your gear here. DO NOT let this mentally ill idiot ‘modify’ your speakers or headphones. He’s one of the many scam artists that seems to plague the audio world. Stay away.

Legendary shop with the legendary iconic Elliot Smith mural out front. Not only did I find some of the reviews here refuted by their expediency, the additional free wealth of knowledge one can gain by having a few conversations are priceless.

I started going here because of the Elliot smith memorial wall. Didn’t even know what the place was until I peeked my head in after photographing the wall. Great place for any audio video repairs! I took my do equipment and parents home audio system there to get fixed and they turned both around relatively quickly (about 4 days). I live in the area so it’s really convenient and the parking is easy. Would absolutely recommend this place! The reviews don’t do much for then sadly :(love the Elliot smith wall!

I brought in a completely busted record player that I bought off ebay. It was humming like crazy, the turn table turned in spurts, there was some weird screw sticking up… the whole thing was fucked. They took it for two weeks and then an extra two days. Stefan gave me a colorful speech each time I came in about how he mods the speakers to sound better than anything, which was charming but seemed a bit like hocus pocus.
The repair wound up being outside of my budget. I was not happy with the bill when I walked in to begrudgingly retrieve the record player. Then he put a record on and I was amazed at the sound.
I’m not a real audiophile, but it’s super satisfying to have a record player that sounds so amazing. I’ve never had a record player (or speakers, for that matter) that made the music sound so full and good. He totally did a babe ruth with the sound quality on this thing– as in: he said what was going to happen — I did not believe him– and then it happened. This is the real deal.
I never write reviews on this site, but had to do it because of all the maroons on here writing bad reviews and directing business away from these geniuses.
p. s. my thing was expensive because I knowingly bought a half broken machine with the thought of saving money– I don’t recommend that move, but I’m glad it introduced me to this place.

Hard up for something to do on a weekend afternoon? Here’s what you need to do. Find some cheap piece of music equipment you wouldn’t mind losing (old Discman, etc.), futz with it until it’s not working, then take it to Solutions and get the popcorn ready. The equipment you brought in is just for show, you’re really there for a completely LA experience. Imagine if The Dude from The Big Lebowski was an audiophile and opened up a repair store. Now wouldn’t you want that guy to talk your ear off and give you a tour of his massively cluttered shop?
Don’t read any of the other reviews here. Just treat this place like a living museum, and the lost Discman is your fee for entry.
Also, I’m surprised no one’s mentioned on here yet that the street-​facing wall of this place is the cover art from Elliott Smith’s Figure 8 album. The owner has a story about that, too!

I really really really wanted this business to be amazing. They have been a Silverlake staple for as I have been her, 20+ years and I am a huge fan of the small business. But I have had so many components repaired only to have them have the same problem a couple of months later.
For example, My stereo amp kept losing a channel, then it would re appear only to disappear again. I took it in and was told that it needed to be rebuilt, $ 165.00. Ok, but then i’ll have basically a new amp right? so I did this only to have the same problem when I got it back. After brining it in again they couldn’t find the problem, blew compressed air over it and sent me home. I’m kick myself every time I have to get up (like every 20 minutes) to wiggle the wires and jostle the thing to get the channel back.
They also re-​coned my speakers. I’m not really sure how this went because I can’t get my amp to work properly, They sound a bit buzzy but it’s hard to know with an amp that doesn’t work properly.
Anyway, they are sweet people but if you have another option for repair… take it

These guys are pretty terrible. I brought in an AR XA turntable with a bad motor to be repaired only to have it spend six months in limbo at their shop before finally taking it back unrepaired and having to pay $ 25 for the experience.
I got the same bizarre lectures about music and recording from the owner, and the same tour around the messy shop that other reviewers have mentioned none of which would have bothered me in the slightest if they had actually had any idea what they were doing.
After dropping the table off and not hearing anything for several months I I finally called up and was told that the motor was bad and that part was backordered or unavailable. I managed to find one easily on ebay and delivered it to solutions myself. Another month passed without word so I called up again only to find out that the new motor didnt fit the old pulley so it couldn’t be used but that they may have a motor that would work somewhere in their shop that they could sell me for $ 45. Not wanting to pay for yet another motor I managed to find the correct pulley on another turntable I had and delivered it to Solutions hoping that at last they might actually be able to get everything working. I was assured they would call me back the next day and let me know if it would work.
They didnt call.
I finally called them a few weeks later to be told that yes the pulley now fits but that the motor had the wrong wiring and couldn’t be used with my turntable. That, of course, would have ben good for them to have told me 6 weeks earlier when I had first brought the motor to them. And it was strange, because from my internet research I knew that this particular motor was installed on 90% of AR turntables made in the US and that the wiring diagram was easily available online. So I belatedly decided to just pick the thing up and see if I could put the motor in it myself.
When I arrived to pick up my turntable I noticed that it was missing the brass counterweight from the tonearm and asked the owner about it. After first trying to tell me that my turntable wasn’t made with a counterweight he then walked over to another customers turntable, pulled the counterweight off the tonearm and handed it to me. Not cool.
So I got the table home, turned it over on my kitchen counter, and after 30 minutes managed to get the motor installed and running with my leatherman. OK, the motor did run backwards… but after another twenty minutes and some trial and error it was working perfectly. These turntables aren’t electronically complicated devices, a handful of wires, a couple of capacitors, a switch, and a motor. I have no idea what I am doing but managed to sort this thing out in less than an hour with some help from the internet. How is it that Solutions couldn’t manage in six months? They quoted me $ 190 to install their motor, does that mean their labor rate is $ 150 an hour? They aren’t worth it.

I have been in the Los Angeles Pro Audio business since ’95 and I have taken specific repairs to this company for this entire time. While not every job has been perfect they have been good about getting the repairs done in a reasonable time frame for a reasonable price. This is not to say that they are perfect, and rarely I have had to take items back for repair because a problem was not properly isolated, but they have always agreed to take a second look at it until they fixed the problem. They have never screwed me.
For the critics of this company I think its important to understand you should hire this company for what they excel at, not necessarily what they say they will do. The are a great place to go for re-​coning or re-​voicing speakers and handling amplifier and home audio repairs. I would probably not bring in my über-​pricey vintage microphone or compressor because there are better guys in town for that. Ask them if they can handle something before assuming they can do it.
I wont get into the eccentricity of one of the tech’s there, while he does seem a bit off at first, once you get to know him you’ll realize he is very knowledgeable and is a great resource for certain information. This company fits an important niche in this town, if they didn’t I would not still be using them 20 years later.

I brought my turntable here to be repaired because my arm was stuck! I emailed for a quote and Stephon (the owner?) got back to me asap with a quote and a solution! Since I’m moving in 2 weeks he promised to get it back to me by the time I moved and he actually got it back to me the following day! When I dropped it off he promised to not only fix what was broken but to improve the sound quality better than what it was purchased at 5 years ago. HE CAME THROUGH on his promise! After going back and forth about paying for repairs or buying a new system I’m so glad I found Solutions! and paid for the repairs. Plus the added bonus of meeting the old hippie from Berkeley, Stephon, AND he even throws in a free cd which included Otis Redding, Jimi Hendrix, Van Morrison, the Beatles to name a few… AMAZING OUTCOME! AMAZING EXPERIENCE!

Simply put – if you have any other option for your repair, go with it. I’ve taken repairs to Solutions twice in the last 3 years, and both experiences were identically disappointing. Here’s what you will experience:
First, it’s metered street parking only. When you drop of your repair, they’ll tell you they can take a look. They won’t tell you about diagnosis fees. You’ll leave a phone number, but they will never call you (I was told «There was no machine.» It’s 2013. I have an iPhone. Think about it. Also worth mentioning that there is a notice taped the wall stating that abandoned repairs are forfeited to Solutions).
Next, you’ll call or travel to the store to check in on your phantom gear. You will be told that, for vague reasons, the cost of repair is exorbitant (my record player’s «bad wiring» cost $ 114).
Now, you must decide whether to have the repair done. If you do, there is no reasonable guess as to how long it will take. No exaggeration — my keyboard was in their shop for over 3 months with zero communication from them! If you choose not to have the repair done, pay the diagnosis fee and carry your now-​dusty equipment back to your car. (My speakers were stored on floor under other things. When the employee helping me couldn’t find them, I had to peek through the stacks – literally stacks – of music gear and point them out to her because they weren’t labeled, ticketed or anything!)
The shop, staff, and customer service give off all-​around bad vibes. My gut instinct is that there are some dishonest practices going on here! Avoid it!

Odds are, if you find yourself in Solutions, you’ve run out of simpler options. I showed up at their door with a 1960 Lenco ‘800’ turntable. The idler wheel was worn out and the RCA cable was shredded. Now you tell me – where else in Los Angeles could I go to get a custom idler for a vintage Swiss phonograph?
As a customer, the owners treated me with respect. As other reviewers have mentioned, there’s a strange energy hovering in the room, but they know their craft. Unfortunately, Solutions is neither quick nor inexpensive. Sum total, it took nearly three months and $ 300 to get my Lenco running again.
To give them some credit, I opted for the costliest repairs – a special order idler with period-​appropriate upgrades to the RCA and power cords. I had to ride them pretty hard, however, to get it done. Regardless of the ETA, always call first or prepare to be disappointed. If you’re lucky, they might leave a message on your phone.
If I could perform these repairs myself, I would. If I could have my audio equipment factory refurbished by lab-​coated technicians, I would. But in this case, I just wasn’t in the mood. For better or worse, I was in need of solutions…

I think this guy is a con artist. I will never come here again. You can read why below but that pretty much sums it up for me.
I’ve seldom felt my time and money so wasted. I paid $ 350 to have a high-​end audiophile amplifier recapped (foolishly thinking this was a fair price) to have it need a re-​service only several months later.
After I had the amp serviced I sold it on Audiogon (It’s like craigslist for exotic stereo gear). I became friends with the buyer after starting a correspondence with him over the sale. Much to my dismay the amp failed again and David (the gentleman that bought the amp) had to take it in to be re-​capped.
The idiots at Solutions only did a partial repair job!!!
I was so EMBARRASSED because I sold the amp stating that it had just been serviced and given a clean bill of health but because my new friend had to go through the trouble of getting it repaired himself.
I still have the sales receipt but because I didn’t have the amp there was nothing I could do about it.
Just avoid this guy and save yourself his stupid questions (how long did you abuse drugs for) about how tall is Brittany Spears, how tall is Mariah Carey… not joking! If you’ve called solutions you know what I mean

Hey look I’ve read all these other reviews and I got to say I disagree with those who call the proprietor of this business some kind of a «nut case».
Me, I’ve always said that Los Angeles is like a bowl of granola… What isn’t nuts is flakes.
That said give me a break, this guy is the new normal very nice and straight forward regarding his repairs and everything I’ve ever had repaired there was done properly and within a week.
Not many people in this city able to work on tube gear and come with as many years of experience as the people who work at Solutions
I’m a conversationist and love to talk with people and had no problem with this establishment just put some money in the parking meter and bring your gear knowing you’ll get value that in this day and age is hard to find in the city of L.A.

Big mistake. I’m just a regular person, no special equipment. Took my cd player to be repaired. He said it would be no problem to repair, then gave a strange, disjointed speech about why Asian people are bad drivers (something about when they were babies and car speakers are too far away?). Umm, okay. He then gave me a homemade cd of music that I think was supposed to tell me if my car speakers are any good. I called a few days later for update and he had no info for me yet, but more interested in whether I’d listened to the cd.
I took player in August 17 and I am writing this review on December 8. I have called at least monthly and gotten nothing but weird, very «unscientific» explanations for why it’s not repaired yet. (The parts he put in don’t like each other yet, etc.) I am going to pick it up today and take it somewhere else. While looking for another place, I discovered Solutions’ other Unilocal reviews. So wish I’d seen them before I went a whole summer through Thanksgiving without my cd player.