Harmony Audio Video

I bought a high end, complete home theatre and audio solution from Frank at Harmony. It turns out that he sold me a Rotel system that was in the process of being discontinued and multi-​system controllers that did not work. I have had nothing but problems with the system he sold me. I have called Frank multiple times to seek assistance finding a repair person to come out and he always says the same thing, «installers are in demand, I will add you to the list etc.» and then he never calls and never helps. I have always had to find independent repair person, not what I would expect for the price and quality of the system that was purchased. Frank provides terrible service. In short, this is the last place I would buy a high end A/​V system.

I’ve been into Harmony a few times over the years, and have come to the conclusion that they can be really nice IF they think you’re not there to waste their time, and you speak a little High End Audio. If they think you might be a Consumer Electronics grade type, they can come off anywhere from aloof to downright rude and dismissive. Frank knows his stuff, but runs the place a bit like a club for the type of folks who feel at home discussing Tube Socks for their $ 4000.00 two channel Tube Amp.

Time for an upgrade on my AV receiver. Frank took the time to explain my options which included my need to hook up a turntable. My new Yamaha Aventage receiver is awesome!

I got what I needed there, but was very disappointed when the price was significantly higher than I’d been given to understand. I needed some banana cables with bare wire at the other end to connect my receiver and speakers to our in-​home sound system. $ 1.50 per foot was what I was quoted for the cable. So, for eight feet of cable, I was anticipating a bill of $ 12, plus tax. I wasn’t told about the price of the banana plugs, another $ 28. I wasn’t told about the cost of the labor to assemble the cables, which was another $ 25. Total, including tax: $ 68.50. From his perspective he wasn’t charging me even the «minimum labor charge,» and I shouldn’t expect people to work for free. That’s fair — I don’t expect people to work for free, but this transaction was my only one with this business, and I do expect people to be upfront about what they’re charging, particularly to new customers who would have no way of anticipating the cost of parts or labor in advance.

Frank did an amazing job for me. I had a bad cable and he diagnosed and fixed the problem very quickly. I really like Harmony because they have really deep product knowledge. Also, they care about the product. I have had many bad product experiences from other places, but I have always felt that Frank is pro-​customer. I had bought my origninal gear from him and will buy next set of speakers from him as well.

Frank is the man! I had a delicate repair/​replace job on my Diamond tweeter on my B&W 803s. I called around the Bay Area, and no one knew their stuff like Frank. He is the only one I believed I could trust with a delicate and expensive job — and boy was I right.
He did an amazing job repairing the tweeter. He even polished the cabinet for me and gave me some extra polish for my other speaker. Repair was well within the time he promised and very reasonably priced.
Frank is also very honest. He gave me sound advice on my setup and didn’t try up sell me on stuff I did not need. He is genuine and his craft is his passion — that’s all you can ask for.
He has a great little shop with a variety of gear and I know he will be my first stop next time I’m looking to add /​upgrade my system.
Yes, he can be very busy. But he has a lot going on — and that’s not a bad thing.
Trust in Frank and you’ll be in good hands.
This is coming from an audiophile that has been met nearly every other high end dealer in the SF area. Frank is one of the best.

You can shop at all the big box retailers you want and probably get a cheaper price, but you won’t get the expertise of Frank or his employees. I have been buying exclusively from Frank for years and while you may not appreciate the «Nordstrom» level of service in the end you get what you pay for. Frank has always been extremely professional and understanding of my lay person’s understanding of all the «techno stuff» I should know but am too lazy to pursue. Frank takes that worry out of shopping for components that you want not some guy at Best Buys has to sell to keep his job. My experience with Frank is that he tailors his advice to me which I found comforting and reassuring. Yes there will always be some techno nerd wanting to blow wind and yes Frank sometimes gets busy. But the correct buying decision goes a long way when you compare the service Harmony provides. Also subscribe to his newsletter they have some fabulous deals on items. I hope you establish a relationship with Harmony that I have. Couldn’t be more pleased.

After calling around many high end audio stores to attempt to have a very delicate repair made on a set of B&W speakers, Frank at Harmony was the only dealer willing to try.
He really knows his stuff and did a great job at a very reasonable price. Turn time was quick, too.
Even though I’m all set on purchasing for now, I also noticed some really good deals on some nice equipment.
I wouldn’t hesitate to visit Harmony again.

Did not have a great experience this time (tv i purchased from Frank from 8 yrs ago still good but wanted to go larger)
the new tv was delivered but Tv screen was too glassy and could not temper the bright light from picture window. They took back tv — Had a little disagreement about full refund but Frank made it right and offered to research other TV’s and hopefully find one with more of a matte screen to cut the glare even if it impacts some picture quality — more important to cut glare. It was an unpleasant waste if everyone’s time but keeping optimistic that we will find a solution.

Went back to Harmony to check out some top grade Totem speakers to add to a room in my house. Wow — what awesome sound! Had to be a little patient as there were other customers but I expect that at better equipment stores that give you all the time you need when it is your turn. It remind me of the European way of dealing with people — you will not be rushed in and out and may have to wait, but you get undivided attention and top notch customer service when it is your turn.

I’ve never felt so unwelcome walking into a store. Too bad. I was in the market for a high end receiver. I’ll never make that mistake again.

Harmony contacted me and they were able to procure the missing end caps to my speaker stands. They did a great job of following up on my query for the missing parts. The paperwork was lost in the shuffle. Kudos to Harmony for following up and pulling through.

A couple of months ago, I brought two broken turntables into Harmony Audio to be fixed. From the look of things, the place seemed very legitimate and after talking with the person at the front of the store it was very apparent he knew what he was talking about. I left feeling very confident that the staff there would have my turntables up and running. Unfortunately, I WAS COMPLETELY WRONG! Harmony Audio kept my turntables THREE (3) weeks past the estimated date of completion. I called multiple times to check and see what was going on but I was never given any answers to any of my questions. The person on the phone just kept telling me that they’ll check on it and «someone will call you back.» Guess what … I never even got a call back from these guys. Eventually I got fed up and had to go into the store and check on my turntables. The worst part is when I went into the store to find out what was going on, they hadn’t even looked at my turntables yet and couldn’t tell me why they weren’t working properly. Keep in mind, this all occurred THREE WEEKS after the original TWO WEEK time-​line. So, basically, Harmony Audio had my turntables for a total of FIVE weeks and didn’t even take a look at them.
To be fair, the store looks very nice and the guys seem to know what they are talking about. However, I cannot in good conscience recommend this store to anyone because their customer service is sub-​par and frankly they never fixed my turntables.

Probably… if not THEEEE worst place to ask a question or even get a hello. I called and the very nice gentleman (sarcasm) greets with «what do you want, I am vvvvvveeeerrrryyyy busy» Well, I hope you are sooooooooo busy that people do not EVER go to your store.
I am generally pretty nice about reviews and would never wish anything more than my best wishes but I hope they close down and the person realizes being a snob is not a good thing.

I went in here to ask some questions about sound cards. like are there any that are within audiophile range etc… Guy was a total audio snob and had some condescending remark about me needing to go to a «computer» store. with a snicker.
After that I’d go anywhere but here… not to mention the prices are as steep as they get

After goggling high-​end home stereo, I compiled a list of places for us to visit. It just so happened that I decided to go to Harmony Audio Video on West Portal in San Francisco and boy did I feel lucky, we had the best sales person named Ian, he knows his stuff.
He’s smart, confident in his knowledge, very patient, and not pushy. He also happens to work as a sound engineer so he really knew his equipment. It was wonderful for my husband to have someone who could answer his many questions and get answers that were knowledge based and not just some sales guy answering your questions toward a sale.
We ended up going home with Totem speakers that gave the clarity we were looking for and that gave enough sound for our loft space and good bass. We also bought the Rotel CD player, power amp and pre-​amp.
Even though we ended up paying more than we had in mind, we walked out of there with a smile, I guess we knew we were getting good equipment and this is a system we plan on having around for a long time.

I have been meaning to write a review about Harmony for quite a while. Overall, I am quite pleased with my experience at Harmony. It is a shop for people that truly care about how the music sounds, not just about how many «watts» or how many features something has. I have dealt with both Frank and his sales associates, especially Bill, and have been treated well by all of them.
Things I especially like about them:
1. There is no pressure to buy anything. They are there to direct you based upon what is important to you. They then let you listen and decide for yourself. They will spend as much time with you as you need. If you need a lot of attention, then set an appointment. They want to focus on the person they are working with at the time. This may mean that if you are a walk-​in, then you will have to wait your turn. When it is your turn, then they will spend all the time with you that you require. THis is not like Best Buy where you get 5 – 10 mins., then they are off to the next customer.
2. They are extremely knowledgeable. I walked in with some idea of what I wanted to spend, and they took the time to find out what was important to me. After that, they showed me products in my range, above it and below it. Walked me through what each offered and then, let me decide. When I told them that I was going to listen to other brands at other stores, they invited me back to listen with them after that. Again, without any pressure. They even took some time with me to tell me what they liked about the other equipment at the other locations, and the differences with what they offer, without any noticeable bias!
3. Excellent service. They spent time working with me to find the right balance of products for my needs and desires. I did not feel like I was being sold snake oil at any time. They actually talked me down in spending a few times for certain products where they felt the incremental cost would not net me any value. Truly surprising!
4. In home set-​up. This may cost you a bit more, but this is worth it if you are spending some money at this store. They spent a significant amount of time to get my system to sound as good as it could at my home, within the constraints of the space. It made an enormous difference.
5. They care about how the music sounds. They do not sell you on specs, or name brands, etc. They just want you to appreciate how good your music, or your move experience, sounds!
6. After sale service. I had to have one of my speakers repaired after a repairman from another company damaged it by backing into it and shattering my tweeter. They were willing to come out and fix it (for a fee), or show me how to do it on my own for no charge.
I have really enjoyed my experience with Frank and his staff. I recommend them without reservation.

I ended up at Harmony to buy a new reciever and pair of speakers after a bad experience with an online retailer. I should have come here in the first place as these guys are great.
Customer service was particularly top-​notch. I usually hate electronics stores, as I’ve had too many run-​ins with pushy salesmen who don’t know much more about the product they’re selling than the customers they’re trying to hawk it to (cough cough Best Buy). Happy to report the service here was extremely helpful and informative, even for a home-​audio novice like myself.
Price was the other major plus. One of my principal reservations with buying equipment in person was because I’d assumed I could get the stuff cheaper online. Before geting anything here I looked up web prices as a point of comparison and found Harmony’s pegging most prices at a dollar less than what Amazon’s asking. Add in zero shipping costs, multi-​year service warranties and a good trade-​in policy for upgrades and you’re looking at a real deal.

I took a high end cassette deck in to have it repaired. When I got it back «fixed» it was actually worse. So I took it in again. And again. And again. Every time was the same problem. This went back and forth for about a year and half (it would take them months to «repair» it, and then only after calling several times.) It still has the same problem $ 260 later. I suspect it just sat on their repair shelf until I called them enough times, and then they just returned it «fixed.» At this point it’s not worth my time and hassle.
Also, a friend of mine bought a brand new amp from them. I remember he was very unsatisfied with the quality and consequent follow up.

This place is for the audio enthusiast.
I’ve bought a Sumiko Blue Point phono cartridge and Denon turntable from them.
I have been very satisfied with my purchase.
Their staff is very knowledgeable and their repair technician is honest and wont rip you off.
A friend of mine bought a used turntable at a yard sale and took it in to Harmony to have the stylus looked at, tonearm calibrated and possibly buy a new cartridge.
They could have easily sold him a new $ 100+ cartridge but they were honest and saw that the existing cartridge was in near mint condition and didn’t need to be replaced, nor calibrated. My friend didn’t spend a penny.
That is the kind of place I like to do business with.
Honesty is the best policy.