Best Home Cinema Installation Cambridge Near Me

Subhajit Naha: I visit Audiolab every-time I am in Boston.I trust Mike.Its very hard to find people/places like him/these nowadays !

Zack Martin: I tried calling about a repair a number of times multiple days in a row without any answer. I then decided to drive to talk in person as it didn’t seem like they took calls. When I arrived there was a sign that said “Back in 5 Minutes” I waited 25 minutes with no one in sight. These people make it really hard to get help

E Hazen: Brought my 1970s Dual belt drive turntable for repair. Quick job, works perfectly now. Quite inexpensive.Also had a stylus in stock for my Grado cartridge.Quick update: as of 4/2021 the turntable is still working perfectly.I'll be back.

Ezra Furman: FYI this place is currently closed, has been for about a month according to the record store clerks next door. They expect it to reopen but they don’t know when, they said the owner is ill.

M. Mazz: Audio Lab is an institution and should be protected at all costs. It’s one of the last thing left that once made Harvard sq, Harvard sq. Mike has been working there forever and he’s the best.

X “Y” Z: Had a good time having two awesome amplifiers repaired here. The man was nice, the service was much quicker than I expected, and the items are well repaired. I haven't had many repairs done but the prices seem middle-of-the-road. A repair for an expensive piece can be well worth it, older technology may cost more than it is worth to sell.

Falk Uebernickel: What a waste of time going to this shop. I believe it had it's best times 15 years ago. The shop has almost no new products. The owner is not up to date.

John Ryan: Been in there to buy or service stereo equipment maybe a dozen times in 35 years, leaving my audio heart in their hands. Michael is a great guy and very low key. Hope he's there another 35!

T C: Old school spot but great selection and knowledgeable staff.

Milton Wuthers: Have to concur with previous negative reviews. Called up and owner was quite rude - actually cursed on the phone! Insisted I should pay for a complete overhaul on my table ($150). Claimed it would be restored to factory condition. Should have known then there would be issues, but I brought in my turntable. After picking it up, was surprised to find that basic functions were jammed. Had to bring it back multiple times before issues were fixed. Got the very strong sense the mechanic(s) either didn't know how to fix basic issues or didn't take pride in doing the job correctly. Was a big disappointment for me after reading many good reviews on online forums.

victor jaramillo: I called the store and Mike answered. I asked him if he had a cartridge with stylus for 100 bucks or less and he recommended one that would fit my turntable. Nice guy in person once I went in to buy it. He told me about downloadable protractors and so I did, and the cartridge sounds amazing after I installed it. Great experience. Will make this my go to place for my turntable equipment. Thanks Mike.

Boomtown: My Carver receiver was given to them with a rebuild “kit”, they replaced many components with the upgraded stuff, better than new, thanks!

Sam Glannon: It's a classic Harvard Square institution of the sort which have been diminishing in the past couple decades, and there's a reason for that - Audio Lab has been there for ages, and deserves it's high reputation in the analog audio world of Boston. You won't find anyone more knowledgeable or experienced than these folks. These are the true experts you should consult for serious questions on the subject. They run the gamut, selling both new and used equipment from high end to low end and also repairing all of the above on site as well. I strongly recommend this place, and indeed have been recommended it by a lot of local record store owners and the like. You won't do better in the Cambridge area especially for repairs. This is the place.

Peter Salem: Cool location for audiophiles, as well as passerbys to browse

Harish: A great place where audiophiles and retro-tech enthusiasts can feel at home. Newbies are very welcome too. Just go, you won't regret it.

Samuel Cook: Brought in a turn table and the guy knew all about it. It was a simple fix and he had me out the door in 15 minutes for $12.

André Stephano: Just want to thanks the seller that indicated me the Ath m50x after I told him that I doesn't like the Sennheiser 558. I'm totally in love with this pair.

Marshall Zingg: Went in looking for a pair of Bluetooth over ear headphones. Worked with my budget and ended up getting a great pair of headphones after trying out several different brands. Still extremely satisfied with my purchase 1 month later and will return for my next pair.

Chris Fanning: This place is the WORST. The owner is rude and talks down to customers who he does not think can afford or appreciate the products.

Nicholas Cummings: This hole in the wall sound store introduced me to my first Sennheiser headphones once upon a time back in high school, competitive prices, knowledgeable help

Joshua Meyers: This store is one in a million. Darius is one of the most trustworthy and well-informed owners I’ve ever met. He knows his products so well, stands behind his work, and never over-sells. Grateful that this place exists!

Francisco Amado: I. LOVE. THIS. PLACE. Do yourself a favor - you can spend countless hours going to CNET, Wirecutter, WhatHiFi, Wired, AudioScienceReview, etc or you can talk to Dariusz. Read some of the negative reviews and that's simply not been my experience - he's not a "mansplainer" (he's an audio enthusiast who will share his opinion) and he's not a closet racist (I am black, I am super sensitive to establishments where I do not feel welcome and Dariusz has been anything but). Dariusz is knowledgeable, took his time to research my equipment and offered suggestions on how to change settings to improve it, and has actually talked me out of spending more money than I need to. Q Audio is now my go to place for audio equipment!!!

Troy L: I bought an used pre-amp from Q-Audio. Glad that Dariusz was able to ship the item from Cambridge. MA to L.A./Socal. Communications and transaction were smooth and quick. Packaging and shipping was A+. The preamp arrived as good as described from Q-Audio website. Looking forward to do business again with Q-Audio in the future!

Tao Zhang: I wasn't very sure initially when I walked in the first time for a Rotel repair. But the service turned out great! My tuner works even better now than before it broke! I really enjoy working with and supporting local business.

Ethan Zhou: Overall I highly recommend this place for speaker system! I went to this place for audio system. Even though the place don't have enough headphone amps for me to try, the owner gave me couple good suggestions on how I should be building my system.Since there's not many people in the store, the owner let me audition speakers comfortably for almost 2 hours using my favorite music (as long as you can find it on Tidal). I can even try speakers that's way out of my budget. While I am auditioning the speakers, the owner was happy sharing his opinions and answering various questions that I came across. (This is a much better experience compared to Magnolia listening room in bestbuy, where I can only play a couple minutes of music of their choice to me, and will immediately pressure me into buying their product).However, this place can be busy at time, so if you need more time and help on speaker systems, it will be better to find a less busy time to visit, so the owner (who is knowledgeable and helpful) can better assist you.

Caio Fernandes: Shop owner was super helpful, easy to talk to, and informative; would come back again!

Al Grimason: Outstanding service. Darius helped me thru my Anthem AVR selection and I could not be happier. I highly recommend Q Audio.

Seth Porter: I stopped by Q Audio on Friday afternoon to check out some headphones they had in stock. The salesman was very knowledgeable regarding the Grado models and gave me a tailored recommendation based on my previous experience with a pair of SR 225e.I'd highly recommend this store to any Bostonian serious about high end audio products.

EG M: Super quality audio, and thoughtful service. Give yourself plenty of time when you come here because there is so much to learn about and so many options to try out!

Ryan Wong: Really helpful and passionate owner, it was a true pleasure being able to demo a speaker setup.

Tim Mayer: Demitriusz is highly knowledgeable and passionate about high fidelity gear, both vintage and new. He did a great job bringing my 1960s vintage Thorens turntable back to life, and it sounds better than ever! He's considerate and easy to work with. Highly recommend!!

Peyton Buteau: Repaired a damaged 3.5mm jack on my headphones cheaply and quickly. Great service!

Billy Sofis: Guy knows his stuff, fixed my expensive turntable in a couple days at a very reasonable price

Gerald O: Q Audio is one of my favorite audio stores.Great service from Darius - very knowledgeable, patient and spot-on with his recommendations. Well appointed store, comfortable place to audition equipment. I ended up buying a Musical Fidelity M3si stereo amplifier, Bluesound Node 2i streamer and Kimber cables - sound great with the my Bowers and Wilkins 603 speakers - more than enough power, clean, detailed couldn't be happier! Much thanks Darius!I had only recently realized that I bought an NAD AV Receiver and Grado headphones about 20 hrs ago from Q Audio and very glad that I decided to visit when I was in Boston.

Roy Adams: Only place to get my Reciever repaired,thanx for being helpful

Ralph McClain: From the initial contact over the phone to loading up my new equipment, I was left to make my own decisions while Dariusz was readily available to answer questions and offer advice without a sense of trying to steer me one way or another. Simply put, Q Audio will be the first place I go when considering new stereo equipment.

bornagain bornagain: I have been building a new home theater for about 3 years and have finally finished. I started out getting a bunch of old speakers on Ebay and Craigslist. I am a big ADS speaker fan. I went through several different models and settled on the L1290/2s. I got two pairs and built a center channel cabinet and purchased new drivers and a crossover from Rich So. I got fed up with the AV receiver that I was using to drive them, it had too little power. I had an old stereo amp a Nikko Alpha 440 and got an idea that I could buy more of them off of Ebay or Craigslist and then put together an all seperate theater with alot more power. I contacted Dariusz and asked him if he could rebuild these amps and he told me he worked on them for years and it would be no problem. After several bad purchases I finally got one he could repair. I got all my money back from Ebay on the amps that were unrepairable , and decided to purchase a new 5 channel amp that was both powerful and had high current capabilities, and a new preamp as well so I could upgrade to Dolby Atmos. The preamp I got from Dariusz was an Anthem AV60. I was going to match that with a Parasound amp and at the last minute Dariusz got a hold of an Anthem P5 used. I asked him to hold on to it for me and without a deposit he held it for me. I have been into stereo gear since the late 60s and always could only afford mid fi gear. I have read all the magazines so I do know a little bit more than the average consumer. The rebuilds of the old Nikko amps was flawless. Dariusz even swapped all the speaker terminals on one amp so they would all be the same even without me asking. He is very busy and it was extra work so I didn't ask him to do all 4 but he did it anyway and I was very happy. I watched him teach customers while I was waiting, I watched him repair minor issues on gear that people carried in right on the spot. One turntable got fixed just for the price of the parts. The sound of my new theater now is incredible, I have all the power my speakers need and then some. He did get a little flustered after bringing him one junky amp after another but never told me he couldn't help. I have finally got the theater of my dreams, awesome power, clarity, dead quiet signal to noise, I am hearing all kinds of new music on my recordings and movies. If you love music, and movies with surround sound you really should let Dariusz help you get the right gear. I feel so fortunate that I found him to help me put together an incredible system. Highly recommended.

Tomas Svitil: Dariusz is the man! He is very professional, responsible, and responsive. He sets the right expectations, doesn't overpromise, and he delivers on what he does promise. I had a power amp that was going into safety mode constantly. When Dariusz was ready to take on the work, he let me know, and then fixed it in 2 days. His prices are very reasonable, he does not upsell or overcharge, he does what needs to get done to fix the issue. He is very passionate about his work and it shows. If you have the time, you can spend hours talking with him about audio and come out much smarter for it.

Melissa Diblasio: Too busy to help out! Told to call somewhere else.

Ed: Dariusz is the phono-whisperer.Super friendly and very reasonably priced for the quality of service and product delivered.He quickly and expertly installed and calibrated an Ortofon Blue cartridge on my Rega P2. It sounds night and day better than the cartridge that was on there. Skip amazon and support a local business. You will be glad you did.

Marshall Chadbourne: Perfect place to meet hi-fi needs! Was given a very personalized introduction into a wide array of gear, and was able to listen to some favorite tracks of mine like I've never heard them before. Seriously a must visit if you're into hi-end audio, or are interested in exploring.

Usana Pavidapha: Blink High End is super perfect for those who love high performance audio products. I know everyone does. Tim (the owner) and his team are the gold standard in terms of their professionalism and excellence services. They were taking their time to explain the best fit product for me. I definitely recommend this store.

G&G Living: I had a wonderful listening experience at Blink High End. I was seeking to upgrade my 5.1 system. I very much wanted to hear the Perlisten R5t speakers before making a decision. Blink High End facilitated acquiring that model for a demonstration.My appointment started with a tour of Blink High End. The R5t speakers were deployed for the demonstration prior to my arrival. I was given a seat in the sweet spot and a tablet running Qobuz. With Tim Lukas and staff seated around the room I listened to a variety of my chosen tracks.During the couple of hours I was there we discussed the music, logistics of acquiring speakers, Tim contacted Perlisten about questions I had, and the speakers were brought closer together to better reflect how they would be in my home. Finishing up this congenial session we talked models and pricing.I left the session feeling quite pleased with the experience and committed to make a decision in a couple of days. I returned a few days later to place a deposit on Perlisten 5.1 system. When equipment was available a delivery was scheduled. Tim and a staff member brought it to my home. The towers were installed, positioned, and listened to for about an hour.I had to make other changes to install the center and surround speakers. That was completed and I am thrilled with the purchase. Blink High End was bit out of the way for me. I'm happy to say it was one of my more memorial audio purchasing experiences and well worth going a bit out of the way. Tim and company are professional and will work with you making Blink High End easy for me to recommend.

Ken Plourde: Blink High End helped me complete my dedicated 2.1 setup by installing a Perlisten subwoofer to compliment my Perlisten monitors. During my initial conversation with Tim, he asked many questions about my room, my electronics, my musical tastes, etc. to better understand my situation. I provided pictures and a room layout which gave him the background he needed.We discussed the various subwoofer options and once the decision was made, the order process was seamless and I was kept notified of the progress via texts and emails. I intended to drive to their studio and pick it up when it arrived, but Tim said the installation was included, so I happily agreed.Tim and Veronica provided outstanding in-person service by delivering, installing, and setting up the subwoofer until it properly blended with the monitors. They spent nearly two hours with me fine tuning everything using multiple music selections so everything sounded perfect regardless of the volume setting. They both provided excellent advice throughout the process. The best part was Tim and Veronica are two of the nicest people you’ll ever meet in this business. We talked about music, hobbies, vacations, etc. They took genuine interest in me and my wife during their visit and that made the whole experience well worth it.

Vipul: Phenomenal speakers and service. One visit and you will never hear audio the same again!

Meyyz studio: If you are into high end audio and if you are in Massachusetts, blink high end is a must visit! Tim and Veronica are top notch. Their goal is to truly help you take your audiophile setup to the next level. Tim will not recommend something that will not benefit your setup and he will give you his honest opinion and feedback. He has a “good ear” for great sound and all the products that he carries are a reflection of that.

Anand: had the most awesome experience in the Blink studios. If you are a fan of music, as I am sure you are if you came to read about this store, you will love the ambience of the place. I have years of experience listening to concert classical music and am also trained to some extent classically and was shopping for my first high end audio system. I was able to quickly book an appointment with Veronica on the phone the same day I called.I was welcomed to the beautiful studio in camridge, with a grand piano, which is played by the owner Tim. He has versatile knowledge ranging from jazz and classical piano to music theory and music production, making me really trust his knowledge of speakers and sound.I was quickly shown the speakers that will fit the budget range and there was no pressure at all while I was listening to the music I wanted to hear. I was of course blown away by the quality of sound and was able to decide very quickly on the purchase.I revisited the next day and made the purchase decision. Delvery was made the day after. Tim himself brought the system in his car amd helped setup and layout, giving detailed advice on how I could improve the sound.What I really liked about the experience was that they did not judge me based on how much money I was willing to shell out and treated me very well. All this is besides the great quality of the products they have.This will hopefully establish a long term relationship with the store as they have a huge number of high end audio products including pre amps, DACs and CD players.Thank you Tim and Veronica... I will surely visit again!

Sam Luxembourg: Great products and great service. Tim the owner is an expert in music production and gave me suggestions on the best combination of speaker, amplifier, and streamer which plays amazing music. Veronica spent over 10 hours with me comparing different devices and helped me find the combination I like the most. They don't try to sell me the most expensive ones but the most reasonable set based on my listening habit and my budget. Recommend for music enthusiastic in MA to visit this lovely store in Cambridge.

J Mercer: Premium high fidelity equipment and stellar service (appointment only...even better)

Chi Gao: The purchasing experience is exceptional. Tim and Veronica is incredibly helpful. And their expertise and professionalism is so valuable that I am sure all customers would greatly appreciate it. Highly recommended it.

William Bailey: I bought a pair of Raidho D3's, and they are spectacular. I followed-up with a Ansuz Mainz8 and AC cable. Everything working very nicely indeed. Great service and a fine selection of equipment - all chosen for their quality. Marvelous demo room and 1-to-1 service. Highly recommended. (I posted this also on Yelp .. I am not a 'bot).

Jerry Schlater: I have been purchasing audio equipment from Blink for 15 years. The firm is completely honest and professional. Tim is an accomplished classical pianist, voice teacher and tonmeister (recording engineer). You will find no one more knowledgeable about high end audio.

David Pilgrim: I just bought a new stereo system here. I am very pleased. The quality of the sound is so much better than most places I've been. Tim is incredibly helpful. The system let's the music come through. i focus on the instruments and the voices and smile again and again. this is the place for music.

James Evans: I bought a pair of Raidho D2 speakers earlier this year after listening to them at Blink High End. I have been interested in audio for several decades and moved into higher end audio equipment about ten years ago. The Raidho D2s were an upgrade from the Wilson Benesh Arcs that I had been listening to for a number of years in a home theater set up that also doubles for audiophile stereo listening. I am driving the Raidhos with Audionet amplification with Nordost speaker cables and interconnects. While I was very pleased with my speakers at the time, the Raidhos presented a new level of realism that I had not heard before and that I found compelling enough to upgrade to the Raidhos.I have come to think of the Raidho D2s as being like sonic microscopes. I was hearing things on old recordings that I had not heard before after years/decades of listening. I recall Tim at Blink saying that the sound at his studio had degraded for a week or two after having new electrical power wiring installed. I thought that this was hard to believe, but following recommendations of a number of audio specialists, I invested $150 in having an electrician run a dedicated power line from my circuit breaker box to my living room dedicated to my audio equipment. I was quite surprised to be able to clearly hear this change immediately. Fortunately, the sound quality returned rather quickly over a week or two.I was highly skeptical about being able to hear noticeable differences in wires (speaker, interconnects and even power cables), but hearing is believing. I even did an A/B comparison with a Berklee student who has helped me set up recording studio software in my living room (some friends think this audio interest is a little over the top) and HE could hear the difference in high end power cables. There are things on your familial recordings that are probably waiting for you to discover.Bottom line, if you are interested in really listening to music with a sense of “being there”, you may want to give Blink High End a call and arrange to take a listen for yourself. A word of warning, if like me, you will find yourself starting to notice that wires/cables matter, that speaker placement matters, where you sit in the room matters, and the quality of the source materials matter. Sometimes, you just need a sonic microscope to hear them.

Daniel Secula: Blink High End, located in Cambridge, MA, is one of the most prestigious and reputable audio salons in the United States. They carry ultra high-end audio and video equipment for the very discerning.I recently purchased their exceptionally sounding Raidho C4.1 audio speakers. As a reviewer/contributor for The Stereo Times on-line high-end audio magazine, I had been evaluating the best new audio speaker products available during the past two years to meet my personal audio system needs. After meeting Tim Lukas, the owner of Blink High End, and auditioning the top of the line Raidho C4.1s I decided to purchase these incredible sounding speakers. Having decades of experience in dealing with many audio manufacturers, products and businessmen, I quickly came to realize he was the “real deal” with regards to how professionally he addressed customer satisfaction via his knowledge and passion for the reproduction of realistic musical sound.Tim and his professional staff made the acquisition of my new speakers seamless and painless. The entire Blink High End staff’s attention to detail was beyond any previous experience I have had to date. Swapping out my old speakers for the new ones had many logistical moving parts that Tim dealt with in an efficient and timely manner. I was left with simply enjoying the treasures in my music collection.Anyone interested in investigating extraordinarily high quality music playback equipment should call Blink High End and make an appointment for an audition.I'm glad I did.Dan SeculaThe Stereo Times