Definitive Audio

I had an excellent experience at Definitive Audio in Bellevue — this is the store to come if you are interested in audiophile and high end AV equipment or are just starting to learn about high end audio. The store has a range of products from affordable but better than Best Buy audio gear, to world class sports-​car priced audiophile brands. The staff is very knowledgeable, laid back and is not pushing sales. I have been able to spend several hours auditioning equipment here, and when I finally purchased several high grade components, I was able to get a great deal on my purchases. I worked with Mel and have received very respectful guidance, with a lot of follow ups and support going well beyond what would be my expectation of the call of duty here.

I just left the store. Didn’t seem particularly interested in helping us out. We’ve bought from them over the past few years. Way to treat former customers (with emphasis on former).
Ignored for the most part and when asked questions, we were essentially blown off and left to ourselves to look at tower speakers. Dude at the counter was more interested in sorting his cables then talk to the family that had questions about their current Paradigm towers and were thinking of walking out with Bower & Wilkin towers. We loitered on for a few minutes in hopes of someone else coming to help but gave up and left.
I don’t think any reasonable customer deserves this kind of treatment. I love local business and support them over other guys. But no longer for these guys. Will be looking for a new home theater dealer and sharing my experience with any and all.
And judging by other Unilocal reviews, we’re not alone in this experience.

Nope. Never will give them my business. Not willing to help. I’m sure they may reach out and ask to remedy the situation as a means for me to remove my negative review. No way. Don’t bother. People should know how you treat customers.
I purchased a Marantz from another retailer because I did not know that Definitive Audio existed. Had a problem with my top of the line receiver and Marantz corporate told me Definitive Audio was my local repair center.
I called in advance a few days before Definitive confirmed that they repaired Matantz receivers but usually for their customers who purchased from them. I told the gentleman that we were in the process of starting 4 major entertainment projects on our primary residence and he said bring it in. Seems like the right business move to fix a receiver and get 4 projects out of a client.
Well when I arrived nope immediately when walking in they sales guy took one look at me and literally looked at my 2003 eclipse convertible and said «did you buy it here?» Its his tone that bothered me. I was dressed like crap, I had just left the property after working in the yard weaing dirty jeans a college sweatshirt no make up hair pulled back and am overweight and I drove up in my old college convertible because it was a sunny day. Seriously I looked like crap. And I too may have judged a client coming in dressed like that. But my previous high end luxury sales and marketing experience in Pebble Beach & Carmel, CA has taught me never judge a book by its cover. A lady once came in wearing ugly overalls a tattered gardner hat dirt under her nails and purchased a $ 120K timepiece.
Anyhow, I mentioned I was the lady that had called and needed more work for future projects on my home entertainment systems. 1) I am starting a project on updating the flat panel tv in my master on suit bath and want to run an ethernet cable through the walls and ceiling to the TV so I can stream netflix rather than rely on wifi. 2) I need speakers to finish off our in home stereo system so subtle music can plan evenly distributed throughout the property for hosting events. 3) I need to finish off the ethernet wiring to my 16 gigabit switch plate. All the wires were ran through the walls at construction but they come to a hub on the third floor and I want to make each ethernet jack in the home active. 4) my mother in law cottage is in need of a new tv and surround sound system as well as switching an existing coax cable to internet. So essentially they could have had a lucrative profit off me as a customer.
I informed them of my upcoming projects and they turned me away for my Marantz repair. So F-​them I’ll take my projects elsewhere this year and they can loose my future business just because they said they would not help me with my Marantz receiver because I did not purchase it from them. I can’t decide if its really the Marantz or if they assumed I didn’t have money because of my appearance.
Anyhow, I got my Marantz fixed. I called corporate back told them of my experience and they issued me a fedex shipping slip that day and as soon as they saw my broken receiver was in the hands of Fed Ex ready to ship they immediately sent me a brand new Marantz in Box. I got a new receiver in less than 48 hours.

I had a superb experience at Definitive Audio in Bellevue. The salespeople are extremely knowledgable and friendly. In particular Scott went above and beyond to help me with my speaker purchase. I could have bought them at the local «big box» store, but I went into Def Audio and he told me the real skinny on the speakers and little inexpensive tips to get the most out of them. With no hesitation when I wanted to compare two sets of speakers he set them up for side by side comparisons. His honest approach was refreshing and he talked me out of a few things that wouldn’t really give me a noticeable improvement in the quality of sound. Anyway I could go on and on trust me.
If you want good advice and a pleasant experience buying good quality equipment I’d recommend Definitive Audio. They have equipment for every budget btw.
There was no pressure just folks their that clearly enjoy music and are more than happy to help you enjoy the same. Hell he even helped me setup my new speaker stands.
–Mark

I don’t generally write reviews but I’ve been frustrated enough with this experience that I decided to. We moved into a new home In August. My wife and I went to Definitive to purchase a Sonos system for our home as well as a surround sound in wall system for our basement/​media room. The experience in the store was excellent. High end products, detailed explanations, etc. Our trouble was specifically the follow up after the initial visit. Getting the sales person to respond was very challenging. I sent a firm but constructive email to the sales person expressing my concern. He responded positively and in fact offered a discount on the extra equipment we needed as a result of the fact that he felt bad. (the additional equipment was more or less my mistake/​misunderstanding, not the stores or the salespersons). Unfortunately, after we signed the order agreeing to the new equipment and discount he then had to take part of it back when his boss told him he couldn’t discount a particular brands product! They scheduled the 2^nd install and the sales guy promised to come out and confirm everything was working right, to ensure we were happy and to make a few special tweaks that would make it all work better together. He was supposed to show up on a Sunday and cancelled that morning with a promise to reschedule. That was several weeks ago…

Superb.
I went to the store to buy a traditional a/​v set-​up (receiver, speakers, remote) for home audio video. They down-​sold me to a Sonos system that was less money, way less hassle and excellent quality. They do a lot of high-​end stuff, but their prices for fundamentals — tv’s, speakers, audio components — include units that are price-​competitive with the big box stores. Compared to the clown show at the local Best Buy, this is a quantum leap ahead in quality.

I was underwhelmed when coming here and I’ve been here several times. Limited brand offerings, mediocre customer service and much pricier than online. With Magnolia AV right across the street there’s no real reason to come here and pick this place over that one. They just don’t offer enough and I happened to know more than the employees (despite me not being that much of an audiophile).

Without a question the BEST single store audiophile and home theater store in America. Best brands, custom install, retail and killer service.

I’ve been a pretty loyal customer of Definitive Audio for a while, having purchased a considerable amount of audio gear from them over the past year or so. I even referred three of my friends to Definitive, and they each dropped several grand on audio equipment. I truly appreciate the extensive amount of high-​quality gear that they carry, but these guys really need to lighten up when it comes time to demo. Here’s why…
The other day, I happened to go into the Bellevue showroom and one of their salesman asked if I wanted to do a demo. I’ve been here several times to buy stuff, and just wanted to experience a new subwoofer that just came in. The salesman started off with the bass turned way down. When I asked him to «turn up the bass» he you could barely notice the difference. I was playing new age and Josh Groban, not rap, and yet this guy was still über conservative.
I’m sorry, but if I was going to drop several grand on a sub, I expect the demo to be a bit more visceral than that. Clearly, this guy was a conservative audiophile wannabe, who probably knew more about sales techniques than audio gear. Plus, he seemed impatient, which is ridiculous since I’ve spent a LOT of money there on my gear, so I was a serious customer and expected far better service.
Sadly, I’d probably never buy anything from them again, at least the store in Bellevue. I highly recommend Craigslist (where I got my speakers), or
. All of us in the hi-​fi community use these resources to their full extent. You’d save a ton over a store like Definitive. Oh, and forget about Magnolia Hi-​Fi. They’re stores are closing down pretty soon, and service tends to be far worse.
To be fair, there are some really knowledgeable, and chilled-​out guys at Definitive, though the particular salesman we had was not definitely one of them. (no pun intended).

This place gets four stars simply on the gear they carry. The sales staff can be hit and miss, sometimes I get really good service there, sometimes I get completely ignored. High end audio stores do have the reputation for being stuffy, and I can’t say Definitive has done strides to break this mold. But I can say with confidence that the products they carry are some of the best.