In Living Stereo

I went in here hoping to buy a new high fi set up and the owner was incredibly rude to me. He was barely taking me seriously when I was asking a few questions about speakers. I was about to drop over ten grand and I could not give me the time of day. They really need to work on their customer service. Go to Stereo Exchange instead. They are a nice mom and pop business with friendly service.

Really nicely curated selection of vinyl. Staff is always friendly and helpful. Great store. They also sell high end audio gear which isn’t my thing so can’t really comment on that.

Nice, spacious shop that doesn’t really deserve the sketchy 5s, but I saw nothing to warrant 1s, either…

I worked with a salesperson here that was just great to deal with (Steve). Friendly and down to earth. These types of stores can be intimidating, especially when you’re looking at entry level gear (compared to most of what they carry) as I was. Not the case at ILS. I was taken as seriously as any customer and am very happy with the guidance he provided. Post sales support is turning out to be just as good since I’m having a potential problem with one piece of equipment. They’ve made a loyal customer out of me, and I’d highly recommend ILS to anyone looking for stereo equipment of this ilk!

Went for headphones. Sell only Grado which is an excellent headphone. They are knowledgeable, courteous and accommodating.

I have nothing but good things to say about this place. Not intimidating to newbies. Nothing but great service starting with Steve M and continuing (even months later) with Steve C. I went in 3 times before I finally got the system of my dreams. I had plenty of time since I was doing a renovation and didn’t need it immediately. Every single visit the guys were professional and took plenty of time to explain and answer any questions I had. I spent a lot of money for a better than entry level system and am thoroughly satisfied with my equipment. Steve C has been so gracious and generous with his time even now. I needed a few things rectified and he has been all over it. If you want a basic setup or the sickest setup money can buy, you can get it here. If you want to save a few bucks and not get the exemplary service even after the purchase go online. I do not recommend the latter option.

Unlike a lot of the reviews here, I am a real person, and I agree with sohail s. who also reviewed the place.
I consider myself to be their prime audience. 40+, not dressed too shabbily etc.
There is more that one Steve there, and the one I got was an absolute dud. I had some simple questions which he just dismissed and treated me like a fool. Then I dared to have a look at one of the pieces of equipment, moved it an inch, and he went through the roof saying that I was going to scratch the equipment. Then I told him again what I was trying to do, and he want on a rant about wifi. To the point where my wife had to walk out.
I was prepared to drop decent cheddar if need be on a completely new setup, but ended u walking out. It was actually the worst «service» I have ever had.
So a message to the dud Steve. Stop being miserable and maybe you will have a happier life. And a message to the manager, the dud Steve, and I am sure you know which one it is, is costing you sales every day.
I would never go back, and there are plenty of other audiophile stores in NYC.

This is a great store for records both new and vintage, stereo gear, and audio porn in general. They pay good prices for used records. I mean, they pay GOOD prices for used records. Keep the customer satisfied.
Everyone here is great, but I do miss Roscoe, RIP.

just bought a good pair of headphones for a very reasonable price. they only carry grado but they are really knowledgable and they let you try on even the pricier ones to show a difference, nice guy as well, had a friendly conversation. list of headphones: 100, 200, 300, 400 600, 1000. solid place.
On another note, excellent record selection and the other people are nice.

Rich is the man. Hope he’s there when you swing by! So helpful and down to earth.

This place and the people who work there are incredible.
I walked in looking to find a replacement for my bookshelf speakers. I gave them my price range which happens to be the lowest they really offer. Steve took me in, gave me his recommendation, played music very diagnostic of speakers, and sat with me in the room discussing musical taste and what I want from my system for about 2 hours.
I felt no pressure.
I felt no discomfort.
This is the place to go in NYC if you have niche taste in audio. The equipment they carry is both top notch and, forgive me, but also far from the mainstream super-​high-​end names. Here you will find the coolest stuff that will really open your ears and staff that really know and love what they’re talking about. They are passionate about their trade; not merely trying to push their stock.

I was in the market for a relatively simple system for general music listening as well as to hook my TV up to, and what I found at most electronic stores was subpar, tacky and artificial sounding … I did not want to hook up a soundbar to my TV and play music through it.
Even though I wasn’t looking to spend more than $ 1,500-$ 2,000 (and there is a lot of junk out there at that price point), Steve was as helpful as he would be with anyone who entered the store and spent over an hour showing me more entry-​level equipment they carried. I got to sit back in one of the two listening rooms and try out different combinations, as well as hooking up my iPhone to it to see how lower quality recordings would play back.
Fast forward a few months later and I have nothing bad to say about my purchase. Didn’t break the bank and have an investment I’m happy with and can expand upon over time.
If only my walls weren’t paper thin and I could fully experience my amp and speakers…

I dont get the reviews on Unilocal vis a vis Stereo Exchange. In my experience its been the exact opposite. I’m currently looking to build a hifi stereo system from scratch (I’ve been previously been focused head-​fi). I have a budget for an amp+loudspeakers and cables of ~$ 15 – 20,000. While i know a few audio snobs that may consider that entry level or mid range, its a fair bit of change for a hobby! Anyway, I’ve been doing my research online via Audiogon but I felt I was at the level of research where I’d want to start demoing equipment.
I went both to Stereo Exchange and In Living Stereo 2 weeks ago looking to demo product. I felt like the salesperson at In Living Stereo thought my fiancée and I were going to rob him. The general enthusiasm, interest, and amenability to having a discussion was simply not there. Every answer was curt and completely devoid of explanation. It was actually a very uncomfortable experience. I felt like he wanted me out of the store so he could go in the backroom and listen to some vinyls or something! It’s too bad because the store looked like it carried some interesting kit.
I went to stereo exchange afterwards and spent an hour and a half demoing a pair of ML Summit X’s and a Rogers EFH-​200/​MK2. I was floored by the time the sales person there spent discussing the pros and cons of the various tube and solid state amps they sold, and the various speakers they carried. I would like to add this was AFTER i told the sales person I was most likely going to make a decision around Christmas time (bonus time for my profession).
Maybe I should have not worn a hat, a pair of jeans and a tank top that weekend. I might have gotten better service at ILS if I shaved. I don’t know and really dont care! You can’t judge a book by its cover!

Loved this place, got some good vinyl, clerk was great and pointed me to some other decent record stores. I will make this a must stop everytime in NYC

In terms of its vinyl selection, this is a hidden gem. It’s not a vinyl shop, per se, but well curated and a real good mix of new-​used vinyl. A very diverse selection that includes rock, jazz, blues, country-​folk, and experimental. The man at the counter helped me out picking out a blues comp, and he couldn’t have been any more helpful and friendly than he already was.
Now, if I could save up enough to afford audiophile equipment, this will be my go-​to place!

I can’t speak highly enough about my recent shopping experience at In Living Stereo. I was in the market for new speakers. I wanted something decent that was within my preset budget and had a few ideas of models and specific questions.
I had checked out a few other stores and had either been flat out ignored by the sales people, strongly pushed to go above my budget, or had my questions simply shot down for no reason. Finally I stepped into In Living Stereo.
Steve C. was the sales person who I sat down with and from there I was in good hands. He asked me many questions about my setup, room size, and music taste. Then listened to every single question I had. Afterwards he patiently listened to me rattle off every single model I was curious about and explained why each one would or wouldn’t be a good match for my setup. Since I’m a beginner at stereos he patiently explained everything and patiently answered every single question I had during the process. He then brought me into the listening rooms selected a few albums that fit my collection and set up a number of speakers we could listen to.
As I mentioned before I was blown away by the attention and patience I received, and furthermore was not bullied into buying something because it was big or expensive. I truly believe I bought a great value and something I will be using for a while.
I have no problem returning to In Living Stereo for all of my stereo needs and will recommend Steve C. and the store to anyone who is interested in finding the right gear. Kudos to you. Good to know a store like this exists still!

These guys are amazing. Why is Stereo Exchange still in business when these guys are around the corner and so down to earth and want to help you get what’s best for your needs?! Stereo Exchange has been around since I was in High School and they were a******s back then too. I don’t deal in stereos! They do, so they should want to answer questions so I can then give them my business, right?
Back to In Living Stereo. I haven’t even purchased anything yet!!! But I’m on my way. I spoke to Matt, I believe his name was for 30 minutes about what I was looking for, and in just chatting about audio possibilities with him, we together realized something else would better suit my needs, a discovery I came to only because this music loving man took time to talk about connections, sounds, wireless, the works! He left me in total peace in the listening room, with a stack of vinyl on the floor, and I proceeded to try the speakers we had uncovered as the ones to suite my needs, with some Hendrix, Kraftwerk, Tribe Called Quest, Spirit… the works. Being a jaded New Yorker, thinking everyone is gonna give you attitude, I couldn’t believe how nice this man was. Bravo! You got my business for sure, hopefully in 1 or 2 weeks I’ll be heading down to hand them my $ for some Dynaudio gear. Nice!

So I was in the market for a tube amplifier for my home stereo system. I did some research online and read some reviews about a few different brands. This was the third «high end» audio store I walked into and found that the guys in here were the most down to earth. Some salesmen can be a bit on the pretentious side when you are dealing with audiophile equipment, but not at this store.
I walked in and talked one of the salesman, Steve, and explained to him what I was looking for. I sat down with him, and he took some notes about my current stereo system to make sure that everything would work with what he was about to sell to me. I was very impressed by this. At the other two stores I went to I told the sales staff how much I was looking to spend on a tube amplifier and they gave me a funny look and said something like…
«Oh, well that price is a little low for anything we carry in here»
«An entry level amp is about $ 2,500. I did my research and know how much I’m willing to spend. I looked at your website and saw you carry brand x and brand y. Do you offer their entry level models?»
«Yes, but we don’t sell too many of them»
After chatting with Steve about the specifics of my system he brought me into the listening room and asked me a few questions about what I usually listen to. He told me to get comfortable on the couch and would be right back. He came back with about a dozen records and asked me to flip through them. I sat in that listening room for about two hours enjoying every tune that I listened to.
If you are looking for great customer service and quality stereo products this is the place to go to. Just as another reviewer wrote, «the stereo systems sold here won’t be easy on your wallet», but in the audiophile world what you pay for is what you get.
This retailer receives five stars from me. I only wish that I could give them six.
Thanks again Steve C. for pointing me in the right direction, I truly appreciate it.

The stereo systems sold here won’t be easy on your wallet, but the outstanding curation of vinyl for sale is very reasonably-​priced and well presented.