The Best Audio Retailers in Orange County, CA

Upscale will set you up with a real killer system but Kevin does not always suit everybody's  temperament. I've been buying from him for a couple of decades and always have great service and deals. But he knows I'm there to buy, not kick tires. 

Pure 2 channel? Budget? Sources?

I didn't end up buying from them, but Excel Audio in Newport Beach was definitely a first class joint.

Jeeze Edcyn, Excel looks very expensive.

1) Scott Walker Audio is "Orange County’s premier home audio and home theater shop. They have 6 dedicated listening rooms packed with some of the worlds finest audio & video components (Address: 1215 N. Tustin Ave. Anaheim, CA 92807)".

https://scottwalkeraudio.com
https://scottwalkeraudio.com/brands/


2) Gene Rubin Audio (By appointment: 3975 Paloma Drive, Ventura, CA 93003). "Gene Rubin Audio is one of the USA’s longest existing dealers of high quality audio equipment for your home".

https://generubinaudio.com
https://generubinaudio.com/shop

3) Audio Element (address: 117 East Union Street, Pasadena, CA 91103). "We carry the best sounding audio components for the novice listener all the way to the long-time audiophile. Our experience in selecting quality brands and our knowledge to help you integrate them with your current system, make Audio Element your essential audio store!".

https://audio-element.com
https://audio-element.com/all-brands/

hgeifman --  Gene Rubin is one of my favorite folks.  Me and the wife bought our share of stuff from him.  Gene and I both play the fiddle. I used to do a 100 mile round trip every week to play Old Time and Bluegrass music with him at a Ventura bar (I lived in L.A.).  The thing is, Gene's an insane distance from Orange County.

Yeah, Gene Rubin's great, but as stated he's North Of L.A., not South. Ventura is a nice beach town, with a bar that books great acts like Albert Lee. I saw him perform there (no stage, right on the floor) to a packed house of guitar players, all staring at his hands. He always closes the night with his signature song, "Country Boy".

Much closer to Orange County is the above-mentioned Audio Elements in Pasadena, owned by Brian Berdan. Brian is an excellent hi-fi retailer, and a master turntable set-up man, trained by his legendary father Brooks. Best in the biz!