4 Dealer Kudos: Outstanding Service - Holm Audio, Hollis Audio Labs, Rutherforford, S.A.M.

With such a mixed bag of dealers out there, I wanted to post some Kudos for four audio sellers and re-sellers I recently had the pleasure to engage with. These guys are above and beyond and truly understand the customer service aspect of their businesses.

First shout out goes to Mike Holm of "Holm Audio" (Chicagoland area) who spent the time to put my son into a decent set of used speakers, scored me a great Ortofon mono cartridge and bent over backwards to help me get my hands on a Gold Note PH10 phono stage. When I originally called, the phono stage I wanted was confirmed in stock, however, due to a clerical error, this was not the case, so Mike reached out to his distributor and pulled some strings to honor the deal we had struck. The man just believes in doing the right thing regardless of what you are buying.

This leads me to dealing with Mike’s distributor, Rutherford Audio (store front is in Colorado). These guys were the OG of Gold Note distribution and sell a lot of pricier components than the PH10. Working with Robb was pretty easy despite him being on vacation out riding his motorcycle. I want to re-iterate that he sorted out my order while enjoying his vacation. If I was buying a $20k turntable, I could see his motivation, however I was buying a phono stage that is likely the cheapest component in his inventory and still got treated like I was his most important customer. Truly happy with the experience, and hope to deal with them again in the future.

Since we are still talking analog, lets talk about Small Audio Manufacturer. This outfit in Croatia sells very high end turntables at very reasonable prices. Like seriously reasonable prices. The whole process from inquiry to delivery was worry free. My expectations were extremely well managed, and the after sales support was some of the best I have ever had. I have reviewed my SAM turn table already on a different thread, but felt it worth calling them out again.

Finally, I wanted to to express my gratitude to Rich Hollis of "Hollis Audio Labs" (based in Maryland). The man is doing some amazing stuff on the cutting edge of DSP. I needed a solution that would allow room correction for not just my digital sources (I have Roon for that) but also my analog sources. The dspNexus he sold me did just that. Now for those not familiar with dsp, there is so much you can do to improve your sound, and while set up of this product is intimidating, Rich was there the whole way through supporting me. As a bonus, I learned a lot about audio engineering in the process. Very quick to respond, even when he was getting ready for the next audio show he found the time to help answer my questions and guide me as I dialed the unit in.

So there you all go, 4 Different dealers I found myself doing business with. They stand by their products and their word. I can only highly recommend them. Their passion for audio and the customer leaves me confident they will do everything they can to earn your business and make your experience as positive as possible.

Hope this helps folks out there looking to spend their hard earned cash with a business that deserves it and provides them excellent value beyond the products.