Audioaffair reviews

For Penny and the warranty team...

After having problems with my fantastic Audioengine A5 speakers, a quick call soon had a warranty set up. Speakers were returned to Audio Affair and replacements were quickly dispatched for the next week. Very happy customer....thank you!

Excellent shop

I just received the order QED Signature cable this morning, good packaging.

A big thank you to all the team of Audioaffair for its speed and efficiency.

Excellent service! buy with confidence

Absolutely spot on service! I look forward to buying from Audio Affair again.

Superb service, awesome prices

I bought a set of Anthony Gallo A'Diva Ti's from Audio Affair, along with the TR-1 sub, speaker cable and Gallo stands. Alex was fantastic and price matched even after the order had been created. This company actually cares about it's customers and price match is fantastic. Thoroughly recommended to anyone who is into AV.

EDIT: Just have to say that to get best results with Audio Affair, ring them up and speak to an actual person. Much better than ordering anonymously online and reassuring to talk to someone who knows their stuff.

Easily Five Star Service

I don't usually order equipment by mail order but I must say Audio Affair have been excellent and I have no hesitation in ordering from them in the future.

The equipment I bought: Myryad MI and Yamaha YP-2200.

Both excellent choices - the Myryad connected to big floor standing Mission Freedom speakers -- OMG ! I've never heard my speakers sound so good. The Yamaha YP-2200 replaces Arcam, speakers and miles of speaker wire everywhere and I'm very impressed with the sound it delivers.

Fantastic service beyond the call of duty

I had occasion to get in touch with Audioaffair a few times with a few technical questions about a purchase I'd made,as well as a barrage of questions looking for advice on other products. Fantastic service all round from their superbly knowledgeable MD Alex. So much so that any audio equipment I need, Audioaffair will be my first choice. Thank you!

Great Choice, Great Service

I'd been looking for a replacement stylus for a recommissioned turntable which is over 25 years old and found it on this site, very competitively priced compared to others I'd looked at & was amazed to receive it, well packaged, within two days. Great service & plenty other things of interest on the site so I'm sure I'll become a regular. Joe. Reading

Excellent after sales service - good alternative to Amazon

Just bought a couple of speakers over Xmas and were defective (nightmare scenario when dealing with an unknown company over the internet). My fears were unfounded, in fact they replaced them quickly and covered the delivery costs - top notch service. This is a good alternative to Amazon on the price and service end. Have recommended them to my friends.

Very good service

Staff were very helpful when I called for advice as I wasn't sure which DAC to order for playing music from my computer. I wasn't sure I could upgrade much from using a normal connecting cable between sound card and amp but was convinced to try the Musical Fidelity VDAC mk2 and what a difference! High res music files now sound much better and it also seems to improve the sound of lower res files. I've also tried it with my CD player as I like to keep the CD collection going and the improvements are just as impressive. More detail, less edgy and much smoother. One of the best online purchases I've made for my hifi!

Rakesh

The initial customer service is very good, very keen to help, and they know exactly what they are talking about

First class service

This was first class service for a great product at a reasonable price. Good communications and a quick delivery made the process stress free.

Super Service

Very helpful in offering a price match and arranging delivery in time for christmas. Set-up was confusing so I was glad to find them open this week and very helpful (and patient) helping us by phone. We're now the proud owners of a beautiful new system and discovering the wonders of DAB radio broadcasts.

Thanks for all your help,

Chris

Got there in the end but could've been easier.

I ordered two turntables to be shipped internationally. The payment was accept and approved immediately. A few days later the Audio Affair manager unilaterally decided to cancel the order for reasons that remain unclear and without bothering to contact me. So I was forced to call internationally to follow up the problem. I was informed that they were not going to reinstate the order until they had copies of passports, utility bills and other personal information - I ended the conversation there. Called my bank who informed me that Audio Affair was talking absolute rubbish and there was no problems with the payment and that I would be better referring the matter to police than to provide the information they were requesting.
I decided to call audioaffair back with my banks opinion to make an official complaint and request an immediate refund. My call was taken by Penny and through her brilliance as salesperson managed to save my opinion of audioaffair and the sale. She approved the payment and went far beyond my expectations to secure two turntables from the supplier as they had sold out during the course of the problems. I really do thank her and appreciate her efforts.
The products and prices are good, the service can be atrocious. My suggestion is to bypass the website and call Penny directly, if I had done so it would have been a 5 star review.

Professional service and merry christmas

I ordered some audio technicas earlier this month. Ordering online was easy and it was clear i was dealing with a professional firm. They sent an e-mail when my order posted and they arrived the next morning. They were well packaged and look even better than the photos. My daily commute by tube is now so much better as these sound great and cut out ambient noise. Merry christmas and best wishes for 2012

Recommended store

Very helpful in arranging delivery in time for Christmas. The courier didn't deliver on time but they were very helpful when I called to rearrange. A swift and efficient service at a very good price. I expect this will be a regular future shop for my music mad husband! Alison

Helped me in time of need!

I ordered a very smart Geneva box that wasn't working quite right. They overcame tricky warranty rubbish and got me it back for my party.
Without Penny, they'd be no music in my life and no boogie on the floor.
She owned it and made me very happy indeed.

Thx loads Penny! You are a star!!

Excellent customer service (ask for Holly!)

Fast e-mail response and very friendly too. Holly at Customer service was very helpful when I had a problem with my payment (my fault, not theirs).

Highly recommended!

Recommended 5/5

Audio Affair is one of the best hifi stores Ive shopped with. Excellent website, keen prices and helpful staff. A breeze next to some of the more stuffy stores. They don't keep every single item in stock but appear to carry more inventory than most. I received excellent service with the majority of my order arriving next day and a call from customer services to tell me one item would be a few days with the option to cancel.

I recommend looking at their Facebook group as well if you need any advice or just for a bit of audio banter and its peace of mind I can visit if I have any problems.

Keep up the good work fellas!

Wonderfully efficient with copystation

I was looking for an all in one solution for my father to transfer vinyl to CD using his PC. I use a high quality Michell set-up with USB phono stage for this purpose but wanting a simple solution, I browsed audio affairs website and found the DebutUSB turntable. On calling rather than simply take my order I spoke to a helpful member of staff who reviewed all options including the Teac copystation. Considering the benefits of doing everything from one unit and cassette transfer with stereo playback, I changed my mind and placed my order for a copystation which arrived the following day. My father is very happy with the unit which has a smart vintage appeal in the walnut finish. A bookmarked and recommended e-tailer.

*EDITED* Disappointing but made amends

I placed an order for a USB headphone amp on the 23th Nov and the money was withdrawn from my account the day after. I then received an email on the 28th saying that it would be delivered from the supplier 'within 3 or 4 days'.

Despite sending follow-up emails, I then didn't hear anything further until the 6th December when customer support promised to phone me back regarding the delivery status. That still hadn't happened by the end of the following day so I requested a refund. The member of staff seemed to accept my request but frankly, couldn't have sounded like she cared less. I suspected I would be forgotten about yet again and so it's proved - it's now nearly a week later and I'm still waiting on my refund, my order is still listed as 'Processing' and there's been no indication that I'll be seeing either the item or the money in my account any time soon.

Perhaps I've been lucky in the past and I'm aware that my experience seems to be in the minority but this is the worst experience I've ever had in 10 or 11 years of online shopping!

EDIT: Got a very apologetic phone call from Penny a few hours after posting my original review explaining the situation (employee illness etc) which I appreciated and the refund is going through now at last. Like others have said, it shouldn't take a review on here to get my request pushed through and it was disconcerting to have the money withdrawn from my account so quickly and then not hear anything - especially when it was my first order with the company. But the situation seems to have been resolved and I felt that things were well handled in the end.

Ben found this review useful

Slight delay and poor customer service but got there in the end

I ordered some headphones on the Sunday night as they seemed quite cheap and had free next day delivery. I received an e-mail to say the order was confirmed, payment has been taken and I will receive an e-mail when the item has been dispatched.

I never received any further e-mails from them so on the Tuesday I spoke with a member of staff via their online chat, it took her over 20 minutes just to tell me it hasn't been shipped, she doesn't know why and she will e-mail to tell me why. *EDIT - After a recent phone call it seems they do not stock the headphones directly as the headphones are being delivered to them on Thursday, so I should receive them on Friday, they don't make this very clear on their website*

Having a feeling I was just going to be forgotten about I later sent an e-mail to their customer services asking why it hasn't been shipped and if it is out of stock could they kindly let me know so I could cancel my order, an automatic reply told me I would get a response in 24 hours.

It is now Wednesday evening and I've still not received an e-mail about my delivery, an e-mail from the member off staff or a reply to my e-mail. I've told them if the item has not been delivered by Friday I will be sending the item back (if it ever arrives) under the Distance Selling Regulations for a full refund.

EDIT : Shortly after posting this review I received a phone call from Audio Affair explaining how quite a few members of staff have recently been taken ill which is why there has been a delay with a reply. Also that the headphones are due with them tomorrow and should reach me on Friday, it's a shame it took a poor review on here to get a reply but it is appreciated and put my mind at rest knowing they are dealing with it.

Edit #2 : The item arrived on the Sunday, it seems as though they do not hold the stock themselves as the items are shipped from the manufacturer to them, and then on to us. This takes around a week, they fail to tell you this on the website and advertise orders as next day delivery, false hope. If they would of had this on their site I would not of ordered from them and I could of avoided this whole problem.

Good, but failed to deliver

I selected a Fatman Trinity Carbon & it was duly purchased on a Thursday, with a promise to deliver the next day. Friday came-and-went, Saturday, Monday and Tuesday. My wife phoned & was told that the item had been returned to the warehouse by the courier as the address wasn't readable. Our telepathy function was off, so I'm not sure when Audio Affair's were going to mention this; my wife spent over 20 minutes trying to get through and time as well trying to get sense out of the couriers.

As it is, going through the sales department, she arranged re-delivery to a work address. By then though, with the extra time, I'd decided to go for another solution, so cancelled the order.

Why a three and not a one star? Well the pre-sales support with the online messaging system was superb, and the return of our purchase money was swift and performed without a quibble.

Although unintended, the 'cooling off' period, when Audio Affair failed to deliver the goods was useful, as it allowed me to investigate a better hi-fi solution, although that didn't involve Audio Affair or Fatman. Letting customers back-out from a purchase by not delivering the goods, when the 'money is in the bank' is a peculiarly British thing, unique only to British companies. In my case it served me well.

Leader of the Pack....

When buying a product online it's not unusual to find companies that provide a fast and efficient service. What is much harder to find are those companies that go over and above traditional customer service to rectify a problem when something goes wrong. I bought a loudspeaker from Audio Affair which arrived within the promised 7-10 days. Unfortunately the metal base was broken, rendering the loudspeaker unusable. Five minutes on the phone with Penny in Customer Services and in theory the problem was rectified despite it really not being their fault (The item was likely damaged in transit). In practise, the new part arrived within 3 days, took 2 minutes to fit and job done!
This is the way to retain customers and I for one will buy from them again and spread the word whenever I can. Audio Affair is one company that not only recognises the true value of great customer service but also backs it up with action. I can't recommend them highly enough.

Serious, fast and efficient

I just received the order QED Signature cable this morning, good packaging.

A big thank you to all the team of Audioaffair for its speed and efficiency.

Superb customer service.

I ordered a Philips cinema 21:9 TV and an AV stand, however, the TV had gone out of stock and in light of a replacement model around
the corner, the terrific price on offer looked to be slipping away. The stand also had it's problems as the supplier advised that it could not be supplied until the new year!. A quick change of selection to Alphason remedied the situation there. Philips and it's distributors could not source a model and i was offered a display model at a generous discount. There were a couple of delays with the couriers but I was kept informed at all times by Penny in customer service who arranged the credit for the change of stand and the discount for the TV and could not have been more helpful. 10 out of 10. I have shopped at Audio Affair before and will again. Any questions ring customer service and ask for Penny.

Excellent Customer Recovery

The excellent customer service I received when ordering a Chordette Gem over the phone on a Friday for next day delivery (Saturday) was excellent - however, how does company respond when their carrier (Royal Mail) has let the customer and them down? Two words to sum it up - "Penny" and "Excellent"! When my item didn't arrive on a Saturday, after waiting in all day, I angrily sent off a ranting email on the Saturday evening, demanding a refund. By the time I was contacted at 09:00am on the Monday morning by Penny she had looked into where the failing was - Royal Mail of course, she had also put together options for me along with a VERY sincere apology of course. In the end I agreed to give them the opportunity to rectify the problem and along with a 10% goodwill discount and a heap loads of caring and supportive customer care from Penny she arranged for the item to be delivered that afternoon - and then followed up to ensure I was happy with the item ordered - a true test of a good company - how do they respond when something goes wrong - too many companies nowadays would take your money and run and try and pass you off to the carriers to chase yourself - Not Penny and Audioaffair - So, Highly Recommended. Gordon Melville

Excellent after sales care to resolve a tricky transaction

I had previously bought a Chord termination kit from Audio Affair which was cheaper than anywhere else and it arrived really quickly so to finish the job I recently ordered 2 more pairs. Unfortunately this time they were the wrong ones and a subsequent call to Audio Affair revealed that Chord had changed the spec without telling anyone! This information was disappointingly delivered in a thoroughly dis-interested tone of voice by a guy in the sales team. Unfortunately I was made to feel like I was wasting his time with a trivial issue over a £35 sale. As a customer services manager myself I find this kind of grumpy phone manner surprising in these times when every company should be fighting for return customers, a shame really, cheer up fella!
Anyway, he re-directed me to Penny in despatch and things began to improve, she was a pleasure to deal with and she arranged for a refund on receipt of the returned items. I then shopped around but couldn't find anyone who had the old termination kits in stock so I called Chord Co. and spoke to Richard who was very helpful and not only rummaged around to find a couple of the old kits but arranged for them to be sent on to Audio Affair. Penny then sent them to me and they arrived today. I am so chuffed with the service I treated myself to a new pair of RCA cables! A very positive turn around to what looked like being a bad experience, particularly Penny for whom nothing was too much trouble, For price, products despatch and Penny I would award 5***** but a grumpy sales team member has cost them a star on this occasion. None the less, I'll be back for new speakers soon...

fantastic shop, excellent service

just great service, quick response to questions. Exceptional service. Nice guys. only recommended, good prices, quick delivery

From cellar to stellar

I ordered a pair of Audio Engine A2s and a pair of Aktimate Minis to replace equipment that was burgled from my home.

Although the A2s arrived in excellent condition, the Aktimates were damaged and components such as the power cord and remote were missing from a box that suggested that the product I was sent was far from new.

Long story short (a story that included me needing to prod on Twitter, being promised replacement speakers then being told that there would be no replacements until December), the ultimately marvellous Penny arranged to send me a pair of Aktimate Maxis for my troubles. At no extra cost.

Sadly these too arrived much the worse for wear.

Penny again stepped up and replaced the speakers within 24 hours.

Outcome: I have a marvellous set of Aktimate Maxis that are pristine and a great deal of respect for Penny and the way she dealt with Audio Affair's initial shortcomings, shortcomings that -judging by the other reviews here- are not unique to my case.

Come on Audio Affair; make Penny's job easier and thoroughly check your product before it ships!

Highly Recommended!

I bought audioengine2's from Audioaffair, all did not run smoothly (due to teething problems during set up of the speakers) but I was quickly advised and helped with the situation beyond my own expectation of what customer service should be. Penny from Audioaffair dealt with my problems very quickly, efficiently, and through a great sense of customer relation. The initial problem corrected itself. I am more than happy with the response from Audioaffair and from Penny, they were more than helpful offering an exchange immediately, thankfully it did not come to this..
I would recommend this company and have found them to be excellent.

initailay bad, overall good

I ordered Harman Kardon CD + Amplifier and 2 KEFC7 speakers. Delivery was very quick (Republic of Ireland). Harman Kardon arrived in perfect condition but 2 KEFC7 speakers were a disaster! What I received was badly damaged used pair of speakers. Explanation from Audio Affair was that they shipped them directly from KEF. Speakers were missing screws, were scratched and drivers were damaged. I sent an email to them, replay was to send them back what I did next day. But I was charged for the return (later refunded but only half). Next pair of speakers have arrived and one was good, but second one was damaged during transportation. This time Audio Affair organised the return I paid nothing. After another week I received replacement for that damaged one in transportation. This one was good. So all in all I waited a month to have the speakers sorted. I must say there was absolutely no problem with customer service. Penny, who is the person, was very friendly and polite (easy to get to her on the phone but hard on email). So Audio Affair handled this excellent and in professional manner. Last word to KEF. The way I was treated (pair of used and damaged speakers) and absolutely no interest from them to have a happy customer (not even sorry) - keep away from KEF!

Very bad Customer Service!!!

I ordered a Mission Stancette Speaker Stand. I Paid by Paypal.
Two days later I received an e-mail telling me that the model I ordered was out of Stock. (But it is availble in their Site).
I told them that I could wait for them to re-stock it.
After many weeks, and many unresponded emails, they Refunded me with no Notices.
Unfortunely I can not recomend this site.
Antonio Souza

Customer found this review useful

Fantastic Service

I visited audioaffair to look for some new speakers and was happy to find not only competitive prices but a wide selection of models in stock to try. After choosing a few options in my pricerange, I went for a 10 minute coffee while they set them up for a demo and went back for a listen to each pair. The staff were helpful and I never felt under pressure to buy. At the end I wasn't sure which would be "acceptable" at home so left it overnight to have a think and talk to the boss! I called the next day to place my order and they were delivered to my home the following morning. A pleasant and stress free experience from start to finish. Its good to know in this day and age small businesses exist that still offer good old fashioned service. Recommended.

*** EDITED *** Bad initially, good overall

Ordered a home cinema system( speakers + amp ) from here over 3 weeks ago now. Got an email 2 days after ordering telling me it would be here the following week. They took the money on THE SAME DAY I ordered and 3 WEEKS LATER I still have NOTHING. I have emailed them multiple times now and have not received one reply. The company has not gone out of business as they are still busy on twitter. DO NOT GIVE THIS COMPANY ANY OF YOUR MONEY. I have now had to go to my bank and report this as fraud because they refuse to reply to any emails I send. Spend a little extra money and go to a reputable supplier, its not worth the effort wasting your time with these scam artists. SERIOUSLY IGNORE THE OTHER POSITIVE REVIEWS AND AVOID AT ALL COSTS.


EDIT: Shortly after posting this review. I received a phone call from Penny from customer services apologizing for the delay, offered me a partial refund as compensation and updated me on the state of the order.

Apparently there was a mix up with the supplier but this still does not excuse the complete lack of communication and the only reason that I got a reply was becuase of this review!!!

I have been informed they will receive the goods tomorrow and they will be shipped out soon after. It is still pretty horrendous that it took me posting a bad review online for them to get in touch with me but once they get in touch they are actually quite helpful.

Anyway still not got the goods, when I do I will update this review.

EDIT 2:

Received the goods a couple of days ago now. Everything was in perfect condition and exactly as described on the web site.

Overall they have recovered well, initially they were horrendous as they had taken my money on the same day I ordered and then not answered any communications since. That left me in the position that I did not know whether my order would be honoured.

Once they got in touch( which they only did after I posted this review ) they were very helpful and apologetic for the delay in contacting me. I have received numerous followup phone calls in an attempt to patch up any damaged relations which I do appreciate.

At the end of the day they are not here to rip you off. They seem to have quite limited stock available to them directly so there is a chance that they will have to ship it in from the suppliers. This can lead to delays but they do seem to undercut any rival websites. The only problem is the lack of communication, If there is any delay the customer needs to be notified right away especially if the money is taken immediately.

So there you go, if you want goods that may be cheaper than anywhere else and dont mind chancing it that you might have to wait a while for it then go with these guys. If promptness is important then go with a bigger company, but you will probably end up paying more.

P.S. Audioaffair make sure you contact your customers if there is a delay!

Outstanding Store

I have used a good number of on-line Hi-fi shops and Audioaffair stand head and shoulders above them
Why?

Great prices

Vast range

0800 freefone for sales and customer service

The nicest customer service person I have ever spoken to (Penny)

When I am looking for anything Hi-fi Audioaffair is always my first port of call

So if you want simply the best go to Audioaffair

If only they stocked B&K subs that would be another purchase from me

Good service and a no-quible returns policy

I got an amp for a very good price, but when I put it in my system, it didn't work with my other components - especially the speakers. Fortunately there was no problem sending the amp back. The money was refunded in whole and I'd not hesitate to order from them again.

Exceptional service

When I placed my order online for a Yamaha RX-V571, most UK retailers I contacted didn't know when they would have stock. I found audioaffair via Google and noticed that they had 'stock in 2-3 days'. I placed an order and followed it up with an email to check likely delivery timescales, as I've been let down by other retailers before; I needn't have bothered! Penny emailed me the next working day to confirm exactly when they would have it in stock and she kept me informed throughout the process, until the amp arrived exactly as promised.
Now that I know the company also sells a significant range of headphone amp's, I think I know where my next purchase will be from!

Reasonable prices and very best customer support

I am from Australia and I ordered an AV Package from them. First of all, from the point of searching for the products to the final purchase their website is very user friendly. The delivery charges and the prices are very reasonable.
But in my case there was an issue with TNT as they lost the invoice and had issues with customs. But when I contacted audioaffair with queries regarding the issues, Penny from customer support was very helpful and prompt. It is very rare for a company to provide this level of support. I highly recommend this site and will definitely make future purchases from the.

Quality customer service!

Audio Affair offer an excellent range of products and are keen with their pricing. Very helpful when I was choosing my Pro-Ject Experience turntable and extremely helpful in getting it sorted when it suffered a minor fault.
I would have no hesitation in recommending this turntable for anyone either getting back into vinyl or looking for an upgrade.
Audio Affair are also someone whom I would have no hesitation in recommending. I'd certainly use them again :)

Excellent customer service to import from Switzerland

Recently I imported from Switzerland Hi End material from Audio Affair Birmingham and I have been fully satisfied with the seriousness and the quality of their services. Everything worked very well, the first contact to establish trust with a new provider of the Web, their technical proposals, and all the administrative procedures for the transport and import in Switzerland of the goods. I wish to mention particularly the excellent support provided by Kieron, member of the customer service department who answered rapidly and accurately to all my questions. I can therefore strongly recommend Audio Affair to anyone interested in buying audio equipment.