Absolute Sound Laboratories/McIntosh Service Center

I brought my 50-year old Marantz 2270 stereo receiver to Absolute Sound Labs for a complete restoration after the unit had a “catastrophic failure” in the power supply. That failure could likely have been due to both age and the presence of some counterfeit output devices from a cleaning and “tuneup” some years earlier at another audio equipment store.
I found both Evan and Brendan to be clear and honest regarding the potential cost of a complete restoration. While supply chain issues resulted in some delays, ABS was able to source Marantz OEM parts to complete the restoration.
When another driver failed, ABS stood behind their service warranty, replacing right and left channel drivers and other components that may have been affected and using compatibl and proven quality components where OEM parts weren’t available.
After several hours of listening over a couple of days, I am impressed and reminded why I originally purchase my equipment.
I am glad that I found ABS and would highly recommend their service if you have audio equipment that you value and want to continue to enjoy.

Absolute Sound Labs reputation for repairing and restoring vintage McIntosh equipment is legendary!!! So much so I’ve shipped my preamp all the way from Canada for restoration because they’re the only ones I trust. Evan and Brendan have been super friendly and helpful, and when they're so busy and don’t get back to me right away I stay persistent and bug them until we re-connect… no big deal. I see a couple of poor reviews here that leave me scratching my head… Perhaps these reviewers have never run a super busy business before, people are imperfect and sometimes make mistakes, so you have to look at the big picture judging the overall body of work if you want to leave a fair and objective review. Also I know from experience that McIntosh owners are notoriously particular (like Volvo owners lol), and often very hard to please so I strongly suggest if you love your McIntosh and only want the very best people working on it then ignore the grumpy reviews and trust Absolute Sound Labs. If you want your email returned immediately maybe this place isn’t for you, but if you want the best techs in the business making your McIntosh better than new then this is the only place to go. FYI like I said I’m from Canada, and Evan is known all over the world as one of the very best McIntosh restorers. I can’t wait to get mine back… 5 fist bumps from me
👊🏼👊🏼👊🏼👊🏼👊🏼

Update to my review 2 weeks ago, I just had a lengthy chat with Evan over the phone, and he couldn’t have been nicer or more generous with his time. This is truly a great business with great people, please do yourself a favour and take the couple of grumpy reviews with a grain of salt. There’s some people you just can’t make happy.

Jon Graham
Victoria, BC
Canada

Just got my Fisher back after restoration. Third unit I have had them restore. As usual, works better than ever. Had to wait six extra weeks for some parts, but that vintage audiophile sound is worth it. Absolute kept me up to date, these are my electronics guys.

Mark and Evan have always treated me with respect and are very communicative. The quality of work is always excellent. Beyond excellent, actually.
ASL has restored not only McIntosh components for me, but other vintage hifi pieces and is always very up front with what to expect in terms of the time required to do the job and the cost.
The two unhappy campers that have left "ornery" reviews are hardly representative of the effort and care that Mark and Evan show to their valued, understanding, and patient customers.
RIP "Mr. Wilson"

I had a display db meter issue with my McIntosh tube preamplifier and it was recommended to contact Evan at Absolute Sound. I dropped the preamp off with Evan and he was able to effectively replace a part and fix the issue. The customer service and professionalism was outstanding.

Top notch Service.
I droped my C-26 pre amp and after few month I received a totally brand new unit. The sound is superb! Mostly records I am playing.
Evan, is an easy friendly and proactive person to talk.
I am very satisfied with the service provided.
Highly recommended.

These guys do great work!
I just picked up my vintage gear and it sounds amazing!
It was working before, but now it REALLY works like it should!

If you are looking for somewhere to take your valuable Mcintosh gear to be serviced, this is the place to go.

Great quick service on my 1966 Fisher receiver with incredible attention to detail! Will be bringing my gear here in the future!

Experience counts! Quality repairs of audio equipment.

I have had multiple items repaired here with excellent results. They are THE Mcintosh experts!

RIP MARK! you will be missed in your field!

Great work and great people.

Do not. I repeat. Do not bring your McIntosh gear here. They don’t answer the phone and hide behind “appointment only”. Amicable emails go unanswered. The only way to get a response is to threaten to come get your stuff, which you can’t because it’s “appointment only”. This is followed by no response to requesting a time. I’m not even sure this is a McIntosh certified repair facility. Calling McIntosh brings up serious questions as to the validity of this claim.

Seriously *do not bring your stuff here.* If you want your work done in someone’s basement while your stuff is stored in a garage. This is the place for you. If you want to never get your gear back this is the place for you. If you want to have to call the police to get them to answer the door and give you your stuff. This is the place for you.

Update to my original review: seriously don’t go here.

Originally Evan was very helpful and talkative on the phone prior to me bringing in my unit. We scheduled a time and date for me to drop it off. At drop off he was again helpful and talkative.

Flash forward months later and me calling for a simple status update, they don’t answer their phones, even after leaving a voicemail for a return call. I get it, you’re so called busy. However not returning a voicemail for days on end is unacceptable.

After finally getting ahold of Evan, he was a completely different person. He had a “we don’t care about your business” attitude. After asking a status update he got snippy with me and told me they would no longer work on my unit. I was puzzled and questioned him and he hung up on me. I called back immediately and he hung up right away. He then proceeded to not answer my calls. Definitely NOT the way to run a business.

I took it a step further and called McIntosh direct to A.) get my unit back, and B.) see if this place is even a real authorized shop. McIntosh had to get in contact with Mark/Evan as they weren’t replying to me.

The owner, Mark, ended up calling me back. He was nice and respectful. We set up a time and I picked up my unit. At the pickup, Evan was questioning if my unit came with the wood sleeve. A legit joke. Reeking of booze was a nice touch too. Yikes!

It’s a shame because I read numerous positive reviews about this place and was really excited about getting my unit back into tip top shape. Unfortunately Marks health has declined and it’s now being ran by someone who clearly doesn’t have people skills.

DO NOT waste your time with these guys. Authorized or not, find a company that values you as a customer.

Absolutely horrible service, DO NOT RECOMMEND!