Diablo Stereo & Video 670 Gregory Lane, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523

"When I walked in the door, I should have immediately turned around. The small dirty storefront is packed like a sad stereo junk-yard from the 70's. His banter was riddled with rants about work being done on his "fabulous home" while berating his contractors, sprinkled with a mix of profanities and bragging about all the famous people he had met, plus his 2 jets, etc, etc. Hello anger management?? All that aside, Mr. Waterman (the owner) took my turntable, had it for 2 months! Repeated calls were met with repeated excuses, so I finally picked up my turntable which had never been touched. Even though he said he had "gone through it", it was still in the same unworking condition, but he insisted on keeping my $85 deposit as a "bench fee". I'll never be back."

"Dion Waterman, owner of Diablo Stereo &Video, has always come through for me when I've needed a component repaired. His work is professionally and competently done plus timely. My latest project for him was two mint condition Advent speakers that were lacking bass response. He fixed the speakers in two days and they sound amazing. Thank heavens I didn't sell them! Don't hesitate to trust Dion with your stereo repair needs, he'll take care of you."

"This store is such a gem! I brought in the Sony 1100 turntable for repair and I was quoted a very reasonable fee for repair and for a mid-grade new needle. The pricing was very transparent and fair and the owndr is such a nice guy! I had almost given up on this turntable but he had it in working order within a matter of days! Forget the bigger outfits, this is the place to go for stereo repair in Contra Costa."

"First off, I really like this guy. He reminds me of my brilliant tinkering uncle that worked for Northrop and was a mechanical engineer that worked on radar systems. He can fix almost anything, likely with the exception of really cheap overseas pieces. I took in my 12 year old and expensive Technics SL-121-M5G turntable. It was running slow. Not only did he fix it but he had great suggestions on a better needle that all turned out to be true when I got home, and he properly setup all the counterbalances. When I came in, I wasn't sure what to expect. I did recognize the sign of a tinkerer when I saw all the components throughout the shop. As I was there, he received a package that turned out to be a difficult electronics board from one of his customers. He was like.. woohooo! He likes finding difficult parts and helping his customers. When I see the negative reviews, I can tell immediately what happened. They walked into his shop/world and told him what he was going to do. He will let you know what he can do for you, and then you decide how to proceed. But, walking in there with a strong attitude about what you will pay likely won't go over well. The reality for this kind of work is it is not cheap and it is not simple to get done properly. He charges a $75 fee to do his assessment, and yes on complicated items he can't give you a price right then and there. NONE of these guys can, and you shouldn't trust guys with "flat fees" people. If you're coming in for some super cheap product, and you expect a cheap fix then maybe you're in the wrong place. If you're an audiophile and you care about your equipment or TV, this is the guy. I feel VERY fortunate I have this guy as a provider. Just like the one (1) tech I trust in the Bay for repairing 1960s guitar amps for me. Hold onto the few technicians that care people!"

"This place is a diamond in the rough. Dion is an old-school A/V expert who diagnosed and repaired my AIWA double cassette deck for less than what it would cost to buy a brand new deck. He knows his way around all things stereo/video/cassette/phonograph etc., so he is a treasure for those of us that want to keep some of our classic equipment alive and humming. The AIWA double cassette deck I have is loaded with a lot of features you won't find on newer cassette decks--unless you're willing to shell out $500 or more on Amazon or other sites--and even then you probably won't find decks with reverse play, slow play, auto repeat, etc. Dion got my cassette deck back up and running for far less--and in only a couple of days. This place was a great find and I highly recommend that you give Dion a call if you have any old equipment you're considering salvaging or replacing."