Our Story — Since 1974

July 15, 1974 marked the opening of The Sound Well at 1708B Grove Street (now Martin Luther King Jr. Way) in Berkeley, California. We have survived all the shops that were open at the time — and we are still here, over 50 years later.

A Smaller Shop for a Different Time

Our old landlord was wonderful and had not raised the rent in a long, long time, but we could no longer afford a store that size. At one time as many as seven of us earned a full-time wage at The Sound Well; that is now down to one and a half.

We moved out of our old location to a small space down the street, sharing space with Handy Electronics at 1467 University Avenue, in the first block below Sacramento Avenue. Our business roommate there, Ying Han, is an excellent video technician who has been in business over 20 years.

How We Work Now

This is a very small space, and our business model has changed considerably. We do much of the work from our homes and use the shop as a contact point for local clients and a place to drop sets off to sell us. We offer some local retail sales on Saturday afternoons, and the bulk of our higher-end sales are online through outlets such as Audiogon and eBay, and directly off our website.

We are currently operating without a storefront. We are not going away — we have shrunk to adapt, and we plan to stick around for a long time.

What Hasn't Changed

We still buy, restore, and sell the vintage gear we love, and we still stand behind what we sell. Most of our components have been serviced, and most carry a six-month parts and labor warranty.

The Sound Well — Since 1974 — 510-549-2126 — sales@thesoundwell.com