When The Stereo Shop opened its doors in 1959, hi-fi home audio locations were plentiful throughout Connecticut. Now, the Hartford store is one of the few remaining and the oldest in the state.
The shop specializes in luxury home audio equipment, including installation and repairs, in its showroom located at 505 Farmington Ave. The business initially opened in on Asylum Street and 10 years later moved to its current location on Farmington Avenue.
The Stereo Shop was a two-generation family business run most recently by Nick Perfito Jr. until 2023, when 33-year-old David Harrop bought the business.
Harrop said he met Perfito while he was working in the electrical field in Martha’s Vineyard.
“We were really good friends. I liked him and we stayed in touch,” Harrop said. “One day he called me up and said he wanted to retire and asked if I wanted to take over. So, I came in and bought it.”
Harrop came to Connecticut four years ago and for two years learned the ropes under Perfito before officially taking the reins in 2023.
Harrop, originally from Georgia, lives in Hartford with his wife Dana Lauren, a jazz singer, pianist and songwriter. Lauren also works at The Stereo Shop. Harrop, who loves music, said he became an electrician while working in Massachusetts. He said owning The Stereo Shop is a perfect blend of electronics and music.
Harrop said he has worked to modernize the business but has not made any drastic changes.
“There’s a culture to it and I don’t want to change much of anything besides a few updates to get into the modern age,” Harrop said. “We needed social media. We were hand-written for a long time. There is a modernization that needed to happen, but this has been such a staple in Hartford, and I take pride in that history.”
Harrop said he has heard the same story from customers over and over that this business has been a part of their lives for decades.
“They always say the same thing,” Harrop said. “I came in as a kid, and I could never afford anything here, but I drooled over the equipment. But now they come in at 40 or 50 and say, ‘I can finally buy this stuff now.’
“When someone comes to the door at some other hi-fi stores, they may turn up their nose at someone and say, ‘If you are not going to drop 100K, I’m not spending time with you,’” Harrop said. “But we let everyone in here because people came in the ’80s and couldn’t afford anything and are now back to buy. It’s the same kind of concept.”
Harrop said that home audio systems range in cost from $500 to $160,000 and that the business carries all of the top brands. Harrop said he recently sold a $160,000 product, which was two speakers.
“We are kind of old school, which people like. In the modern age, everyone wants speakers on the ceiling of their house They want to be able to stream from their phones,” Harrop said. “We do that as well, but we blend that with high-end, two-channel systems so really a stereo. It’s this beautiful blend of both. You can count on your hands how many hi-fi stores are left in New England that do what we do. People travel from all over to come here just to hear the two-channel systems that we have.”
Harrop said one of the store’s claims to fame is the connection to McIntosh.
“It’s one of the most well-known hi-fi brands there is. We were one of the oldest McIntosh dealers ever,” Harrop said. “It all goes back to the previous owner’s aunt was the founder of McIntosh.”
Technician Rich Cox has witnessed the entirety of The Stereo Shop’s lifespan, starting as a customer more than a half century ago. The 79-year-old has worked as a technician at store since 1964 and was a customer when the stereo shop was previously a record shop in the 1950s.
“The record shop saw some bad times and decided to close in 1959,” Cox said. “The next day after the record shop closed, Nick (Perfito) Sr. reopened it the next day as a stereo shop. At that time, stereos were just coming out and no one knew what it was all about. But for Nick Sr., customer service was paramount.
“I remember him being on the sales floor speaking with someone interested in buy an expensive system,” Cox added. “Someone walked in wanting to get a fuse replaced. He left his customer to help the man get a fuse for 10 or 15 cents and gave it to the guy and told him if you have any problems bring it in and we will take a look at it and he went back to his other customer.”
Cox emphasized that customer service has been a trademark of the business since the beginning.
“If you could instill in their mind, we would be here to service anything that might occur, they would come back and that tradition continues today,” Cox said.
Cox said as Connecticut residents leave the state for retirement, the shop travels out of state to locations like Martha’s Vineyard and Florida to install into their new homes.
“That’s how (Nick Jr.) met Dave,” Cox said. “Nick would go to Martha’s Vineyard and needed help running wires and drilling holes for speakers and Dave would give him a hand. Over the years, they formed a good relationship and eventually Dave bought the store.”
Cox, a Hartford native and West Hartford resident, said he previously worked for the phone company but got tired of doing the same thing every day.
“I love that every day I come here to work, every day is different. That keeps me going,” Cox said. “I’m going to be 80 in five months, and I still expect to be here then.”
Cox said The Stereo Shop endured over the years because the company always had top-of-the-line equipment and never played the price-matching game.
“A large percentage of the people who come in the door have been my customers for the last 30 or 40 years,” Cox said. “If we get a call for service, we will have someone go on a truck to anywhere in the tri-state area or Rhode Island or Massachusetts.”
There are six employees on Herrop’s staff, which includes a few that do custom instillation on the road. That “is a big part of the business now,” Herrop said. The store hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Harrop said the biggest challenge in his first year-and-a-half at the helm is outreach to a younger generation about what his business offers.
“Once they hear it, they always say they have never heard anything like this before or they never thought it existed.,” Harrop said. “The younger generation grew up with AirPods and Bluetooth speakers. … The outreach to that generation seems to be more difficult. But with the rise of turntables, people have started to come in and look at things.
“If they came in and tried it they will see it’s a different sound to what they are used to,” Harrop said.
Harrop said newer customers are getting used to the customer service provided at The Stereo Shop.
“They are used to the big box stores and not used to the customer service that we provide,” Harrop said. “People calling with an issue and us picking up the phone and walking them through their issue step by step. I believe in shaking someone’s hand when they leave. People aren’t used to that anymore.”