High Sierra Video Repair

Write a Review775-329-5400

DEPRESSING, BAFFLING--EPIC FAIL

Fred, one of the main tech guys at High Sierra, was highly recommended to me by an employee of a well-known electronic parts store here in Reno. He was described as a master of vintage audio gear, especially of the tube variety, and about the only guy left in town who could fix the stuff. What a bum steer; what a disappointing experience.
Potential customers: Stay far, far away unless you enjoy being blown off or given a never-ending runaround, one song and dance and excuse after another for months and months on end. Nearly seven months for me.
Initially, I was told that it would be a month and a half before Master Fred could even take a look at my Scott 121c preamp, diagnose its electronic problems and come up with an estimate for repairs. Fair enough--there was a backup and he was busy.
Three months went by and I didn't hear from Fred or anyone else at High Sierra. Naturally, I called them and try to find out what the heck was going on.
I was told that Fred was having some difficulty matching up the schematic with the piece of equipment I had submitted, that it had been miswired by the previous owner, sloppily and improperly repaired by the person I bought it from on eBay. All this, I might note, had been made clear to Fred at the outset.
Another month or so went by. Fred finally called to say that he was stalled out, or something to that effect. I offered to let him borrow another (working and [mostly] properly wired) Scott 121c preamp that I have. All Fred would then have had to do, in essence, was copy what he saw in the working preamp and apply it to the broken one.
Yet another 90 days, possibly longer, passed. No attempt to contact me was made. I gave up at this point, called the shop and told them to just give the stuff back to me.
When I went down to the shop to pick up my gear, I was presented with Fred's careful and thorough analysis of my electronic situation, information that, in actuality, was apparent and already known to both of us (the miswiring and a problem with the phono circuit). These observations cost me 40 dollars, more or less 40 dollars for nothing except waiting around for almost 7 months. Oh, he did make me aware that I had wired a couple of resistors in parallel instead of in series as I should have in the 2nd preamp (which I had worked on), so, I guess that was something.
The wind-up included Fred stating that, as a result of too many problems that were insurmountable in the original preamp, it wouldn't be economically feasible for him to repair it, as he was "too expensive." His contention that my old preamp couldn't be fixed and the inference that I couldn't afford it (how would he know?) were both simply and utterly not true.
I took the device home and fixed it that night. It now works exactly as it should, sounds great, and it wasn't rocket surgery. It took me about five hours, but I'm a relative novice, one who can wield a soldering iron, follow instructions and manage not to electrocute myself. That's about it. Fred, a professional with many years of expertise and experience behind him, probably could have knocked it out in two, maybe three hours. That would have earned him, what, 2, 3 hundred dollars?
In addition to blowing me off, losing me as a customer (and maybe a few others as a result of this wasteful, junk experience), he lost quite a few bucks. Is this any way to treat people? Is this any way to run a business?
I suggest you take yours elsewhere. Something is very wrong at High Sierra.
Ultimately, I can't decide if I'm depressed or angry. But, then, depression is just anger without the enthusiasm.

I have done business with HighSierra Video over several decades in Reno. Chip and his crew even came to my home to fix my 40" picture tube tv that weighed over 250#. It's a busy shop and you may have to wait a few days for your equipment. But it will done right and they still repair old vacuum tube equipped like my University Sound Receiver and Macintosh. You won't be sorry.

I had a serviceman come out to my house to work on my big screen tv. He was on time and he knew what the problem was within minutes. He fixed my tv in my home and was very reasonable in price and very knowledgeable in the products. I would recommend this company to anyone with big tvs.

Very polite and courteous, fun to do business with.

These folks have had a television (then top of line Sony WEGA) of mine since late 2005. They have not responded to repeated written and telephone requests attempting to somehow resolve this situation. Presently, I am left with no options other than to consider the property stolen and attempt to file criminal charges, or proceed with a small claims suit. In any case, I will take the time to advise all consumer sites and local press so others might avoid the same type of problem I have experienced. Oh, I've had to buy a replacement television.