A Scandalous Company Operating at Basement Level
A Scandalous Company Operating at Basement Level
For many years, the Danish company Classic Audio was a good place to go when an old B&O system needed repairing. The company has now been taken over by a Swede operating out of a basement in Örebro, who charges exorbitant prices for shoddy workmanship and deliberately obstructs dissatisfied customers.
Old turntables and amplifiers can be charming, but BEWARE when they need repairing. As a Hi-Fi enthusiast and journalist, I have tested several of the companies that claim to be experts in B&O equipment, and unfortunately there are quite a few bunglers out there. One of them is Classic Audio in Sweden.
At the beginning of the year, I contacted Classic Audio, which was originally a Danish company but has now been taken over by a man named D. Andersson (DA) in Örebro, Sweden.
On its website, D. Andersson advertises that Classic Audio can make old B&O systems sound better than they did when they were manufactured 50 years ago. Prices start at SEK 8,700. Certainly not cheap — but intriguing.
I therefore sent an iconic Beolab 5000 amplifier to Sweden to find out whether this could really be true. A couple of months later, I drove all the way from Copenhagen to Örebro to see the result of the work.
It turns out that Classic Audio operates from a dark and cluttered basement on the outskirts of the city. A chaotic environment that stands in stark contrast to Bang & Olufsen’s beautiful design. Here, I am solemnly handed a certificate, produced by DA himself, containing various measurements. There is, however, no independent verification of the figures in this homemade document.
Back home in Copenhagen, it is only a matter of days before one of the buttons on the front panel falls off. The other black front-panel buttons keep sticking, perhaps because the new front panel has been screwed on crookedly. One of the screws holding the whole thing together also falls out.
A little later, the amplifier starts humming in one channel. I therefore contact Classic Audio and point out the serious problems.
But the Swedish electrician apparently has just as much trouble dealing with criticism as he does with a soldering iron. Among other things, he describes my complaint as aggressive and refuses to address the documentation I have provided.
Although my trust in DA is by now almost gone, I nevertheless send the faulty amplifier back to Sweden at my own expense. The amplifier is carefully repackaged, and naturally I expect the man, as agreed, to be ready to receive the fragile B&O icon. But that does not happen.
I follow the shipment closely via FedEx all the way to Örebro, but after the first delivery attempt, the package is returned to the depot. It is Wednesday in May.
I immediately contact D. Andersson, who arrogantly replies that he is not at home and that he will decide for himself when he receives my shipment. DA does, however, assure me that he will accept the package on Friday. (Thursday is a public holiday.)
On Friday, exactly the same thing happens again. “The shipment could not be delivered,” FedEx reports, and the package is sent back to the depot. I contact the Swede again, who this time comes up with a creative story claiming that he has had the package redirected to another address. According to FedEx, this is not correct, and the amplifier is never received by Classic Audio before the weekend.
It is not until Monday — on the third attempt — that the battered Beolab is finally delivered to the agreed address. That same day, I receive a formal email from Mr. DA informing me that the amplifier has been completely destroyed. How this happened remains unclear. But it is, of course, very convenient for D. Andersson that he can now completely disclaim responsibility for the amateurish work he carried out.
The official explanation from Classic Audio is also exactly what one might expect. It is my cardboard box that caused the disaster. Nothing else.
Subsequently, D. Andersson has threatened to keep the destroyed amplifier if I continue to ask critical questions about his questionable methods. The remains of the old B&O treasure are still lying in the basement in Örebro, and I have never received a single Swedish krona in refund.
So be careful, and stay away from Classic Audio if you care about your old Hi-Fi equipment.