Fixing the Table
Marantz TT-15 Turntable with ClearAudio V2 Ebony Cart
There are record stores, major retail shops, and online monsters that are not near the onsite experience. Then there’s Audio Element in Pasadena, a place that doesn’t just sell gear, but rewires your entire relationship with music. Walking in feels less like entering a retail space and more like stepping into a cathedral built for sound. The walls hum with possibility, turntables gleam under soft lights, and every corner is a reminder that music isn’t meant to be background noise — it’s meant to be lived in, bone-deep.
I came in with my Marantz TT-15, already a beautiful machine in its own right, but in need of new life, as I shamelessly wrecked my first cartridge that came with it (ClearAudio V2 Ebony) in as little as the 2nd day I assembled it. Alas, the crew at Audio Element listened. They asked questions. They cared. And then they installed a new Clearaudio V2 cartridge that turned my old records into something I hadn’t heard in years — not just sound, but soul. Miles Davis didn’t just play in my living room that night, he walked in, poured a drink, and sat down across from me.
What separates a shop like this from the pack is the ritual. No rush, no upsell, no judgment. Just a group of people who understand that music is oxygen for some of us, and the gear is the vessel that lets us breathe it in clean. Their demo room isn’t just a showroom — it’s a laboratory, a lounge, a chapel. You sit down, they drop the needle, and suddenly you remember why you fell in love with vinyl in the first place.
The staff here? Wizards in plain clothes. Knowledgeable without being pretentious, approachable without being salesy. They don’t just know their equipment — they live it and breathe it.
So yeah, if you’re serious about vinyl, about sound, about music in its purest uncut form — make your way to Pasadena. Walk through their doors. And prepare to never listen the same way again.
Audio Element
117 Union Street, Pasadena, CA, 91103
(818) 793-7229
