One of our favorite ultra-high-end audiophile dealers and one of the publication’s best industry friends, Sunil Merchant, and his Sunny Components in Covina, California, was recently robbed on Father’s Day 2024. The robbers were “pros” on one level, in that they broke into the low-profile Sunny Components store, which is away from the freeway and about 30 minutes east of downtown Los Angeles, off of the 10 Freeway. What was professional about this job was that robbers broke into the modest location (externally modest – the gear inside is anything but modest) via the roof and constructed a system using a net and hardware to hoist expensive audiophile gear up and away from the property. Where the robbers are anything but pros is the fact that you can’t easily fence a $400,000 WADAX DAC or a giant-ass pair of Stenheim speakers. A CH Precision amp isn’t going to sell on Audiogon when it is hot, hot, hot (like Buster Poindexter).
Did the Audiophile Robbers Get Caught?
Despite video cameras (which ended up with blurry video that was useless) and security systems, the robbers got away. The local police weren’t much help, either. Like many places in the United States, they took almost an hour to arrive at the location. The robbers took things that they can’t easily fence. They also took things like a Brinkman turntable that was very fragile, and they destroyed it in the parking lot.
The police suggested that, while the thieves were pros at one level, they likely were part of an Eastern European conglomerate that funds local, somewhat inexperienced people to commit robberies and then helps move the high-dollar gear. The police also offered the Sunny Component people some weak-sauce advice of “you should get a gun,” as if a gun would have stopped this theft. It was the middle of the night. Who exactly would have used a gun to stop them, other than a police officer or private security agent? C’mon, guys.
What Got Stolen From Sunny Components in Covina, California?
Rockport Atria 2 speakers, which are roughly $40,000 heavy and huge floorstanding loudspeakers. A whole bunch of Technics gear, including a number of turntables. A CH Precision $40,000 amp, as well as the aforementioned, massively expensive and fragile Brinkman turntable. While that doesn’t seem like a lot of gear for anybody who’s seen the inside of retailer Sunny Components, this was a lot of retail value and a collection of fragile, heavy and hard-to-fence gear.
This type of foolish act is not worth the risk. As we teach our children, don’t ever rob banks! Why not? Because in Southern California, you might get $6,000 to $7,000 in cash, loaded up with exploding ink packs and likely sequential serial numbered bills, that will eventually get you caught. Moreover, if/when you do get caught, you will do 15 to 20 years of hard time in a nasty-ass, California state prison, and when you amortize out the cost per year of your acts and factor in the gross percentage of your life that you will lose, $500 to $600 per year hardly seems worth the effort. If you are going to commit a crime (we recommend against that, by the way), you should look to something with a little more upside for your risk. Perhaps back-dating stocks? That can make one tens of millions of dollars and doesn’t often come with such a harsh penalty. Or perhaps, just don’t steal anything … That feels like better overall advice (unless you REALLY need an audiophile system upgrade …)
What Has Sunny Components Done to Protect Themselves for the Future?
New and better exterior lights is a start. A private security company is an even better idea. While Sunny Components is an audiophile-only dealer (meaning they don’t really do as many home theaters and no home automation), they now have much higher-quality, light-sensitive 4K cameras that are professionally installed and positioned in ways that will make any such theft a hell of a lot harder. New internal sensors have been installed, too. The rumor is that the $600,000 WADAX DAC has been retrofitted to have a .44 Magnum built into it, in order to shoot any potential robbers (as per police advice), but this is not a confirmed fact.
How Did This Affect Sunny Components and its Owner, Sunil?
Sunil told us that in the weeks after the robbery, he nearly closed the store for good. The unacceptable role of the police took a lot of wind out of his sails in the first few weeks. The violation of having your store broken into, as his was, took an emotional toll on him that made him not want to continue selling audiophile gear for a few weeks.
Things changed when Sunil took an enlightened inventory of the event. The people that robbed him are likely in desperate need for money. Sunil is not. While their actions were hurtful and damaging, they were not impossible to forgive, and that is just what Sunil did. He forgave them. As he said, “Forgiving these people allowed me to move on in a positive way for the future,” even if it took him a few weeks to get to such an outcome.
Keeping an Eye Out for Stolen Gear
What makes no sense is that fragile, heavy and exotic audiophile components are not easy to resell. How many $40,000 CH Precision amps do you think there are in the world? 100? 200? 300? Not much more than that. This one has a well-known serial number. A Brinkman Turntable is expensive, but with a shattered platter, it is basically worthless. A box-less Technics turntable can be sold, but for how much? $200, $300? You committed a felony for that? That’s not smart. How about big-ass Rockport Speakers that cost $40,000? How do you sell those? Shipping them to Eastern Europe or some other exotic locale isn’t remotely cost-effective. Where will they go? They are hotter than a pistol, and all of the audiophile resellers have been told to be on the lookout for such gear on the used market.
Final Thoughts on the Sunny Components Robbery …
Supposedly, this wasn’t the only Southern California audiophile robbery in this time frame, but for some reason, the police don’t feel like the two events were related. Without fingerprints and/or video, it is easy to understand their point of view.
The biggest lesson other than “don’t steal stupid, hard-to-fence” stuff comes from Sunil himself. There are two types of problems in the world: “people problems” and “thing problems.” This is a thing problem, and things can be replaced. Things can get replaced with insurance money. People problems, like a family member getting sick, are a whole level higher of complexity.
Sunil’s enlightened ability to forgive those who wronged him is a bright light shining on a dark situation. The idea of Sunil and Sunny Components not being part of the uber-high-end community here in the Los Angeles area or even from a nationwide perspective is too high of a price for the audiophile hobby to pay. Guys like Sunil don’t grow on trees, and the fact that he’s found a way to move on and move forward is the silver lining to this dark cloud of a story.
Have you ever had audiophile gear stolen from you? Would you report someone if you saw a component listed above on, say, Audiogon.com or USAudioMart.com? Let us know and we will post your comments ASAP.
Sad to hear about all thin and very disappointed.that the police could not be more helpful. I wonder if the police officer is aware of how anti-gun the California government is.
As a very much ANTI-GUN publisher based in California – not every police officer is bad but many are.
Just yesterday, two LAPD officers gave my 2.5 son a “badge” sticker for his little trike. That’s a good example. What the police in Sunil’s neighborhood told him is hard to digest and/or accept.
What kills me is… who the F is SO STUPID to steal Sunil’s stuff? You can’t F-ing sell it.
The suggestion is that is Eastern European people in “organized” (poorly organized) crime. Whatever. It still is stupid.
Rant over. 🙂
Thanks for the comments!!!
Jerry
“Or perhaps, just don’t steal anything … That feels like better overall advice (unless you REALLY need an audiophile system upgrade …)”
I wasn’t sure if I should laugh or cry.
Both felt natural.
Sorry to hear of such a loss Sunil.
I am glad no one was physically harmed in the robbery.
I have been robbed of large speakers years ago. According to the investigators, the robbers must have cased my store and showrooms. They busted through the Cement Block wall beside the toilet in the bathroom to make a hole large enough to get Flagship Mirage Omnipolar speakers through and many electronic components. Because it was Christmas season, Boxes had been stacked up the walls in our small store partially covering my Infrared detectors. Protecting the hallway to the theater. AT that time I did not have cameras in the back of the store. They parked away from my cameras covering the parking lot. They busted through the interior walls to move products out. The detective said they must have been busting the Block wall for about a hour to make a hole so large and on a Sunday there were no witnesses.
Glad you have been able to forgive them.
It was definitely the first thing that enabled me to move on relatively quickly and make things better.
Great idea to get some coverage so we all can look for these products.
Best of luck.
D
Thanks for sharing your story AND reading!!! 🙂
I visited Sunil’s store shortly after the robbery. I had no idea the extent to which he had suffered the loss. For sure, his interaction with me was superbly professional, and I am glad I purchased a Technics turntable from him that day. (Customers help his recovery.)
Twice in my life, I have been robbed via a home invasion. It is difficult to explain how violated — and vulnerable — one feels from such an experience, even if one is not (fortunately) on the premises during the robbery. Quite a few store owners simply close shop after this sort of experience. I am very glad that Sunil has decided to persevere. Sunny Components is a landmark of high-end audio equipment in the southwestern United States,
This is very sad news. It’s a stupid robbery unless they stole to order. I’m from the UK. Just a few days ago, my fave Cheese supplier was conned out of £300K of aged Cheddar cheese. They thought they were supplying a bona fide wholesaler! How on earth are they going to fence truckles of famous cheese?