10 Hi-Fi Listening Bars You Need to Hear to Believe

By Rae Witte

There are probably dozens of reasons big venues are struggling right now beyond Gen Z never developing a taste for booze and the general incompetence of club owners. But there is at least one strain of NYC nightlife that is absolutely not floundering, and appears, for now, immune to the drinking habits of those aging into a night out. And it’s all thanks to a newish fixation on oldish, or analog, sound. You’ve seen them, no doubt, pop up in damn-near every neighborhood with foot-traffic steady enough, and an “afters” scene lively enough, to receive its very own set of blow-out Klipsch LaScalas and a steely, sturdy vintage Marantz receiver or, more likely, something exceedingly lavish.

But hi-fi lounges, listening bars, or whatever the next tag is for “a roomy cavern with good cocktails, comfy furniture, a dance floor, and big speakers we’d probably enjoy hearing a great DJ in”—when programmed purposefully, calibrated to the unique physical quirks and dimensions of the space—can actually be quite a bit more than just mid-modern watering holes built around pricey sound systems. Some are barely disguised clubs, plain and simple. Some stay aligned with their Japanese roots, requiring minimal talking, taking no requests, and playing jazz exclusively. But others use their hardware to build and cultivate communities around sonic discovery and a commitment to improving the overall quality of our collective aural lives, hosting album listening sessions and vinyl-only DJ sets that take deep, bright, and thoughtful journeys through whole worlds of sound. All of them, however, need to be heard, regardless of whether you’re a rabid, seasoned, spec-clocking purist or just taking your first steps along the path of developing an ear for good, round, clean sound.

As it happens, the home borough of Public Records, the club/complex arguably at the heart of the city’s somewhat recent obsession with sound quality and six-figure speaker stacks, now contains untold numbers of new spots vying for the hearts and heads of a steadily growing body of audiophiles.

So we put foot to pavement and ear to driver to find some of the best hi-fi listening bar experiences in Brooklyn right now.

Courtesy of Suono

Suono
333 Thompkins

Only open Friday and Saturday evenings until 9 pm to 1 am, Suono is the tiny, no frills, all sound, listening room with a big history below Bed-Stuy’s Bar Camillo. Partnered with his first neighbors in New York, owner Danilo Braca grew up in a high-fidelity household in Italy. Son of the founder of the country’s first sound magazine, Suono, the namesake bar has speakers his father built and puts a huge emphasis on listening quality.

Courtesy of Good Bar

Good Bar
1 Bedford Ave.

Without centering their speakers and sound panels as decor, Good Bar, arguably the unfussiest of this bunch, is big on sound and taste in music without the overtly obvious Japanese listening room aesthetic. From the same owners as Greenpoint’s dance club Good Room, it’s the much more subdued sister venue. Both bartenders and occasional DJs make selections from the wall-to-wall records that line every open wall space in the dimly lit, triangular room. They carry an easy, full menu, with burgers and other sandwiches, fries, and reasonably priced beers, wines, and cocktails.

Courtesy of Kissa Kissa

Kissa Kissa
667 Franklin Ave.

A jazz kissa is a type of cafe or lounge that thrived in Japan from the 1950s to the 1970s, playing only recorded jazz music. Crown Heights’ Kissa Kissa is Brooklyn’s version. Opened in 2024, Kissa Kissa plays only vinyl, having both DJs and staff select LPs from their collection of 5,000 primarily Japanese pressings. It’s dark and cozy with a covered all-seasons backyard, serving cocktails and a tight menu of small bites. The drink menu, by the way, is a winner. Try the Giant Steps, a Japanese whisky crowd-favorite cocktail, or the Smoke Stack with Mezcal, which nicely complements their house-spiced popcorn. On weekends, the sounds skew a little more soul and funk, but it’s all jazz all the time at Kissa Kissa.

Courtesy of BierWax

BierWax
556 Vanderbilt Ave.

Opened in 2017, BierWax, owned by husband and wife duo Chris and Yashira Maestro, is certainly the longest-running vinyl bar on this list, but it’s believed to be the oldest in the country. It’s also the only one here with a menu focused on local craft beer. Chris is a Flushing, Queens native and Level I Cicerone (like a sommelier for beer), so the beer selection is always top-notch, and they treat the bar as if it’s an extension of their home. It’s a great spot to pull up to with friends.

Courtesy of Eavesdrop

Eavesdrop
674 Manhattan Ave.

Opened in 2022, Eavesdrop has been heralded as the consummate date spot. Natural wine, a dynamic craft cocktail menu, and small plates in a high-design room—with custom, hand-cut birch plywood, perfect lighting, and a strict 36-person capacity—make for an elite ambiance. The Technicolor Dreamicle and Somersault (with a housemade watermelon cordial), are the most popular cocktails, and cold sesame noodles and tuna tartare, served only on weekdays, are must-trys. You’ll want to make a reservation most days, but especially on weekends.

Courtesy of Honeycomb

Honeycomb
74 5th Ave.

Guests refer to Honeycomb as the hi-fi experience closest to Tokyo’s listening bars, but they play a lot more than jazz here. Low light, excellent sound, and set in tight quarters, the ambiance at the Park Slope bar is intimate, directing focus to sound first, cocktails second, and not much else. There’s no phone number listed, and they don’t serve food, but you’ll hear records from the owner’s massive collection and enjoy classic cocktails, one of their many Japanese whiskeys, or one of their specialties, like the mezcal-based Infante.

Courtesy of Public Records

Public Records
233 Butler St.

Public Records, a Gowanus staple, has been around since 2019 without much else nearby. The multi-level, multi-use venue is a vegan cafe and wine bar that routinely fills (at least) three separate spaces in the compound. There’s “The Sound Room,” a live stage and performance space that supports DJs and bands alike; “The Atrium,” which is a colossal, yet verdant, concrete-walled main hall with booths and a massive skylight over the bar and cafe it houses; plus, a separate, smaller sound room upstairs, usually hosting album listening sessions or intimate sets (they also have a magazine corner and record shop by the entrance). Nights at The Sound Room are a little closer to a club than their others, but they regularly bring excellent vinyl DJs and parties into the space.

Courtesy of Mr. Melo

Mr. Melo
61 Withers St.

Just a year and change since first opening its doors, Mr. Melo has become a requisite, if not categorically essential, destination for those seeking a night of pure sonic discovery. From its raised booth, and through one of the city’s best systems, local, regional, and touring DJs spin exclusively vinyl sets in a room built to boom or simmer to the selector’s desired effect by friends, partners, owners, and operators Nate Ulsh and Nik Vagenas, just west of the BQE overpass on Meeker in Williamsburg. While the star here is certainly the sound, don’t sleep on that cocktail menu, which holds some magnificent, madcap concoctions dreamt up by Vagenas, like the just salty enough feta brine martini, the bright and cool ginger yuzu smash, or the “Baba Rita,” which pairs eggplant-infused tequila with agave and lime.

Courtesy of Laziza

Laziza
306A Malcolm X Blvd.

Between the killer food and cocktail menus and the DJ booth—fit with a pair of vintage monitors and a haute butter-smooth rotary mixer—built right into its marbled bar, it’s hard to get a sense of whether your time’s best spent eating, drinking, or dancing at Laziza. But don’t break your brain over it—the answer, at this narrow sliver of repurposed commercial space sharing walls and programming with some friendly funky neighbors, is always yes. Laziza welcomes food pop-ups, vinyl and wine nights, and a rotating roster of ace DJs every week, and throws block parties and collaborative blow-outs on a newly-opened patio in a, let’s say, cozy, courtyard shared with the cafe Che next door. It’s a community hub building bonds through tightly curated collective live music experiences, and you couldn’t ask for a more lively or consistent newcomer to the fully in-bloom “afters” circuit in Stuyvesant Heights.

Courtesy of Deep Dive

Deep Dive
246 Patchen Ave.

By far the newest addition to the borough’s hi-fi boom is the aptly named Deep Dive, a lounge on an otherwise inconspicuous strip of Patchen in southeast Bed-Stuy, a corner of Brooklyn that is quickly amassing an embarrassment of exceptional sound rooms. The space is intimate—designed by local and essential DJ duo Asen James and Spencer Blake, for active and intentional listeners—and has hosted both world-renowned selectors and album listening parties in the few months since it opened. However, it currently keeps limited hours (open Friday through Sunday from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m.), with plans to expand in the months ahead. Keep an eye on their Instagram for event announcements.