Ken Bowers has been into audio equipment since he took apart a boom box at age 6. "I wanted to see how it worked," he now explains.

Skipping ahead a few years, Bowers was shopping for parts to fix a turntable when he found his professional calling at Jerry Raskin's Needle Doctor.

Bowers went from working part time to full time to managing the retail and online operation that today bills itself as the world's largest source of turntable needles, phono cartridges and turntables.

"We're primarily a mail order company, so we talk to people from all over the world: Japan, Europe, Canada, South America," said Bowers, who has been at Needle Doctor for 15 years now. "All of these people, they love music. They're buying stuff to play music. That's one of the main things that has kept me here, getting to deal with different people that all have a common interest."

Bowers' audio component collection doesn't stop at turntables. He also has a vintage reel-to-reel tape recorder and a far out 8-track tape deck.

Raskin opened his Needle Doctor shop in 1979, focusing on turntables after getting his start selling cassette tapes from his backpack.

The store moved from Minneapolis' Dinkytown to St. Louis Park last year and now features larger inventory and a bigger showroom to encourage walk-in customers. While walk-ins account for only about 10 percent of the store's business — online shoppers make up the bulk of sales — Bowers said employees learn more from the turntables customers bring in for diagnosis.

Needle Doctor is also hip to those shiny, silvery compact discs that have caught on in recent years. The store stocks CD players, speakers, amplifier/receivers, cables and headphones.

Three and out with Needle Doctor's Ken Bowers

• How do you explain vinyl's comeback?

It's making a comeback now more than ever but it never really went away. Now there are more records being printed. That decade from 1990 to 2000, DJs really made vinyl interesting. The people who played vinyl or still play vinyl as DJs deserve a lot of props for keeping the format around.

• What's your advice for someone playing a turntable that's been in the basement 20 years?

Clean it off first if it's dusty. As long as the needle is in decent condition and it plays at the right speed, give it a shot. Bring it in here and we'll check it out for free.

• What are Needle Doctor's best sellers?

The Pro-Ject and Rega turntables are really popular. They both make affordable, entry-level products that play a record how it's supposed to be played. For $300 to $400 you can get nice entry-level high-end turntable.

Three more and out with Bowers

• What albums are on your turntable a lot?

I like Fleetwood Mac. "Rumors" is one of my favorite albums. Muddy Waters' "Folk Singer." Matthew Dear, his new album is really good. I primarily listen to electronic music and old disco.

• How do you rank the various audio formats you own — what sounds best?

Reel-to-reel setups, the high-end ones, they are amazing. Tape sounds great. Sonically, depending on what CD you're comparing it too, vinyl is definitely my favorite. When I really want to listen to something, if I have the vinyl, that's my preferred format.

• What's currently in your 8-track player?

Jimi Hendrix. "Electric Ladyland." I don't play them often. They get eaten up a lot. It's a novelty, more for fun.