Which LA car audio shop?

December 4, 2006 2:06 PM

Can anyone recommend a good place in Los Angeles to buy car audio components and have them installed?

(Yes, I have Googled and searched online fora extensively. I've been shocked at how few online testimonials there are.)

Looking to improve the audio in my '06 WRX. I'm more interested in accurate sound reproduction than crazy bass. Haven't decided if I want to just buy a head unit and a couple coaxial speakers and be done with it, or if I want a component system, additional soundproofing in the doors, etc.

One thing I've read is that sound quality for car audio is mostly determined by quality of installation. So I'd rather not pick my installer blind.

Any LA-based peeps care to share their favorite mobile sound gurus?

posted by lbergstr to shopping (5 comments total)

Al & Ed's
posted by forallmankind at 3:05 PM on December 4, 2006

i got my sirius sportster replay installed at Al & Ed's. There are several locations, mine was near work. i've had a couple of issues with it since the install, but i'm not sure if it's faulty installation, or faulty hardware. the antenna needed to be replaced after close to a year, and the cable that allows me to plug the unit into the cd changer port on the back of the stock head unit has needed to be replaced twice. since i originally bought that cable from the store, i haven't had to pay for any replacements. i did have to pay to replace the antenna though.
posted by maffachu at 3:50 PM on December 4, 2006

When I bought my car (used), it had a non-factory-installed stereo that had terrible audio and popped. When I went to Best Buy to buy one with a CD player, and asked about new speakers (to solve the popping issue), the guy told me to just try the stereo first, and when the technician installed it, sure enough, he noticed that the previous wiring job was bad and fixed it (and saved me a few hundred bucks on the speakers). Since then I've gone back to them twice (both after break-ins), and every time they've been great and I've had no problems.
posted by Messily at 5:21 PM on December 4, 2006

I've heard wildly varying things about Al & Ed's; I guess it comes down to which branch you visit. For future reference, I found a testimonial for Sounds Good in Woodland Hills that was pretty compelling, I'm going to try them out.
posted by lbergstr at 10:46 AM on December 6, 2006

Al & Ed's in Van Nuys, definitely.
posted by Asparagirl at 4:12 PM on December 6, 2006