Crown Audio Video Inc — Local services in Addison

Get EVERYTHING in writing...

... & audio record every conversation, luckily I did. These guys think they can continue secretly, royally screwing people over... without getting noticed. The jig is up!

Run don't walk away. If you want your time wasted... feel like being taken advantage of & a customer experience that is about as enjoyable as being robbed at knife point in your living room... choose Crown Audio & Video Inc. I know this is just my experience. I've heard plenty of happy people have done business with Crown, but I am not one of them.

Crown Audio & Video may have great people... but they are great at covertly squeezing customers and using ambiguiouty omit facts so customers cannot hold them accountable.

Working with Wade & Buddy left so much to be desired. It was an absolute nightmare. After purchasing more than $10,000 worth of new equipment (new tv, receiver and Control4) to connect and control using Amazon Alexa... the install ended with no integration.

This authorized C4 dealer promised to return to program our Amazon Echo. heck, that's the whole reason we chose Control4. The advertising from Control4 regarding what the system can do... is completely misleading and false. 10 weeks later... Control4 has never been used w/ Alexa. It's still not connected. The website and promotional materials say, "imagine" and that's exactly what you'll doing...

I contacted Control4 and they attempted to blame the dealer... Who returned to replace the receiver because it stopped working. Instead of replacing it liked they promised... they claimed we needed an electrician. I had Crown audio refer me to the electrician that they feel comfortable using... Electric Man inc who then charged me $169 for a "free" consultation to determine what the problem was... then the electrician that crown audio chose stated that it wasn't the power or the receiver... it was indeed the television that was causing the failure.

You get the distinct feeling that something is wrong or you're being swindled of or worse yet ripped off when you're using an iPad to watch tv while you're sitting in front of a brand new $8000 television with a $1000 home automation device and none of it works because everyone is passing blame... and the control 4 authorized dealer you hired to integrate Alexa and control 4 in fact hasn't the foggiest... and continues to invent new ways for you incur expense.

What's Sad? I was excited and patient and addressed the issue: The manufacture is not supporting their authorized dealers and leaving it up to them... without any support, training or time to integrate Alexa. The simple fact that the hardware and software is proprietary means they refuse to allow users to access the authoring tool so that we can do it ourselves.

Requests were submitted by email. Verbal requests were made in person and two meetings were in initiated by myself in an attempt to clarify the disconnect... and get both Wade and buddy to focus in on finishing the job originally promised. To no avail.

Do not purchase any Control4 product unless you want your time wasted... and feel like being screwed. Sure, control4 is a wonderful product but I wouldn't know because I bought one and never had a chance to use it .

Imagine if I found the C4 composer pro edition make my own home automation happen... not everyone can go online & hack to happiness. A solution: DIY... or find, and vet a real home automation integrator you can trust.

Josh.ai is an alternative... as is Apple Home Kit. There are many solutions, hacks and open source tools that you can use to modify a variety of hubs. The industry is growing larger and there's more oversight everyday. So, if you're in the market for home automation the best thing to do is just do it yourself or find and hire real professionals with documentation: proposals, estimates, contracts that are comprehensive.

The Internet & Technology can be cruel mistresses... & I'll go ahead & say... this nightmare tarnishes Crown Audio and Videos' reputation... what a shame. Karma is...

Absolutely Horrible Experience – Avoid Crown Audio Video Inc. at All Costs! We spent close to $30,000 for an audio and video installation with Crown Audio Video Inc., and it’s been one of the worst experiences we’ve ever had. From the start, we requested a Universal Smart Remote system, but they hard-sold us on Control 4 instead – an inferior system that locked us into their proprietary platform, only to nickel and dime us with fees from installation onwards.

They also installed a DVR that couldn’t even do motion detection, and/or they refused to install motion detection after we explained how important it was to us. Despite us repeatedly telling them we motion detection, after bringing it up at least 10 times, they still ignored our request and now 1 year later are asking us to pay more to get it done the right way. We paid quite a few thousand dollars for the cameras and DVR, which they have locked us out of and wont transfer to a different security company so that we can remove Crown Audio completely from our equipment. We're now placing a complaint to the Texas Department of Public Safety due to their negligence and unscrupulous business practices.

Their Control 4 solution? Ancient remotes that look like they belong in the 1990s instead of modern touchscreens like our original Universal Remotes (now 5 years old but superior to their models they sold us at full retail pricing last year). We ended up having to spend another $5-7k just to get out of their Control 4 trap and install the Universal system we wanted originally.

To make matters worse, they tried charging us $150 just to reset a password—a password they never gave us in the first place! Even now, we still don’t have the passwords for our cameras, which they claim each has its own. It feels like they’re holding us hostage for even more service fees just to access the equipment we already paid tens of thousands of dollars for.

Their service is abysmal. Instead of getting the job done right, they fall back on their contracts, offering no flexibility or customer care. They sold us on equipment claiming it was the "absolute best" and as "professionals," we expected much better service. Unfortunately, it became clear they were just out to lock us into a system that would generate them more revenue every time we needed help.

If you're looking for a reliable A/V company in the DFW area, I urge you to avoid Crown Audio. Hire them at your own peril. Even Geek Squad would do a better job—and that’s saying a lot. We expected so much more for the $30,000+ we spent and ended up getting swindled by their shady tactics. Run, don’t walk, away from...

UPDATE: These guys are still amazing!!! We are finishing up our pool project and Crown Audio has perfected the tie in for the AV from our house and back patio, now to our pool and cabana area. It's flawless and so much easier to control everything now from one remote or our phone apps. It all sounds and looks great! Everything from James perfecting even the small details of the overall job we requested down to Emerson and his team installing it all in the time frame they set aside. Just as the last time we worked with him, Emerson is very professional and efficient. In fact, this team was the best set of contractors of our entire house and pool build. No issues or complaints, very stress-free and thorough. We cannot recommend Crown Audio enough!!

Every encounter with Crown Audio has been great, including their excellent communication! We had our brand new home build set up for surround sound in the living room, gym and outside patio, along with tv mounts in those areas plus a couple more. From Brad (who sadly is no longer with Crown Audio due to the pandemic release of employees) meeting us at the building site before walls were even up to map it all out, to Josh taking over communications for Brad, to Emerson coming out for each install and finally to a replacement tv mount that they did for us on the patio due to the original mount not having a tightening bolt so the wind wouldn't knock it around. These guys have been so wonderful and we are hoping they are able to take on our new outdoor pool area we are wanting to tie in the surround sound to, that they've...