High End Vine Street Car Stereo inc — Local services in Philadelphia

Rather than give you a straight thumbs up or thumbs down I’ll just tell you a story and you take it from there.

In July of 2022 I set up an appointment with HIGH END STEREO to have them install in my 2016 Toyota Corolla a new radio with a built in GPS system. I wanted the GPS accessory as part of the radio rather than one of those clunky things people attach to their dashboard with a suction cup – no thanks.

First it was explained to me that I could no longer have an auxiliary input with the new radio but I could connect my Ipod through an HDMI portal wire running near the pedals. I discovered after installation that I would not be able to charge and play an Ipod at the same time since the charger and the HDMI cable used same aperture. I was more than a little concerned about this since I would be using the car for long trips but I soon realized this was the least of my problems.

Shortly after I drove out of the shop I noticed reception problems. Now in center city Philadelphia faulty reception for AM is to be expected but in my case there was no reception at all for AM and reception for FM was faulty and constantly breaking up. Also a voice would come over the sound system alerting me that I was over the speed limit even when I was not. They were able to remove the voice over, but sadly that did nothing for the poor reception. They eventually installed a new antenna, which worked well initially but even that proved faulty. Also to add to my discomfort I found they had inadvertently disconnected my rear-view camera.

I made so many visits to HIGH END STEREO over the next several weeks with one problem always being replaced with another problem and then another and so forth and son on that I was beginning to become a permanent fixture in their waiting room. Also the staff seemed to be trying to convince me that I was the problem. The most bizarre event (and the final straw) was one day I called them up at nine in the morning and made an appointment for 3 O’clock that afternoon. When I got there I was told my appointment had been scheduled for yesterday and I never called to cancel but they would try to fit me in. I did everything I could to control my exasperation and informed them, as calmly and as courteously as possible, that I had made the appointment six hours ago not six days ago. However, I did not press the point since it was beginning to dawn on me that in the land of the blind the eyed man is king or (even worse) I was starting to feel like a frustrated character torn from the pages of a Franz Kafka novel.

To make a long story short after weeks of frustration, disappointment and numerous visits I finally threw in the towel and took my car and my business to PERZAN’s at 64th and Market. The PERZAN guy started from scratch. He was able to fix me up with full auxiliary access, exceptional reception for both AM and FM and also provided me with several benefits that could have been but were not wired in by HIGH END STEREO the most important being steering wheel volume control which is a real perk. PERZAN was also able to provide me with perfect rear camera perception and the reception both AM & FM continues to be first rate.

So that is my story. Take from it what you...

Seriously terrible experience, bear with me on this review..

First, I went in, talked to the main guy, and brought my own amplifier and subwoofer to have installed on my stock car.

I was quickly talked in to upgrading my stock speakers to a set of speakers, and I decided to go with it.

Less than 2 weeks later, two speakers crackled like crazy, I returned and was told that I could "upgrade" to a better set and get a free return on the ones they had previously installed. I did that.

After the installation, it was within two days that the amplifier fried out (No, I was not overpowering it, I swear. I do not listen to music loud like some people) - I returned, got another amp installed that they sold me.

Less than 2 miles down the road, the subwoofer was blurting out loud noises at random and cutting a bunch and my speakers begin to crackle, returned right away and was told that I'll need a new part which is installed in my dashboard, and that the previous one they had installed was their "basic" one and I needed a better one, to filter noise. Paid for that..

Three weeks later, I am driving on 76, listening to TALK RADIO - I smell smoke coming from my subwoofer. Pull over, disconnect it, return to shop. Subwoofer is blown out, am told I need a new one. I buy another one from their shop.

Less than a month later, all my speakers crackle, cut out, lose sound, and are wired incorrectly. Took it to TWO other different shops locally and they completely roasted High End Vine Street's work and said they notoriously do lazy and poor jobs on peoples wiring and they are "tired of having to correct it".

Upon inspection at another shop, they began to see how poorly and jankily this wiring job was, to the point where certain mixings on certain songs would not come through due to the way the speakers were wired. For example, vocals not playing on parts where there are vocals, certain instruments not coming through, guitars being only on one side of the car, etc.

It is now roughly 11 months later, I have zero audio in my car now after it has cut out entirely. All in all, I gave High End Vine Street Car Audio nearly TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS and received absolute trash in service and quality of product and now I have to spend more money and I have to go elsewhere to have the entire thing rewired and fixed :)

P.S Appointments mean nothing here, if you schedule one, you'll still end up waiting an hour and a half before they even get around to pulling your car in the garage. Wasted so much of my life sitting around...

I was looking for a reputable car stereo shop who had the right balance of great pricing and great service. I currently go to college up the poconos (Northeastern PA). Up there is about two shops who really specialize in car stereos. The one shop I had went to seemed to be charging an arm and a leg due to the fact that they were basically one of the only shops in town. I visited them on two separate occasions and they gave me various prices. So I decided to see what shops in my hometown of Philly had to offer. I looked up the top shops in Philly and sure enough at the top of the list was High End Car Stereo. They had great reviews and well known customers. I gave them a call Saturday and asked about purchasing and installing subs, and an amp, they told me they could install it today and to just come down to see what selection they had. Not to mention, the price for installation alone was better than what I've been told previously from other shops. When I arrived I told him that I also wanted interior speakers to go with my sub and amp because mines were almost done. They asked me my price range and we met right in the middle. I couldn't be happier. The price they gave me was way cheaper than any other quotes I got from other shops on top of the great service they provided. Tony really gave me a deal on my system I thank him for that. I feel as if they value their customers and don't just want to take advantage of those who are first time buyers or don't know much about a car systems like other shops might do. I drove 2 hours from school just to get a system from this place and couldn't have made a better decision. I'lll definitely continue to do business with them. I would refer this place to anyone who wants there system done the right way for the right price. You certainly will get all of what you pay for from these guys, if not more. Thank you High End Car Stereo and...