Soundcrafters PERFORMANCE - STYLE - SOUND — Local services in South Daytona

In response to my wife’s 1 star review from Soundcrafters and his response..I had my wife send her vehicles to Soundcrafters based on the positive reviews. My wife and I were full time students working on our bachelors degree, raising our daughter and working 40+ hrs/wk. We had/have a lot on our plate so we wanted to have a specialized shop install a badass sound systems. I didn’t have the time to install her system myself on her 4Runner, I am more than capable enough..8 years avionics experience in the Navy and recent bachelors in electrical engineering. I got bullied years ago from a separate shop in California for giving a one star review and I felt bullied into removing it. We’ve had 2 vehicles done by Soundcrafters. The first was done in a 2015 Subaru Wrx where we added a subwoofer, amp and head unit that had no issues. We traded her Wrx in for a 4Runner, so we went back and now my wife’s had her 2016 4runner done. We’ve spent a lot on her 4Runner. Upgraded the head unit twice (because the Alpine head unit was having issues with Bluetooth connectivity to her iPhone. The issue ended up being software related in the head unit),so he suggested to match the head unit with the kenwood speakers, amp and sub. And we upgraded to the wireless Apple play connectivity on the head unit since we were already spending money. They’ve replaced her sub twice because the first one blew for whatever reason (it was the same sub and amp as we had in the Subaru). And it was “upgraded” from a 10” to a 12” downfiring subwoofer after the issues they found. Yes he called my wife and he actually spoke to her. He also mentioned he called both numbers on file, well one was mine and not once did he ever speak with me. When he spoke to her, he was talking down to her and belittling her, cutting her off from speaking. He was telling her that one of the causes of her issues is because she’s driving over railroad tracks and that the issues is because the vibrations would cause changes in connectivity issues. Like really? Driving over railroad tracks? If that’s the case, then the system wasn’t wired properly from the first place, or a corroded ground from being in a bad location. So when my friend (who’s got 2 years sound system install and troubleshooting experience from Circuit City. Yes that Circuit City from years ago) and I dove in and started to track down what this issue was. We found that his shop had stripped out the screw as seen in the my pictures and my wife’s. They had placed the grounding screw to under the passenger floorboard where the bottom of the screw was exposed to the elements behind the right front wheel and over time the water seeped up through the screw into the ground wire and corroded it. So over time as copper wire corrods, it turns into a green powder. I had to strip away almost a foot off this 4awg ground wire to get to solid wire that wasn’t corroded into powder. The issue was a bad ground placed in a horrible location. Please take this review seriously. He wants to belittle my wife and talk negative to try and save his “good reputation”. I have no reason whatsoever to lie or make this place look bad. What positivity do I gain from this? Nothing. I am here to respond and post about how this guy treats women. Maybe not all women. But this guy took advantage of someone who knows little about car audio. I just wanted to make my wife happy and give her a kickass system. Look at all my other reviews on my profile and take that into your account. This guy wants to keep his reputation in tact and will come after all negative reviews of his shop/business and bully them into taking them down and removing them. I feel confident in all those previous negative reviews who posted on here trying to inform the public about issues but got bullied into removing them. So just be aware of taking your business here, and when/if you do have issues( I hope you don’t, but if you do), take into account of the negative reviews of Soundcrafters, post your negative review and don’t feel bullied into taking it down. Take all this...

I did not enjoy writing negative reviews on any business, but I think I should alert others what to expect. The sales team was very nice and respectful but overly informative. Lots of fancy tech talk most people will never understand in the first place. All I wanted was a quality sound system for a fair price. This was not the place to go. Extremely overpriced!!!!!

I was there in late December 2023. I spent hours with Paul, the owner, listening to heavy tech talk. He finally gave me a quote for around $ 2000 I thought it was a little pricey, but after all the heavy tech talk, I felt it would be worth it.

He wanted a deposit and said that if I waited until after the first of the year that the price would go up. I immediately hesitated. The good old use car pressure tactic. If he hadn't said that, I was ready to commit. Flag #1 Ultimately, I said I would be back and needed to think about it. He never allowed me to have a copy of the quote. Red flag#2. I understand some people will use this info and go elsewhere and try for a better quote. That was never my intention, but it planted a seed that something wasn't right. It wasn't the hefty price tag that I hesitated on. I just felt like something wasn't right.

Fast forward June 2025. I finally decided to have the system installed for an upcoming drive to the Yukon in Canada. I love good quality music while driving long trips.

So, I went back to talk to Paul. I was told several stories that Paul was backing away from his business he wasn't involved in sales, and my original quote was nowhere to be found. Red flag #3.

I still really wanted a good quality sound system and was willing to overlook the steep pricing and the uneasy feeling I was getting.

So, I spent several hours once more listening to more heavey tech talk that I know nothing about, just to get my quote.

I was there several hours of watching the sale guy stand in front of a computer and listen to tech talk, I finally ask the sales guy to let me hear what my van would sound like with the products he was searching for on the computer. No problem, he said. We went into the sound room. He turned on a sound system that would be installed in my van. He played a request I asked to hear "Born to be alive" It was fantastic. After that, I said, " let's rock" I was extremely excited. I clearly ask him. "This is what my sound system will sound like. He answered, " Absolutely, Mr Larry," with excitement.

Now was the quote time. I finally got the quote, except now it was out the door $2,970.00. Including a S294.00 tip. and taxes. You will spend hours listening to tech talk while the sales guy stands in front of a computer, I guess, figuring out how much to charge you. Dont dare try to look at his computer screen. They are intentionally curved to keep your eyes away. I wasn't looking at the screen, I was admiring the big curve monitor, but after he said I couldn't be looking at the screen, I felt offended and that something shady was happening. Red Flag#4

I went today to pick up my van, feeling extremely excited. I walk in and said, how does it sound?" Immediately, I heard excuses. That the FM has a bad antenna. The speakers weren't the original. That could have caused a problem with my stereo, bla, bla bla. We went to my van after I paid the invoice. Turned on the FM and total disappointment. The sales guys kept saying the Blue tooth sound great. What the hell!!!! We turned on the Bluetooth, and what a disappointment. More excuses from the sales guy. I asked him to leave because I was very upset and didn't want to say something I would regret. I had finally had enough BS.

The owner did call, and once more heavey tech talk. Tactic to confuse. One excuse after another. He wants me to waste another day and bring it to the shop so he can take a look. He should have listened to it himself. After all, he is the owner. That was it. I finally wrote off my losses. Enjoy the 20 percent tip I gave your employees. The only one who did right was the technician who did subwofer install. Great...

They will try to rip you off!

I called about a price on a new head unit for my wife's 2014 Toyota Rav 4. I was told I needed to come in if I wanted an exact price despite giving all the vehicle and stereo information (including model number) over the phone. Once there they again verified the exact information I told them over the phone. On my original call I was quoted $700-$800 for the full install and parts. The price then went up to $950 once I was in the store. I was told that was because I needed a $190 connector to keep the backup camera working. The employees refused to give me a breakdown of what parts where needed and the price of each (other than the $190 connector). I went home and found the EXACT same unit as well as the wiring harnesses needed including the "$190" connector (all the connectors together were $75 online) for $411 out the door (with warranty) from a large online car audio seller. This included them connecting the wiring on the harness for me. I'm sure Soundcrafters could have gotten the same prices (if not lower) than I did. So, they wanted to charge me well over $500 for 1-2 hours of work. I read the other reviews they have but thought maybe it was an exaggeration that they were overpriced, as I understand it's a business and they have to make a profit. It's definitely not an exaggeration. As a side note, my original call was with the owner and he seemed fairly helpful and more reasonable. I was originally told by him that installation would only be $110 plus parts. But they would not get him so I could speak to him regarding the pricing. Was told "Carlos" could adjust the pricing and that's the best he could do. Very disappointed with the experience overall.

Edited to add: The owner did contact me with a breakdown of the parts and labor. Labor charge was nearly triple what I was told it would be originally. Parts were grossly overpriced, every part was more expensive than I could have gotten individually on Amazon. (never mind the package price I got online for under $100) He tried giving me a line of bs about not being able to get the parts for those prices. Everyone knows someone buying large numbers of parts will get a discounted rate, not pay more than retail. Plus, I got all of my parts, and the radio unit out the door for $411. Oh, he also tried to tell me install time was about 3 hours. I did it myself for the first time ever with a youtube video in under 2. Everything was super simple, plug and play. Just to clarify the pricing, I was quoted over $950 when I went into the shop. I did argue a little and mention I was paying cash, which is when they dropped it to around $870. So, if you plan on using them for anything, be sure to do your research FIRST! They will try to suck every dollar they can out of you and act like they are giving you a fair, honest price. They are like the shady car salesman of the audio...