A&B Audio Store — Local services in Tarpon Springs

Leaving A review like this is burning a bridge, but dishonesty deserves nothing less

Short version, spent nearly $450 was I feel lied to about the condition of my equipment, the cause of my problem, and had a solution for my parasitic draw issue.. of which they didn't! Sending my on a financially wasteful wild goose chase looking for a problem I didn't have, out nearly 1k all in (nearly $450 spend here for basically bad advice and a worse battery) Actual problem had nothing to do with anything they ever suggested..

Long version below as a detail to the OWNER

I want to start by saying 3 out of four times I've worked with these guys I have not had a problem

After My last experience, I will never return..

Brought my truck to these guys to solve a parasitic draw problem and weak subwoofer with intermittent power loss

Without getting a clear quote (That's my fault) I was told that they had a machine to identify the parasitic draw, and would diagnose subwoofer problem, explaining to them that I believed I had messed with the settings and turned things down pointing them to the direction of the output controller or the amplifier I would think

On day three I heard nothing, near closing time I called them, was told they found no parasitic draw they replaced my battery and they would check again soon..

1 hour from close, I called them on day four to be told really nothing had been done, but had some good working theories like my alternator was cooking my battery as causing these problems (I have an always on voltage monitor, I haven't noticed anything)

Same thing on day 5, nearly close had to call, no updates

Day 6 nothing really to say explaining that it had to sit this long to solve the parasitic problem I was relieved to get my truck back working the following day, no word on subs

Day seven I ask a family member to retrieve the truck got called into an emergency, family informs me that bill was well over $400, annoyed yet relieved I saw my truck that night

The subwoofer played no better, I had a smaller different battery in the place of one that I had before, it was warrantied, leaving me worse off...facepalm moment, aggravated moved on If everything was going to work, worth the sacrifice..

Day two battery voltage 12.3

Fast forward day five dismally low 11.8-11.9 tettering, week starting..

Determined to find some solutions, I put my truck on a charger got back to it the following weekend, and this is what I found to be later verified by a professional

Starting with the subwoofer, they claimed it's resistance was 4.4, And likely had a damage speaker or two pointing at the coils being a likely source

After trying to troubleshoot my own parasitic draw a problem I felt confident enough doing some research online to test the resistance of my speakers simply pull the terminals test for resistance, found that the box specifications claimed 2.0 ohm, I found 2.1 ohm, researching online that's completely normal especially ice cold..

So they're diagnostic was either bullshit or incorrect, well I went on to try to find the problem, starting from the fuse all the way down looking for something dumb that was overlooked like a loose connector, as I went downstream so to speak, I got to the output controller as some refer to it runs between the head unit and the amplifier, the settings were all whacked, after a quick look everything was turned down, low to near zero( I'm not negating the possibility I nudged it into a terrible position causing ng terrible performance, BUT that should have been caught I pointed them to that specifically) playing around with it myself with the audio in the vehicle, I discovered quickly that not only did it work perfectly fine, it was neutered from day one!! I have no idea what I'm doing, but it hits twice as hard without any issues I have found, later verified by a competitor.. poor settings (me) but working order i was informed

So at the end of the day I can undoubtedly lied to, cheated out of almost $450, but they'll have me back to redo the work for free, hah...

This place is a complete joke don’t let the nice showroom fool you.

I went to A&B Audio to have a sub and amp installed under the back seat of my 2023 F-150. The price seemed reasonable, considering the complexity of integrating it with my newer radio in my 2023 F-150. While my truck was in the shop, I also had them upgrade my factory door speakers to four PowerBass door speakers, which was an additional couple hundred dollars. Initially, I was satisfied, the sub sounded great, and the PowerBass speakers were a nice upgrade.

2 months later, I returned to have another amp and four DS18 door speakers installed. They quoted me $300 for labor, which seemed fair, so I dropped off my truck. But then things went south. They gave me no updates for two days. I finally called them, and they told me my truck was ready.

When I arrived, I was slapped with a bill for $1,900 an outrageous jump from the $300 I was originally quoted. When I asked why, they said they needed to add a module and brackets for my door speakers. But here’s the kicker, they never called me to discuss the additional cost. If they had, I would have refused the work because spending that much wasn’t worth it to me. Instead, they went ahead without my approval, leaving me no choice but to pay since the work was already done.

At first, the sound system seemed great, With the DS18 speakers and my Sub under my seat sounds very nicely. But not even five minutes after leaving, my subwoofer blew while driving down US-19. The issue? They tuned the subs way too loud to accommodate for the new DS18 speakers that they just installed. This was entirely their fault.

I called them immediately, and they told me to bring the truck back. They confirmed the sub had blown and admitted fault. They agreed to warranty the sub, but I then waited over a month with zero communication before the replacement came in.

When they finally installed the new sub, they didn’t even bother tuning it properly. I had to remind them that the reason why i am back here in the first place with a blown sub is because they tuned my sub too loud. in the first place, and even then, they just turned the gain down so low that I can barely hear the sub anymore. To make matters worse, the four brand new PowerBass door speakers I had upgraded to during my first visit just under 2 months ago, were never returned to me. Who knows where those went, but I certainly didn’t get them back.

Oh, and also there’s a thick cable running to the fuse box that they installed, which is hanging dangerously inside my wheel well. How they missed something so obvious and unsafe is beyond me.

A&B Audio lacks professionalism, transparency, and basic communication skills. Between the surprise charges, and lack of updates. this company is a complete joke. Save your money and take your business...

Absolutely horrible customer service.

My appointment was for 9AM. I showed up at 8:45AM and didnt see a sign of life until I called the place at 9AM. The worker who answered the phone said "The front door isnt open?", and I replied "No. I'm standing outside and the shutters are still down. I was instructed to be here 15 minutes before my scheduled appointment at 9AM." He said "whoops, sorry. I'll open it." No big deal.

I then proceeded to drop off my vehicle at the agreed upon scheduled time, 9AM . Was then told by Steve that it would take 4 hours. I was shocked because originally I was told 45 min to 1 hour by a third party source, but whatever. Probably a miscommunication, no biggie. I had to have the work done. I thanked him and apologized for my shocked disdain, as it was a surprise to me and I had to take care of my two kids. Thankfully I had a family friend who was able to pick me up so I could go home and watch the kids while my wife went to work. I called at 3PM, 6 hours after the fact, and Steve picked up. His response was "Oh yeah, he told you it would take til the end of day when you handed him the keys." which NO ONE told me nor notified me of, and I handed HIM the keys! I said "No one said that to me at all... but wait, you told me it would take 4 hours?" to which his response was "Yeah, exactly. INSTALLATION takes 4 hours. It should be done before the end of day." I was at a loss of words and felt helpless. There was nothing I could do. Thank God my mother was available, otherwise I don't know how I would have gotten back to their shop at 6PM, as now this "4 hour installation" has turned into a 9 HOUR INSTALLATION. That's not even the worst part....

So my mother took me and my kids over there around 5:40pm. I walked in, Steve looked at me, and continued to talk to his coworkers. After about 6 minutes standing there, he finally used me to come to the counter to finalize & pay for the service. The only thing I say to him is "Why didn't you call me to tell me this was finished?" which he responded with "Oh, well we just completed like 10 minutes ago and we're about to call you." I couldn't believe it. And I realized why he waited, because after I got my receipt, I read that the shop would have charged me $35 a day for them storing my vehicle after hours. Had I waited for him to call me and not just shown up 20 min before they closed, they would have charged me more money.

I will never use this place again. People...