House of Hard Knocks

My car speakers were acting a little weird so I brought it to the shop since thats where I bought them, the manager Jaime have the wizards in the back take a look and fix it for free since that’s where I purchased them… Other shops were going to charge me just to see what was going on, I’m very happy I got my car stereo put in here and that they back their products!!!

Took my 300 here to get the sound system done. Gave Jamie a budget and he hooked me up with 2 amps and some soundproofing. A few weeks after it was installed I had some problems with it, took it back, they fixed it and I was out in 15 minutes for no charge. They’re good people, and they do good work.

This is the third car I have brought to these guys. Every time I have been well taken care of. Excellent service, great sound. I have consistently upgraded my home theater system at home as well. Super clean, awesome service. They always have great recommendations and totally up to speed with the latest technology. Highly highly recommend them for any audio and home theater services!

Josh and his crew at the House of Hard Knocks installed a cutting edge & top of the line home theatre and sound system in my house. I can operate it all from my iPhone and iPad or use remote controls. The system is really high tech and includes over 14 flush ceiling speakers. I was thinking of getting satellite radio but they introduced me to Internet radio which gives me access to literally thousands of worldwide radio stations instead of just a few. My husband is greatly enjoying to an Australian radio station from his home town. They sold me a TV for less than what I would have paid at a store and set up the whole thing in addition to Apple TV and came out SEVERAL times just to show us how to use it all.
They were always prompt, friendly, courteous, respectful, professional and they went the extra mile to ensure that everything was up to my expectations. Their work was done well, neatly, and on time and they used excellent quality products. They clearly knew what they were doing and they do their work with a great attitude. I have used them more than once and will use them again. I couldn’t be more pleased with their work and their commitment to service.

I’ve known Jamie for over 10 years and today’s install was the 4^th car he’s worked on for me. I stick with him because since day one, he’s always been 100% honest and does his best to keep his customers happy. Today’s install was supposed to be quick and painless, but ended up being more of a challenge than initially expected. In every way he made it right and went above and beyond to ensure my satisfaction, including getting the car washed next door.
Jamie and his employees have an incredible work ethic and do business with an old-​school mentality– refreshing in this day and age…
–Marc

A year and a half ago, I spent a great deal of money on a car stereo system that ended up sounding terrible. It was a disappointing and frustrating event. Spending your hard earned cash on a bunk stereo is indeed infuriating. Last week I stumbled upon the newly opened Al and Ed’s… formerly known as House of Hard Knocks. It’s located where the Street Sound Plus used to be years back (in the old school!) and next to the big red car wash sign. The owner, Jamie offered to take a look at my system in an attempt to salvage my dire car audio situation. He spent a whole day doing it. More notably, he did all this for free. He tuned what he could but it still sounded like crap. I decided to purchase a new head unit plus some Focal component speakers and an amp. They took their time and did it right this time. The stereo sounds amazing and the install is clean as they come. In fact, I will venture to say that it is the best install I’ve seen. He went to great lengths to hide it all… and even threw in free dynamating. This dude knows what’s up. And he’s funny as shit!
Thanks House of Hard Knocks AKA the new Al and Ed’s (not to be confused with the old Al and Ed’s on T. O Blvd!!!)
Great work.
dave

Wow, nothing like having a bunch of friends write reviews. I had a different experience where a 900 train horn, was quoted at 1300 all installed but come to the final bill to 1,900.00? nice try! More than the unit cost to install??. Why, because Jamie said it took him longer than expected??? Really ??
Could have had it installed for 300.00 elsewhere. I don’t get where some people want to retire off every job and wonder why they are not busy.
Buyer beware here. We negotiated down but never again, and none of my friends will go there. pretty shady tactic. You won’t last long in this town once word gets out.
ooops. think it has.
AKA now as All & Eds now…

Not only did Jamie recommend a quality stereo and speakers that fit my vehicle and budget, he and Mikey went the extra distance and did what ever it took to make it all work dis-​spite my older car giving us problems. Highly recommended, completely happy with product, people and service.

Well… what can I say. I’ve been working with Jaime for over 7 years now at different shops (I suppose that would define me as a groupie) and he’s always helped me out from the basic speaker swap to a full on navigation systems with bluetooth, etc). Jaime knows the type of sound I am going for and doesn’t hesitate to make good recommendations. He is meticulous and clean in his work. He can do just about anything (Tinting, HIDs, Liners), and if he can’t he will have a good local recommendation.

I was having my car washed and I needed to kill some time so I walked in to HOUSE OF HARD KNOCKS located at 2751 E Thousand Oaks Blvd in Thousand Oaks (NEXT TO FEDEX KINKO’S ON T.O. BLVD)
I was approached by a person at the counter and I inquired about having my sub looked at, He offered for me to bring it by after the car wash was done and he jumped right on the task. He fixed my subwoofer issue AND noticed a broken clip on my seat trim, and had a new clip in stock.
WOW what great service and attention to detail
Thanks to Jaime Boyd and the staff at HOUSE OF HARD KNOCKS in T.O.
Please visit them ! They DESERVE your business !
Very happy customer

I had been to a few car audio stores around the area with not so good installs or customer service. The other day I had a speaker go out so I stopped in at House of Hard Knocks to have them take a look at it. Jamie was very helpful and honest from the get go. Took the door apart on the spot and told me what was wrong with the previous install and why I was having problems. Jamie also described what the proper way to fix the problems were. So I decided to have Jamie fix the door speakers and add on some extra work while he was at it. During the added on installs Jamie unearthed some more major problems with my previous equipment. Over the phone Jamie would explain the problem and requested me to come in to the shop so he could show me in person in stead of trying to work as a «telemarketer» as he called it. Jamie was able to help me out on some price breaks for the labor and new equipment. Am I happy with House of Hard Knocks? The answer is YES! Jamie made my system sound a million times better than it did. I will go back to House of Hard Knocks for more in the future. Thanks again Jamie!

My wife and I visited Jamie yesterday to look at a speaker system for our new Prius V. We rarely experience service like his any more. He spent two hours with us, going over different combinations of speakers and amps, sitting us in his own car to listen to his sound system. While we were there he solved an iPhone problem my wife has had for weeks, he offered to put in pedal extenders for her, and solve a glare problem by having our windows tinted. In short, he took a personal interest in who we were and what we needed. He indeed went the extra mile for us and treated us as personal friends. I would recommend him without question!
Richard Manners

If your reading this while trying to make a decision on where to have you’re stereo done just stop now and go talk to Jamie. I love what he did for my G35 and I am a tough customer because I was in the business 20 years ago. He gave me what I wanted, treated me right, and went above and beyond on the install (repairing stuff in my interior just to be nice).

Wow! What can I say about Jamie, Josh (and Mikey) — What a great bunch of guys… they grew up in the area and know everything there is to know about sound systems and home entertainment — they have a very friendly atmosphere (unpretentious) — with a cool TV and couch and speakers for surround sound to emulate what a home entertainment system would like/​feel like in your own home. Very cool!
So my 16 year old son just got his first car — an older truck (Dodge Ram 1500)…
We went to HHK to see about putting in a stereo (Lil’ Wayne isn’t on a cassette tape:) so he could listen to his music via ipod. Jamie hooked us up with a great stereo and speakers!
So…a few weeks later my son wanted those fancy blue lights (the ones that BMW have) on his truck — so we called up HHK and asked if he knew where we could get these and he said he could do them! So a few days later my son has the lights installed and they look exactly like he wanted!
My mom came over for a visit and my son showed her his new lights… guess what? Grammy wants them as well on her PT Cruiser! So we will definitely be back to get them installed.
GREAT GREAT GREAT Service and competitive prices… these guys know their stuff and I really felt like they took the time to educate and show us the different types of equipment — Without sounding cheezy… these guys are super honest and I did not feel ripped off like other shops we looked at — thanks HHK!!!
Marla H.

Just had my 2008 Tundra stereo system upgraded. New stereo will navigation system, bluetooth, iPod, and backup camera. I also upgraded my headlights to HID and it looks great.
They did such a great job on my truck, I had them come to my house to setup a home theater system for me.
Now I have a great system in my car and my home theater is just amazing. The services and work done was top notch. Every attention to detail was amazing and the quality of work is amazing