i went to JLS mobilesound in anaheim. shit happened. the job LOOKS good, but there were a lot of corners cut, changes made that i didn't sign off on, changes made that i was somewhat pressured into accepting. two of the main themes that stick out in my mind were: A LOT of time lost at work, and avoidable negligence on behalf of the installer.
i had the trunk of my car walled off and flushed. in the end, the amp that i specified SEVERAL times to be wired at 4 ohms, the amp ONLY operates at 4 ohms- it was an Orion XTR 1400w- i was reassured that it was wired correctly... lo and behold within the first full day i had the amp, it overheated like crazy and extremely hot to the touch and would cut out for 5-10 minutes to cool down. not to mention the crazy engine noise that in the end, i just decided to live with- i brought the car in several times to trouble shoot both of these issues (amongst other issues), but nothing ever really changed and they never even unscrewed the subwoofers from the box to make sure i was getting the proper impedance.
when i confronted the installer to get answers, again i was reassured that it was wired to 4 ohms as i had asked. when i asked what the problem was with my amp, i got crap answers like 'it's an older amp... they overheat and cut out. that's the way they were built back then.' the installer never really took any accountability with any of the system's problems- the engine noise was from my top of the line pioneer head unit, which was "notorious for engine noise, unless i ran ALL pioneer components"... i was then told that the amp's issues could be my harness and it could be my fuses. none of these issues were addressed. i felt time and again that i was being put on the back burner, not being taken care of and treated like an unimportant client. almost everytime i went in there, i was made to wait and wait and wait... i cant even count how many hours were lost at work.... and each time i felt like i was rushed out and the job half-assed.
fast forward to 2 months down the road... my system which at that point costed me well over 2 grand... was never running the way i wanted it to. i never really pushed it, because as soon as i did, the amp would cut out and i'd be listening to just the interior speakers for 5 minutes or more before the bass would come back on. throughout all these issues, i always attempted to stay in contact with the installer, john, but nothing was ever addressed or solved. then one day, the amp just completely craps out and never turns back on.
i came in last week and had another installer and part owner, Jose, troubleshoot to find out where the problem was coming from. the amp, kept frying fuses in the distribution block as well as the sub amp. bigger fuses, instantly fried. no sound from the subs. he then surmised that one of the channels on the amp were fried and when i asked what the impedance was, he took apart the box and looked at the way the subs were wired. i was FURIOUS when he told me it had been run at 1 ohm. 1 OHM!!! no shit, the amp is gonna fry. he re-wired the subs back to 4 ohms and still nothing. the amp was dead. i looked at him dead in the eye and asked "can you say for certain that this is why my amp is fried? the gain is at 20% and these subs are built to handle 1000 watts each and recommended at 700 watts." he said he's almost certain that this was the cause.
i asked him if he could order me a new amp at cost... he agreed and we took a look at some brands and models they carry.
so the next day, i called back, attempting to get the quote. i was told i would get a call back, never did. then the following business day, i called back and i talked to the guy who makes business decisions... his name is Lee. he then tries to pull some b.s. like asking me "well, how do you know the amp was wired at 1 ohm?" and asked how he can be sure how the subs were wired if they're NOW running at 4 ohms, the way they're supposed to. i asked him what the hell he was trying to pull and that i didnt like his line of questions. i replied "i know the amp was running at 1 ohm because your PART OWNER Jose told me it was when he was torubleshooting the last time i walked in and he has no reason to lie... just like when he confirmed that he's almost totally certain that that was the source of how my brand new amp fried within a matter of 1-2 months." he kept trying to cover his *** w/ these sleazy moves and slip out of any liability.
i basically said that they need to man up and pay at least 250 of my new amp, because it was without a doubt their installer's negligence and corner cutting that led to this situation. it all ends and starts w/ how this guy John screwed up and never even bothered to try to figure out. Jose figured out John's screwups within 30 minutes and i KNEW exactly what kind of half-assed dude John was at that moment. the entire time, i tried to mask my frustration and talked as politely, reasonably and business-like as i could. i'm a firm believer that if you present a rock solid argument without getting clouded w/ personal bias and emotion, a reasonable business man will meet you in the middle. no avail. they kept trying to slip out of any responsibility and basically saying it was all on me. this was yesterday. i'm about to walk in there in about another 30 minutes to have a sit down with all of them to see where we go from here. these last few conversations, i havent been able to talk to john and his words were basically relayed by Lee or Jose. his words were basically that i INSTRUCTED him to wire my shit up at 1 ohm. which is laughable to me because i've been researching and double checking my products and their compatability for MONTHS before i even walked into this joint. the last thing i told Jose was, let me sit down with all you guys and let's talk like men. i defy John to look me in the eye and tell me i'm the one who told him to wire it at 1 ohm. i told him that just like my instructions to John, my memory of those conversations were clear as day.
so wish me luck. today will define whether or not these guys are total scheisters and wolves in sheeps clothing... trying to pass themselves off as a legitamate and respectable business... or guys who admit that they screwed up and decided to man up and make things right. stay tuned.
