Home Sweet Home

San Diego is a city of abundance. There is a material abundance, which manifests in an average household income that ranks fifth of all U.S. cities. There is a cultural abundance, with world famous zoos, aquatic parks and beaches dotting the landscape. There are an abundance of days where the weather never drops below 70 degrees. And there is an abundant supply of technicians willing and ready to install entertainment systems into your house for less than the industry standard.

Since choosing from the plethora of options can be daunting, we here at FINE Magazine have done our best to narrow down the selection process to a few of the very best in the area.

Kiwi Audio Visual

Kiwi Audio Visual (kiwiav.com) is the crème de la crème. They have made their reputation on service, and it has brought them success. In the words of founder and CEO Brian Bass: "We look after our customers and systems at a level that others are unwilling to provide."

Kiwi also places special emphasis on custom installations. "It all starts with our client," Bass said. "Our sales and design specialists carefully document the client’s needs and desires."

After the project is designed, the customer is able to communicate directly with the operations manager to provide a "seamlessly integrated" system, according to Bass.

Kiwi also prides itself on its sustainability practices. "We believe in saving costs," Bass said, "both for our clients and for the environment." Using remote monitoring systems that update, reset and perform service-related tasks straight from the office saves a great deal on fuel consumption and keeps customers’ electronic equipment from being damaged. And old electronics end up in recycling facilities all around the world.

Kiwi is also at the cutting edge of technological advancements in the field. "We find it exciting to work with computer-based home entertainment systems—everything from Apple TVs and iPads to Dell Zinos," Bass explained.

With its superlative customer service and vast expertise, Kiwi never garners a poor review or an unhappy customer.

HD Hookups

The services and installations at HD Hookups (hdhookups.com) are even better than the discrete innuendo embedded in the company name. It is one of the few local theater installation companies that advertises itself as a provider of corporate and home installations.

HD Hookups’ website façade is impressive, and the layout and photos do a grand job of speaking for themselves. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the preponderance of high-def, gauzy-looking photographs should be enough to make heads spin with anticipation. HD Hookups’ services run the whole gamut of electrical and entertainment installation pieces. Not only does it offer home theater installation, it also specializes in security cameras, universal remote systems and "whole house music" systems.

Home automation is perhaps the most fascinating feature, as it allows you to seamlessly integrate the function of lights, shutters, video and sound systems into one button on a remote control. But what speaks loudest of all though, as always, is the sterling Yelp reviews, which rank this business as high as any can be ranked in terms of customer service, price-to-service ratio, and overall product quality. It’s a solid choice for anyone looking for the latest in home theaters.

Visolution

Visolution (visolutiontv.com) is a paragon of professionalism within the local industry. You will be hard-pressed to discover a single negative review of its services. Visolution’s installations are quick, its prices are fair and its employees even clean up after themselves—the most universally underappreciated virtue for all handymen everywhere. Its two-year warranty on all its workmanship is also extraordinary.

Keith’s SoCal Home Theater

Keith’s SoCal Home Theater (socalhometheater.com) is and has been a major player in the region for 11 years. What differentiates this business from hordes of competitors is a commitment to customer education. The pedagogues of product maintenance and upkeep, Keith’s will tell you how to avoid costly repairs and how to keep your equipment at optimum functional capacity—all with grace and easy smiles. And Keith’s covers a very wide area of service between San Diego and Los Angeles, so chances are it will be able to make it out to you.

With great abundance at every turn, it should be no great surprise to find so many viable options for home electronics installation in San Diego. The greatest problem with such abundance, of course, is the burden of choice. We’ve narrowed it down, but will have to leave the rest up to your discretion.