It's not often you come across someone in business who reminds you that basic human kindness still…read moreexists. Jake at Barker Tech did that for my wife and me. Our home has an older AV system installed years ago by another contractor. Over time, the system became outdated, complicated, and the contractor became harder to reach and increasingly expensive. My wife and I separated several years ago, but she still lives in the home and has always struggled with the universal remote and the setup's complexity. Recently, she called me in distress because she couldn't turn on the television in the living room. Under normal circumstances, that would be a small inconvenience. But my wife is currently battling stage-four ovarian cancer and only has a few months left. All she wanted was the simple comfort of sitting on the couch and watching TV. I called Jake and explained the situation. Without hesitation, he said he would come take a look. The next day, he and one of his technicians, Wilson, showed up and spent over an hour patiently troubleshooting the system until they got everything working again. When the work was finished, I asked what I owed him. Jake said there would be no charge given my wife's condition. I was honestly taken back. In a world where it often feels like everything is transactional, Jake chose compassion instead. This wasn't just good service, it was humanity, and I'll never forget that kindness. If you're looking for someone who truly cares about his clients and takes pride in his work, Barker Tech is the real deal.

I'm torn writing this because I honestly want to keep Barker Tech a secret so they're always…read moreavailable when I have an issue! But the work Jake has done is too good not to share. I previously used a big Bay Area AV/home automation company. I spent over six figures on the initial install when I was rebuilding my house, and after that, every "fix" cost thousands. They had me on a Savant system where even a simple upgrade--like adding a new Apple TV 4K--was quoted at $4,000 because I needed new video cards. I was tired of the "gatekeeping" and not being able to make simple changes myself. I hired Jake to fix the mess, and Barker Tech has been incredible. He didn't just patch things up. he completely updated my network and AV, removed the bloated Savant system, and simplified my entire home automation setup. The result? A system that is high-end, significantly more dependable and simple, I'm able to DIY some things and I don't need to worry about explaining to my wife why a simple change to the system costs more than our first car we bought. The responsiveness is what really sets them apart. I recently had a troubleshooting issue: Jake responded within 5 minutes and had it totally resolved in 15 minutes. Barker Tech feels "too good to be true" because the knowledge and attention to detail are world-class, but the prices are actually reasonable. If you're tired of being overcharged by the big firms, call Jake. (Just don't take up all his time!)

Submitted a request for quote/more info on Oct 16th and to date Oct 30th have not received a…read moreresponse back. Yelp quotes response time of 24 hours ------------------- Update: received a call within a couple hours of my post. The gentleman apologized for not getting back to me sooner and we discussed my project and he pointed me in the right direction. I need a contractor to come out first to do what I need before having AVI come out.

I was interested in MSB products but I wanted to listen before making a decision. MSB guided me to…read moreTony at AVI, who welcomed me with his positive, enthusiastic vibe. Together we arranged a couple of demos of the DAC I was interested in, so I could listen over time and get a good feel for what it had to offer and whether it was right for me. He is a fun, fascinating guy whose genuine passion seems to be to expose his customers to the best audio equipment available and then gently guide them with recommendations that fit their budget. I ended up buying through him, and I am very happy with the decision... I highly recommend both MSB and AVI - both businesses are first class. Thank you, Tony!

Alan is one of those guys that you meet that on first blush may seem like he's selling you a lot of…read moregear you don't need. I'm a former technology journalist and he had stuff I hadn't heard of. I ran his gear past people in the know who said "yeah, that's good." A sidenote: Sometimes Alan is slow to get back to you on phone or iMessage. He's booked solid. I don't like it any more than you do. But in the bay every single good professional is like this, because they are inundated with calls and need to do in-person evaluations to do a good job. I wish the world was easier too guys. Sorry. Alan did a giant (119") 1080p surround sound installation in my loft in Oakland late last year. It was costly, and Alan worked with me to bring down said cost with explanations behind every bit of rational and actual links to what he was getting. Alan also let me use gear I already had, which meant that the actual installation itself was quite confusing to look at at the end. I was furious, and not particularly nice to Alan afterward thinking he'd broken everything. No, what he'd actually done was an intricate, cost-effective amp/ethernet installation, built through the *ceiling*, leading to my aged receiver, to the speakers I had provided. In essence, if you know stuff about a/v, once you bring in someone's potentially bashed-up gear into the situation it effectively is a gamble to see what will work with what. Alan not only made it all work, including with a receiver that I would frankly describe as aged, he recommended the right places to save money to still have the effect I wanted - an awesome home theater. It came out looking and sounding amazing, and more importantly removable. He taught me in a non-condescending manner what he did and why he did it, and made a clear promise (and actually booked time to) fix any problems. There were no problems. Any anger I had was that I didn't understand how it worked and the only criticism I could give was Alan didn't leave a manual of his work. Alan is not cheap. Alan is also - and I use this term very rarely - an actual artist. He wants the thing to look and sound perfect. I just hired Alan to do a second job he has not started yet, and he talked me OUT of spending $3000+ on a new projector screen and $2000 on a new projector, telling me to keep my quite-adequate plasma screen, as it'd be just as good. I am sort of a gadget/network person and know what I'm talking about. If you want a cheap guy to do an okay job, don't hire Alan. Don't waste is time. He will charge what he charges for the gear at the price it comes out at (if not cheaper, and believe me I've checked). If you want someone to put down some cheap CAT cables and some HDMI cables he found on Monoprice and Amazon, give them a call. Alan is an actual professional who knows a lot. I take umbrage at anyone claiming Alan "focuses on dollars more than customer service." My own personal experience, even when I was not the most calm (calling him at 2:30am GMT from England, where I was at the time of installation), is that he cares more about customer service than most A/V people I've run into. And knows more than them too. Overall, what you get is the closest you can to professional at a consumer price. It's not cheap. It never will be if you want something that'll last, sound good and look good. If you want constant download speeds/constant signal throughout your home, Alan is going to find *what will do it.* To S.B.: I do not know specifically what equipment you were left with by Alan, however I have spoken to him about the networking gear he uses, which (I used to sell WIFI/WAN/LAN gear commercially) is Unifi/Ubiquiti gear. This prices much the same as a Netgear Nighthawk/high-end ASUS router, and gives superior service all around. Alan is not just a guy who knows things about audio/visual, he is actually very smart and knows about networking gear too. I do not believe you were sold a $1000 router. I imagine you were sold a $1000 setup which would cover your entire house. The WIFI never really working properly? Not really sure. And if it's 5x the price of a Mac airport - your comparison point - I'm gonna go ahead and say your knowledge on networking product is deficient. That's an $84.99 or $184.99 router, and if you're using that as a comparison point you're not buying a Netgear Nighthawk, Asus AC87U or Unifi AP AC - all of which are on the upper end of the routing scale and are the only routers a real professional would use. If your new guy used these as your comparison points. If you want your signal and your download speeds to be consistent and the signal to be constant across the house, you need good gear. This is not cheap gear and Alan is not a "cheap" provider who "just gets things done." I've got no fiscal benefit in having him around. I choose to spend tens of thousands of dollars with the man because he's just that damn good.

You may note that Alan hasn't had a review on here for many years. That's because his business has…read moregone down hill fast and things are not good. We've had multiple AV professionals in our house over the years and we've also had Alan. There is a major difference between the two. Cutting corners, sloppy work, and long delays are the norm. Not to mention he will put a lien on your house and threaten you with legal action if things don't work out. Trust me. Avoid. At. All. Costs.

We had a great first meeting and were waiting for a quote that never came. We were straight-up…read moreghosted. We reached out multiple times in a variety of ways and never heard back. We can only speculate that somehow our project needs were not big enough for them to want to work with us? We can't know what happened because they simply stopped communicating with us. Sad but true. For this reason, I have to say their business is not to be reccomended.

Wow just realized I never updated the review. After paying Cham to come out, and to come back, and…read moreto come back, and to come back...each time a new person who complain d bout the last persona work. I finally gave up and went with another service. He was great when it was new and a big bill. Not great when you need to get his worked fixed right.

Daniell Silva is outstanding! !!!!! His knowledge is boundless - there has never been a technical…read morequestion/problem he didn't answer and remedy immediately. He listens and responds and is delightful to work with. He is very supportive and explains things clearly. I am technically challenged and he is patient and kind, which I so appreciate. Thank you Daniell!

From the owner: We are in the field for over 15 years, delivering good quality service for homes and small…read morebusinesses.

Do not hesitate. Full stop. Henry and his crew (shout out Ramon!) packed all my gear, set it up in…read morea new house, and attended to everything. I was super picky and he and his crew accommodated everything and the quote was the exact price I was charged. They answered all my dumb questions, explained all the options, and came back TWICE to tweak things I wanted. One of the best customer experiences I've had. Don't hesitate to hire these guys.

Super disappointed... we have used them before and were very happy. The quality is not the same…read more They came out today to mount a Samsung frame TV. The person said to make it easier he would need to drill some holes to help hide the wires. He asked if we had paint and said he could patch it. Next thing you know we have a 5"x5" hole in our fireplace along with holes in another wall. The patch was left unfinished. He said he had a paint brush initially and then later said he didn't. Pretty sure he was using a paper towel. Then told me I should paint it in an hour. Called their office and Nikki told me their team doesn't do paint or patching...ok. Why say you can? She couldn't tell me when someone would be back out and never called me back. So we have a mounted tv but now we need a professional painter to come fix the botched patch. Not to mention I spent 30 mins cleaning up after they left.

Valley Home Theater & Automation (VHT) recently completed a complex project in my home theater. The…read moreproject included the installation of a large, state-of-the-art microLED video wall, a video processor, an upgraded sound processor, a 4K movie platform, and a new remote control system. We used my old speakers. It was a pleasure working with Peter, Josh, Glenn, and other members of the VHT team. Peter spent time planning with me, stayed on top of the project to its completion, and kept me in the loop. Josh did an excellent job of assembling the components and programming the remote. He had good suggestions and was gracious about programming tweaks I requested. VHT provided excellent workers in carpentry, drywall, painting, and electrical. I was impressed by the lengths to which they went to protect my speakers and other older electronics. The final product looks--and sounds--spectacular! In summary, I would not hesitate to recommend VHT for a sophisticated home theater installation.

We received excellent service from Glenn, Paul and Cameron. From the initial consultation through…read morethe installation of the new home theater equipment to follow up phone calls to make sure everything is just right. These people don't just install stuff, take your money and leave you to sort out any problems that may arise. VHT checks in with you after the install to make sure everything is working properly and set up to your specifications. I wish I had called them earlier as it would have saved me a lot of time and money. Extremely impressed and will use VHT again at a vacation home.

Peter the owner spent a lot of time making sure that the system was what we wanted, and then took…read morethe time to train me on how best to utilize the system. Marco the installer was highly detailed and experienced in the work that he did at the home. I am very pleased with the outcome.

I love working with people who know their stuff, are responsible, friendly and I can completely…read moretrust them to do a great job. Peter and his amazing installer Marco are the best. Marco was right on time and worked all day to get our system up and running - so polite and so precise in every detail to make sure everything worked perfectly. He made us feel so taken care of and was just a lovely person. And you are in great hands with Peter - we liked him immediately and felt like we could rely on his company to do a great job. We put off jumping into this whole idea but now we are so glad that we found Powerhouse Security and know they will keep us feeling safe and secure!

Yianni was professional he worked with my schedule. Unfortunately something came up with work and…read morewasn't able to complete my job. however Yianni showed up on time and was ready. Definitely my fault but Yianni was excellent in communication.

Yianni was professional, on time, and pleasure to work with. He's an expert at what he does and…read moreaffordable.

AvidWorks Technology installed 5 Ring cameras and 1 Ring Video Doorbell at my home. The project was…read morecompleted on time and on budget, exactly as promised. Their team showed excellent knowledge and installation skills, making the whole process smooth and professional. The equipment works flawlessly, and their attention to detail is impressive. I highly recommend AvidWorks Technology to anyone considering a home security project. They delivered excellent service, and I'll gladly use them again in the future.

I worked with them to replace old ADT cameras with new Reolink cameras. They are probably the most…read morethorough contractor of any kind I've ever worked with.