As an interior designer noted for personalized and unique custom work, I rely on trusted resources…read moreto execute our design plan into our client's homes. Sound Living is one of the most professional and consistent vendors we specify for our clients. Sound Living owners, Jarmila and Gary Singer understand the broad spectrum of home automation and offer unparalleled expertise to match products with people. Their service includes all home controls, home theatre, outdoor entertainment and automated window treatments. Importantly their installation techs are competent and patient. I highly recommend this business. Deb Reinhart Interior Design

Sound Living did a fantastic job at one of my listings recently. They were quick, professional and…read moredid an amazing job of simplifying and organizing all the wires and cables of two televisions and components. I highly recommend them!

The service technician was completely inept, sloppily dressed, lacking in business accumen, and…read moreapparently disoriented (more on that below). I also got the feeling they were overselling. Save yourself the trouble and look elsewhere. I contacted Active Alarm Company because they had previously been responsible for monitoring my alarm. They're located in Lake Zurich but service the Chicago area; I'm in Lincoln Park. I gave them a call to come out and take a look at the system. My initial conversation with the sales representative seemed productive; we set up an early morning service visit (7:30). The sales person said that it would not be a problem to connect the alarm to the phone line. But then the day of the service visit came. To start, the technician called me at 5:30 in the morning. I had initially planned on rolling out of the bed at 7:20, so suffice it to say I was pissed. When he arrived, I realized that this particular technician was an older gentlemen, so I was hoping that he would bring his many years of experience to bear on our alarm system. Not so. It became pretty clear that the technician was pretty out of touch with current technologies. He spent a good three hours walking up and down the stairs of our house trying to connect the Comcast phone system to the alarm. Then, when he finally had it done and did a test, he determined that our system was outdated and would not work with the Comcast modem. This after four hours of work. (Mind you, I had been explicit in mentioning that I needed to be into work that day, hence the reason for scheduling the early visit). What would have been more effective would have been to look at the system and first determine if it would work. Instead, he spent wasted hours trying to rig a system that was never going to work in the first place. Also, he was obviously disoriented. Every time he went out to the truck he wandered up and down the street looking for his vehicle. I thought I was seeing things. But all three times that I watched him go out to the street he looked around with this stupid blank stare. Obviously this does not inspire confidence when this person is charged with helping to protect your home. But what really got me was when I overheard his manager tell him on the phone that he didn't want him to "leave there empty handed." (The technician had the volume on his phone turned up so loud that I could hear the entire conversation). When I confronted the manager with that piece of information later in the day, he tried to (unconvincingly) explain it away. In spite of all that, I was still willing to give them a chance. However after prodding for quotes for four days and receiving nothing, I finally gave up. I went with Alert Protective Services. Their monitoring fees are $5 more a month, but the installation of a brand new and much better system cost me much less than the rough estimates I was given over the phone. Plus, Alert Protective services ripped out the old system and installed the new in less than 2.5 hours. It would have taken the Active Alarm guy at least a full day, based on my observations of his work. So if you're in Lincoln Park look elsewhere for alarm systems. See my review for APS coming soon.

My experience with Active Alarm has been excellent. I've used them for many years, and they've…read moreprovided security systems for 3 houses for us in that time. I have found their products, technicians, and customer service to be of great quality. I also appreciate their friendliness, professionalism, and responsiveness to my questions. When I had an issue, they went above and beyond to fix the problem efficiently. I enjoy working with small family businesses, so that's a plus, too. Recommended!

A great company for those of us who are either not literate in TV/Digital technology or simply do…read morenot have the time! I had Avidia handle the installation and set up of all the TVs in my new house; three large Sony TVs with sound bars and two Roku's. They handled all the details. They have an amazing service program. What they can't do remotely, they will do in person quickly. Just recently, service technician, Jaden, came to my house to update all the TVs and make sure that everything was up-to-date and working as it should. Aside from being courteous and professional, he explained everything ....and was in and out in less than an hour. It is expensive. But for me, well worth the cost. Highly recommend.

I wanted to update my review of Avidia from a couple of years ago. They reached out to me and…read morewanted to make things right. I contracted with them to update my security cameras with a Unifi system and they did an amazing job. They showed up with two people and completed the project efficiently and quickly. They were great to work with and I will use them again in the future. I'd have no hesitancy now recommending them to friends and family.

I recently bought a new single family home in a Chicago neighborhood that isn't as established as…read moreLincoln Park, Lakeview, or Northcenter, or certainly any of the north shore suburbs. It's a huge house that my fiance will be working from home in, and it will hopefully be the home of future children. The security of my new family is extremely important, as is my piece of mind. I have heard that Keyth was the best, so I called them up to ask for a consultation and for a change of the locks. I somehow get transferred to Keith Fisher, the owner of the company, who asks me a number of questions about my family situation, who's in the house, etc. (seemed like small talk), and he scheduled the locksmith. On the day of my move, a keyth truck pulled up and changed the locks as scheduled, great service; no issues. I figured that would be the end of it until a subsequential meeting was scheduled. Not so. A few minutes later, in walks Keith Fisher, the owner of the company. Keyth is a big company, and this was a Saturday. He told me that it was important to him that my new family gets off to a secure start so he wanted to personally be involved in my home. It was a Saturday...I believed it to be sincere and I do to this day. He personally walked through every aspect of the house, showed me each of the vulnerabilities my house had, and presented the optimal security program that protected my needs. It included ulterior lighting plans in my garage and yard, smartphone compatability, re-enforced door locks, glass shattering detectors on the windows, and he explained best practices of how i should enter and exit my home. I had him proceed with everything he recommended. It was extremely valuable and I can honestly claim that my house is now virtually inpenetrable, and as secure as possible. Talk about piece of mind! I feel like the price was fair, and he offered flexible payment terms. This type of service cannot be replicated by Comcast or AT&T. The experience really opened my eyes to the fact that each home is different and your home is not secure just because you slapped a system in it that you saw on TV. These guys are the best. I highly recommend them. Also, the service of the installation, support team, and billing department has been great. This was a great experience and fully worthy of a 5 star review.

I want to highly recommend KEYTH Security, we have been partners protecting our home for 30+ years…read more While changing a battery in a sensor this morning I had a difficult time identifying just how to open the cover and call KEYTH service to ask the question "how to remove the cover?" Elizabeth shared how to remove the cover both verbally and sent an image via my iPhone and the tab broke. She was so kind and understanding and indicated they may have a replacement in their shop, put me on hold while checking and had one. I immediately drove to pick it up and it was waiting for me at the door. The level of service and appreciation of our business was extraordinary, especially in today's business climate. Elizabeth made my day. Thank you Elizabeth, your service and understanding, it's most appreciated. If you are looking for an alarm/security company I highly recommend KEYTH Security.......

We used Integrated Security for our business alarms and monitoring…read more Seamless planning, execution and follow up.

Great service, reasonable priced, dependable, showed up when they said they would be there. They…read morerewired my stereo, hooked up my Plasma TV. Mounted it on the wall. They called me 15 minutes ahead as I asked. I would use them again.

Rein just installed a 3rd gen Tesla Charger for me. I received a text with a photo of the…read moretechnician and eta shortly before he showed up. They were very timely in arriving on the window they provided me a week ago. Technician wore his protective face mask and was very professional. After calling around to most of the electricians on Tesla's website for the home charge installation, Rein Electric had both the most convenient schedule for me and had the best pricing. I will definitely use Rein again if I have an electrical need.

Hired them to troubleshoot a conduit that had no power that had a dimmer to control the track…read morelighting stick in the Living Room. I multi'd the wires and definitively confirmed there was no power at the dimmer conduit. I advised the Tech in advance at the time of booking the service call. He spent over an hour troubleshooting. He fished it to a conduit in the Kitchen where the Ceiling Fan was connected and reported the root cause of no power was a poor slice in the Ceiling Fan conduit box and said he repaired it. He then reinstalled the new dimmer I had previously installed. Quickly packed up, settled the commercials and and was wasting no time heading out and I asked him if he multi-d the Dimmer and Track Conduit to confirm the boxes had functional power and he said yes and that the problem now was that I had a faulty Track Stick. I then questioned him as to why there was no power indicators lit on the Lutron Dimmer. He stated that it was because the Track Stick was faulty and needed to be replaced. I bought and installed a new track stick today only to find the Cans still didn't light up nor the dimmer switch and reconfirmed again the root cause was again the same problem reported from the onset. I uninstalled the Dimmer Multi'd the Conduit and confirmed again the conduit still had no power. He never resolved the issue. Further, I asked him for his business card only to find out that he took it upon himself to put his company sticker on my Breaker Box without my advance consent. I then called him to tell him there was still no power and he said no worries he will come on Monday. I told him I was disappointed and why I need to wait till Monday as I didn't wait to pay him for his services on Friday. He then address me as Dude told me he doesn't work 24/7 and that he is practicing drums with his band and he could just give me back my money. No evidence of empathy or accountability for the poor workmanship. So I agreed to take the refund and he Zelle'd me back my money right away. When he was on site reinstalling the new Lutron Dimmer Switch I'd just bought he was going to leave without installing the cover. I asked him where the new cover was I just bought that wasn't even open. He look puzzled and then went to his tool bag where he took it upon himself to put my new cover in his tool bag and said he thought it was his and thought it had previously fallen out. I found that puzzling as well. He did say we had a faulty wall outlet and replaced it pro bono. That was a kind an unsolicited gesture. Not sure how they make their money with this type of service. Perhaps it was an anomaly but what is clear, I will never use or refer these folks to anyone.

x6 wired home security cameras…read more A low-pressure and transparent sales process. A friendly, professional, and experienced installation crew. Discrete and low-disruption placement of cameras and wires.

Bulldog Security is the absolute best company for all of your security needs. They were so helpful…read morewhen I was struggling to decide which features to go with for my home security. Everyone in the office (especially Amber!) is so responsive and friendly, and Steve, the owner, is really on top of everything! They are quick to answer any of my questions and squash any concerns. I truly could not be happier with them and with my security system. I feel 100x safer either while at or away from home knowing that it's armed and protected at all times. Highly recommend!!