Spending your money at Magnolia is wasting your money. I spent nearly $10,000 on a Magnolia system nearly 3 years ago. That was probably the worst investment I've ever made in my life. I paid for thousands of dollars of unnecessary equipment and labor that made for an overly complicated, buggy system that they could never make work properly. The system design was terrible and the service was terrible. Instead of a simple system in which our components were independently operated, we got a Savant system that controlled both big TVs and the stereo system from one device. Savant never worked properly. It periodically stopped working completely. Often, I was able make it work by rebooting absolutely everything (Savant, receiver, cable TV box, etc.). When I couldn't make it work, I had a Geek Squad technician out, usually only after waiting a week or two during which nothing worked. It took an average of 3 phone calls to get a response, and sometimes a personal visit to the store, since they often ignore phone messages. The system stopped working again in June. After 2 weeks, a technician came out, fixed it, and it went out again that night. Patrick Burke (among others) just ghosted me - I could not get a response from them about next steps. I've had it. I just ripped out their entire system and am going with something much simpler: an Apple TV controller for each TV, sound bar instead of the cabling all over the house for ceiling speakers, and I'm using apps to stream for everything (including Spectrum) instead of other boxes. I get a better picture using the Apple TV devices than I ever got from their system, and I don't have to wait 2 minutes to see a picture when I turn on that horrible Savant system. I hope I can get something in resale for the thousands of dollars of equipment that I no longer need. One thing's for sure: I will never spend another dollar on Best Buy or Magnolia again. Don't waste your money and your time. What they recommend is not in your interest and they won't stand behind it. read more

I recently had a Bose System installed in my home. The entire process was over $5500. Magnolia will install your product but don't expect to get much in the way of instructions on how to use the system. They are difficult to reach and are slow to return calls. Unless you are very tech savvy, I would recommend that you try another company. As a positive they are nice people but not very attentive to customer needs. Once the job is complete the relationship is over. Rating: Poor to Middle of the Road read more

Walked into the best buy hoping to upgrade my home audio system and stumbled into this gem in the back corner of the store. There I met the store's General Manager Berny who introduced me to something that changed my life- SONOS. Berny and Salesman Tom helped me pick the right speakers for my room and I was able to get exactly what I needed without the feeling of being pressured into getting anything I didn't need. With a great selection of both high and mid end audio and video product, this store is an absolute must-shop if you're looking to purchase any entertainment equipment. The transaction was fast and easy and I was even able to use my best buy credit card to make my purchase! read more

Magnolia Design Center - This place is magical! - Interior Design Near Me - Pasadena, California

Magnolia have helped me to narrow my search between some of my favorite audio brands and models. I did lot's of research in this field and without them, I wouldn't have any luck finding the right piece that will satisfy my needs. Physically auditioning speakers and hearing actual differences between speakers and amplifiers are incomparable. They are the best with the choices, though you need to run from one location to another to get most of the compared pieces you're looking to choose from. When I first came to GLENDALE magnolia, I wasn't aware of decent audio brands out there. I have learned differences between brands and understood that there are many options and prices that can break your bank. I didn't bought anything because I was hopping that I will find decent hi-fi system for 2k, but they were suggesting somewhere around 5k. It is reasonable to spend 5k for good system but what they was suggesting , wasn't matching together in a right manners. Speakers from Bowers and Wilkins (702 S2) with medium quality Marantz 5,1 AV receiver. It was goood, not perfect. When later on , in Pasadena's Magnolia, I tried these speakers with 2 channel Rotel amplifier, I did surprise how good can sound these speakers. The seller from Pasadena store was kind enough to give me full access through the comparison between all the speakers and amplifiers on display. I have checked literally all the connected equipments in 1 hour. So I could make my decision. I bought open box B&W CM6 S2 bookshelf speakers with Rotel 2 channel amplifier and 10" B&W ASW610 powered subwoofer attached to high level audio output for my studio around 4,5k. I am going to buy B&W 804 D3 for my home with Rotel amplifier that will look around 13-15k. Thanks Magnolia stores for convincing me to spend and prepare to spend this much money for audio equipment )) I'm not complaining though! music is a part of my daily life and it's a good portion of it, so I'm happy for that result. I wish Magnolia staff were more deep knowledgeable about audio technology. That would reduce our "homework". read more

Magnolia Design Center - Bowers and Wilkins CM6 S2, ASW610 and Rotel A12 with Audioquest type4 cables. - Interior Design Near Me - Pasadena, California

See all

I would highly recommend Michael or Patrick if your looking for a high end theater system. I am not talking about Bose or any other in a box system. The customer service I received has equaled the information I needed to make my purchase. Sometimes stuff happens and these guys were quick to make it right from the sale to the installation. I still have some questions and we get them resolved quickly. Pasadena Best Buy magnolia center thank you for all your help and I love system you put together for me. My next project will be the somos for the back yard and a whole house sound system. Hit me up! read more

Without Magnolia Design Center, I would never have been interested in home audio, and I would have never had, or have, a setup appropriate for a God-Emperor. read more

See all

I came into Magnolia to audition some Sonus Faber speakers and was really happy to have been helped by Tom Gillesse. I thought I knew a bit about hi-fi audio after copious amounts of internet research; however, I really knew nothing compared to Tom with his years of experience in the industry and true passion for all things audiophile! Tom spent a lot of time with me to make sure I decided on a setup that worked for me and my budget and went above and beyond to make sure I got the best deal possible. Couldn't have been happier with my decision to go with Magnolia for my hi-fi audio investment. Thanks Tom! read more

This place has a nice selection of high end products to look at and play with but, the service sucks! It's going to feel like you just walked on to a used car lot! They will belittle you and try to up sell you! BUYER BEWARE!!! Magnolia Home Theater Design Center is a store within Best Buy. If something goes wrong your stuck dealing with them. You don't have the option of dealing with Best Buy. If they have a product that you must have, try going to a location that is owned and operated by Best Buy. A location that is not a design center. It's a lot easier dealing with Best Buy than these shysters. They don't stand behind the products they sell. read more

Jimmy the manager here went above and beyond. My pops was looking for a nice audio system for are living room. We're not sure until we spoke to jimmy, because they were in the Best Buy Store, he explained everything and what he was showing us was much higher then are budget but he explained why and talked us into it. I don't think we regret it at all for after the sell we had some issues and he took care of us no attitude at all like some stores. I feel like overall end of the day if you have a bad attitude then hopefully business doesn't work for you,for the whole point of good service is to keep that business going and I am sure we will be back when we are ready to upgrade again. Thank you jimmy and your team for the positive experience. Keep it up!!! read more

Two months ago I went in to research about a TV for my new condo. Since my construction was not complete I was not ready to make the purchase. The gentleman who helped me, Carlos Gonzalez, took down my information and followed up with me a month later. When I was ready to make the purchase, went in and he was out on a family emergency but when his co-worker, Jonathan Sicat,called him on his cell late at night he remembered what I was looking for. The process was smooth and since it is a newer curved TV and in high demand they located it and had it delivered to me within a day. Also they personally delivered the bracket to my office so I would have it in time for installation. I could not be happier with the service I received from these two young gentlemen and would go back to them for my electronic needs. They are truly outstanding. read more

Michael ting is the most helpful and patient associate. I went in to look for a television and he helped me find a great one with a sound bar. They were even able to come out and do services at my home. Love Magnolia! Will come again! read more

Went here planning to pick out a Christmas present waned to get a new preamp. I Was looking at Mcintosh AV 151 or new 160. I was also thinking about adding some speakers to my system. I had a budget of 10-15k for this project. No one would come talk to me. I spent maybe 20 minuts walking around. I even took a picture of the 4 people behind the desk. No one cared. I will take my business elsewhere. By the way I have already spent about 12k here on stuff. THis place has gone downhill. read more

Magnolia Design Center - If you see these 4 guys Id look for someone else. they do not care about customers. Made me wait 20 min. I left, with my $15k - Interior Design Near Me - Pasadena, California

Without Magnolia Design Center, I would have never been interested in home audio, and I would have never have had a setup based on a limited budget that would be appropriate even for God-Emperor. Special thanks to Carlos, Jimmy (actually, fuck you, Jimmy), and Tom, as well as other members of the team, including the manager. I called one of these individuals on his birthday and he was happy to answer my questions about a product I had purchased. No one does that in sales, and that is how dedicated these individuals are. As for the critical review below, ignore it. the profile is filled with 1-star reviews, and shows how dishonesty and ignorance can harm those who have absolute trust and commitment towards their customers. read more

My father was in shopping mode & decided to get new speakers for our TV. He researched online for some awesome ones, came across a particular set that he wanted, looked up a few places & found that this location had it. Upon arrival on Sun, my father spoke to sales rep, Justin. He was very informative, had answers for all of my father's questions. When my father finally decided to get it, another sales rep helped my father, Jimmy, he was the one who processed my father's order Anyways, my father went ahead made the purchase, THEN Jimmy decides to tell my father, hey sorry, we don't have that color you want in stock right now, HOWEVER there r other colors u can get & u can pick it up on Tue, or EVER Mon night. My father went ahead & settled for his second color. Tho, he left a bit disappointment, he was willing to wait for his new toy But here the f-ed up series of events! On Tues nite, I went in to pick up the speakers, Justin was the one who helped me. He just told me, it wasn't in yet. My father & I didn't think much of it. So we just went home. Wed, my father called Jimmy to ask him whats going on, what's the status, he said he was busy, will call my father back. NEVER did. Thurs after work, my father went to go check on the status, Jimmy apologized for not getting back to my father and offered to buy my father dinner. O.o ?? Ehh! We just want out speakers. Again, he told my father, sorry, its not in yet, give us a few more days. At this time, my father is pretty damn antsy about the whole situation, but he decided to wait anyway Sat rolls around, Justin decided to give my father a call to tell him, hey, your speakers wouldn't be in until April 11th! ?! WTF is that?! Seriously? WOW! I am speechless. They couldn't be up front with us from the very beginning?! Have they thought that if they were in the very beginning that we would have been willing to wait? Right after the call, my father decided he didn't want to speakers anymore, we called them wanting to cancel our order by phone, but we told we can only cancel in store. FINE! We went to the store, right away upon arrival, when Jimmy saw my father, he was super 'excited' to see my father, let me help you, what did you need? let me get Justin to help you, YOU ARE HIS CUSTOMER. Ehh, odd but whatever, we want to get matter solved. Justin comes on by, & suddenly, we are Jimmy customers. REALLY?! Can we say shady? I explained to Justin that my father been misinformed about the date of when it will arrive, we want to just go ahead & cancel the order. We don't want to wait anymore for something that is probably NOT going to show up. Justin tells goes off telling me, its a 'special order' hum, well Jimmy told my father it would be here soonest Monday night, the words 'special order' NEVER came up. Justin say that Jimmy would like to talk to us, & when I turned to my left side where the glass door was at. Jimmy was kneeling, hiding in the back, by the glass door all sneaky, shady looking Jimmy came out & right away tried talking to my father in Chinese. I honestly felt that Jimmy was trying to sweet talk my father into not cancelling the order. But with the customer services we been dealing with, we wanted to just cancel & walk away. I felt really disgusted that he would abuse his ability to speak Chinese to sucker people into things. One would think that, if you were to speak the same language, have a few things in common, you would get hookups, pull a few strings here & there to make sure everyone was happy Then suddenly in their defense that it would be hard to cancel because its a special order, interesting right? We give them well OVER 10+ days to cancel the order & they can't do it. How is that my problem? So would it be better for them, for us to wait til the 11th, have the actual item in store then cancel it? Wouldn't they have the item in stock sitting around then? I was really confused about how its so damn hard to cancel an order for an item that wasn't here. Question, do they make the speakers when people order it, is that why its taking forever, is that why its called special order? I can't wrap my head around it. Or understand whats going on For us to keep it, suddenly they want to offer us 10% discount, despite us telling them, money wasn't the issue. They were really pushing with discount, but we didn't care for it. They don't seem to understand the word: I don't want it anymore, I want to cancel, I want my refund, I want my money back, I don't want to waste time. I had to make it super crystal clear that NOTHING they can do will allow us to change our mind. We just wanted it over and done with Finally, they went ahead and processed the cancellation of the order within mins. As simple as that, they should have done it to start with! But the most BS part about this whole thing, I was in there for 47 mins trying to get my damn refund from sales reps who are liars If you LOVE headaches, drama, bs talkers, wasting time, this is the place to be read more

I'd like to give this company of minus five star review I could not believe what I heard on the phone from an Asian guy by the name of Michael I called up in good faith to find out how much they charge for mounting a simple Soundbar on my drywall underneath my beautiful TV 4K TV which I bought at Best Buy and this guy asked me if I bought it at Best Buy so yeah I didn't realize it there affiliated he told me that I would have to go down there so that we can set up an appointment i said why go down to your place I'm working now I don't have time either you can do the job or not and tell me how much so he told me it would be are you ready for this $200 install a simple soundbar to the wall $200 I told him are you crazy and he started to laugh this is not a laughing matter are you a clown in a circus you buffoon this is ridiculous we're senior citizens we don't need to be treated like this and you're asking $200 just to install a soundbar he left and I hung up and I'm writing this review do not go there if they're charging $200 to install a soundbar on a simple wall they're out to rob you they're just very dishonest read more

I went into Best Buy to see about purchasing new speakers for my husband for a birthday gift. The Best Buy employee asked what I was looking for and directed me to the Magnolia Design Center part of the store, saying I could get my questions answered there. Jeffrey Sy was the Magnolia employee who helped me and I can't speak highly enough about how helpful he was. He explained the various options available and we decided to go with the Sonos systems. Jeffrey understood that I was buying these as a gift and that my husband would have his own questions. He scheduled an appointment to come to our home and assess the speaker placement options, the strength of the WiFi, and teach us some about Sonos. He spent an hour and a half at our house helping us figure out how best to make this awesome speaker system work for us. We had to purchase another router because of the configuration of our house. But Jeffrey Sy came out AGAIN and installed these for us and got us up and running. He was beyond helpful!!! My husband is thrilled that we can have music in every room as we choose. We are very pleased with the quality of the Sonos system! Jeffrey has assured us that he is willing to help us with whatever we may need and is just a phone call away. This level of customer service is rare these days and we want people to know that it still does exist!! We will most definitely purchase from Magnolia Design Center again! read more

No assistance. Tony was nice to attempt a quick audio fix, but basically told me to contact Samsung, and good luck. Lol. He didn't understand even the basic concept of audio phase cancellation. Google that AV guys. Now I have an audio system that is useless. read more

Third purchased from this store. Amanda Carbajal and Jimmy (manager) were very helpful. Wasn't planning to buy today but gave me a good service and price that I couldn't say no. Please ask for Amanda when you go it to Best Buy Magnolia in Pasadena. Thanks read more

HORRIBLE HORRIBLE Service from this Location Especially the supposedly assistant Manager (PATRICK) He's a very very Rude individual very unprofessional I would never try buying from them again especially with people like Patrick in the store. He was so Mean and rude to my wife when she called wanting to buy a tv various times.. and also to me he told me not to go in that store.. I Tate them a 0 Especially if they have Patrick the assistant manager in there I don't recommend it at all!!! read more

Last Saturday I walk into BestBuy wanting to buy a cheap inbox home theater system for my nice little studio apartment. One of the guys at Magnolia saw me and told me he could get me higher quality equipment for around the same price. I was a little skeptical eat first, but they started crunching the number for me and sure enough I had a better upgraded system in just a few minutes. The service was great, all the associates were happy and easy going. I walked out of BestBuy happier than when I walked in. The guys at Magnolia really know their customers and what they are doing. I will be doing business with them again in the future. read more

I was unable to vet the quality of each device, since their demos were constantly being reset. Poor management of the product to customer engagement. read more

I received top-notch service across the board, courtesy of Jonathan Sicat. This man has vast knowledge and a genuine passion for audio and seemingly boundless patience. I am, self-admittedly, the shopper from hell and hammered this poor guy with an inordinate number of questions during numerous conversations. Jonathan's enthusiasm never waned. On the contrary, he always seemed to be enjoying the conversations (I sure did!). When it came to the purchase, he got me a great deal on a Marantz SR5010 receiver, which I love. I was looking for an AV receiver that would sound good for both music and movies, and the SR5010 fits the bill perfectly. Switching to pure direct mode for music sounds excellent. Beyond all of this, he made himself available post-sales to answer general audio questions via mobile messaging. A truly nice guy. Thank you Jonathan! read more

I walked to Best Buy looking for a television. I was not aware of the magnolia set up in side Best Buy. I had done my homework on what I wanted to purchase. I wanted and needed a curved T.V ;)The magnolia sales person was the only person on the floor not busy at that time I walked in. He was informative on all the electronics on on the Best Buy floor. He did give me more technical information on the the T.V I was interested in. He did not discourage me or push a specific television or different brand. After about half hour, I made him aware of which television I was Interested in. It turned out to be the same television he had highly recommend, was also the same television I was originally pursing. The sales person was not pushing like a car salesman. I highly recommend magnolia.. read more

We were so pleased to have Jeff Sy visit our home and impart his knowledge and understanding of our Home Theater System. Jeff set our home system up to expand out into our patio room. We were impressed that Jeff never tried to sell us more components or upgrades to our existing electronics. He figured out the system capabilities and made our current system work perfectly. Jeff saw the entire system set up through and showed great consideration in protecting our carpets, furniture and wood floors. He was so polite and patient with us (in answering all of our questions and dealing with all of our issues) When we do get the upgrade( or completely change our system) we know exactly who to see and where to find the right Magnolia System to fit our needs. Every member of the Magnolia staff has always showed great appreciation for our business and all are willing to offer assistance whenever asked. read more

The staff there are just tv salesmen promoted within Best Buy...Commissioned based with little knowledge of true custom in your home or office. They promote Aria hotel, blah, blah, blah but that staff had no part in it or the experience to produce that in your home. There technicians have a turn around once every month and the salespeople are never on the same page. Don't make the same mistake I did...I should have went with an experience custom integration company that knows what details are needed. Its pathetic to call them every week to complain and repeat myself over and over again what was promised to me by the salesman. Over promised and under delivered is an understatement... The only star I give them is for there showroom. Listen to different quality sound in the theater and B & W 802's. Stay clear of the sound room. They use an over processed board that compressed the sound. Oppo, B & W and Sonos is the best products thay have to offer. But don't let them install it and call a professional. Don't trust a geek either, when you can have a professional. read more

We just had a large AV project that included 4 TV's and a big rack of tech stuff to run them completed by Magnolia Pasadena. We are very happy with our project! It went great! Amanda Carbajal was our salesperson/project manager and she is awesome! She is very knowledgable, professional, friendly and patient. She took so much time answering all my MANY questions and concerns. She truly inspired confidence in us to do the project - we were a little wary of such a big undertaking - but are so happy that we finally did it! We also worked with Chuck Knight and he is just great! Abdul was our lead installer and he did an excellent job - as well as being friendly and patient with our many worries/questions along the way. I can confidently and highly recommend this team at Magnolia Pasadena! read more

I can not begin to rave enough about my buying experience at Magnolia Design Center located within Best Buy in Woodland Hills. I went in to Best Buy strictly just to do research on televisions because I was considering getting a new one in the next few months. Based on my experience with other local stores, where I was given the "hard sell" and made to feel like I was foolish to not plunk down money and get the TV that day, I was so pleasantly surprised by the expertise, friendly environment, and no pressure attitude I was met with at Magnolia. My sales person Brandon could not have been more helpful. He went out of his way to educate me on all of the various features available in a variety of TVs and how they specifically effect the picture and performance of the various sets. I felt no pressure whatsoever to make a purchase and not being technologically savvy it was a great relief to be made to feel that no question was stupid. I can not begin to express how patient Brandon was and after I spent well over an hour being treated so well I happily bought my TV that evening. I also bought a sound bar to go with it. Now here is the best part, not only did Brandon help me purchase the TV but he willingly came to my home and set it up. I am completely delighted with the Sony 4K 55' TV I bought and if I could give the entire buying experience at Magnolia a sixth star I would!! read more