Phantom Electronics

Howard has been doing business with me and my family since I was a child… he always has the most amazing techs and he’s the Wizard of Car Audio and Security!

Amazing customer service! Howard and his crew stand behind all of their products 100%. I had an issue with the lights on our car’s DVD player and it was long out of warranty. He actually called the manufacturer for me and was able to get the light bar at no cost. Well, when they tried to install it, the light bar didn’t work. So, they took my old one, made some changes and now it looks great and works perfectly. And best if all, they didn’t charge me a dime for any of their labor. Additionally, every single person who works there is incredibly nice and polite. I will never go anywhere else for my cars’ electronics. I will recommend them to everyone I know!

Don’t you just love it when you go to a service based business and the owner actually listens and satisfies your exact needs as opposed to satisfying his own sales agenda?
I find myself at a disadvantage when going to purchase an item I need, but don’t know where to start. For me, it’s all about finding an expert and developing a sense of trust and integrity with that other individual.
I needed a radio/​cd player for my 1992 Mercedes wagon. It has served me well over the years, and when the head unit crapped out, I knew I needed to replace it, but did not want to put too much money into the unit as I would never be able to get the value out of the car should I decide to sell it.
Phantom Electronics, in Thousand Oaks has been in business for close to 40 years, and in the car audio business, that’s a big deal. The owner, Howard Kruger, has been at the helm for all of those years. He does huge custom systems totaling thousands and thousands of dollars down to changing out a battery in a key.
In discussing my specific requirements with Howard, he knew exactly what I needed. No trying to up sell me. No trying to belittle what I already had in my car. Just a desire to make me leave a happy customer. Let me tell you, that’s pretty rare. And much appreciated.
We discussed my options and Howard hit on a unit that addressed my needs perfectly. The store was pretty busy, but yet Howard took the time to take out my old unit, test the new unit to make sure it worked to spec and then installed the unit in my car himself.
His price for the unit, a new antenna for the radio and his labor was astonishingly reasonable.
But what makes me a customer for life is Howard. His care, attention to detail and his desire to satisfy his customers make all the difference.
You almost don’t want anyone else to know about Howard and Phantom Electronics because you don’t want them to get any busier than they already are as then they wouldn’t be able to get us in. Somehow though, I know that Howard would never let that happen.
Still, don’t tell anyone.

Wow! This company is fantastic. They installed a complete speaker system and telephone system in my Ford Expedition. I love the way my car is now hands-​free when I make a phone call and it sounds great. The owners are super cool and nice to work with and their prices were lower than all the other shops I tried out. I will be taking my wife’s car there soon.

Actually found true customer service here! Very knowledgable! Very honest! I didn’t feel any pressure to buy! Had a wonderful experience! I recommend the highly!

Was recommended to phantom electronics for a backup camera for my audi and then realized the car I bought was missing keyless entry but had keyless start so I went to them for that instead! They were very nice and accommodating and had it installed and working in less than 4 hours without messing with my warranty! And you can’t even tell they did anything very clean work!

I bought my truck, a brand new Toyota Tacoma 2015 quad cab, and decided to take it to Phantom Electronics, based on a friend’s review. I was not disappointed.
The owner, Howard, was extremely helpful and informative. I told him what I was looking for regarding sound quality and budget, and he worked with me to find a sound solution that was amazing both on the level of audio quality and financial constraints.
Before I even put a cent down, Howard had me listen to several different speaker manufacturers, even going as far as to encouraging me to bring in a CD compilation of music that I would be listening to on the regular. I did this, and can not explain how much it helped. Howard knew exactly what I was looking for, and he made recommendations based on my music tastes while keeping my budget in mind.
After four months, I could not be happier with my German Maestro component speakers and Memphis subwoofers. Upon installation, Howard and his skilled team of technicians helped me achieve optimal sound with my equipment, and he surpassed my expectations of what good car audio could be.
On a side note, the OEM backup camera in my truck would not initially work with my new Pioneer head unit. Howard worked with me, personally, over email, to find the correct adapter to make this function work. Once he found the right component, he ordered it and installed it at no charge to me. This is business practice at its best, folks.
I would highly recommend Phantom Electronics to anyone looking to upgrade their existing car audio system with something worth listening to. It may be a pretty penny up front, but one gets what one pays for, and this is a worthy investment, if I do say so myself.
I would recommend Phantom Electronics to all my friends and family. They are professional, knowledgable and helpful long after the initial installation has happened.

It is no wonder that this company has been around for nearly 35 years. Howard is amazingly helpful and honest in recommending products. He offered options but when it came down to it, he told me the best way to go. Howard spent time with me to discuss how the unit would look in the car as well as where the antennae would be best situated. He told me it would take about 2 hours to install my radio and when I returned in 2 hours, it was ready!

These guys installed my stereo system back in 2006. Even then, they were not able to connect a new amp to my factory head unit and mistakenly claimed my brand new amp was dead. Luckily I talked to the very knowledgeable owner and engineer of Zed audio (high quality amps) and he was kind enough to coach them how to make the connections so the system works. Just like the vast majority of stereo installers, these guys don’t really understand electronics. They do charge a lot of money, so you would think you’re getting an equivalent amount of experience when you’re paying the same hourly rate as an engineer would get (or more).
Electronics aside, their installation quality is rather poor too. Within a year, the amp they had screwed on the back seat got detached and I had to have someone else fix it. About 5 years after the install, one of the tweeters they had glued fell. There have been other problems here and there and as of now I am having to replace all of the wiring these guys put in because my system has become unusable. I’ve had other installers scratch their heads about the quality of this job. Finding a knowledgeable car stereo expert is much harder than finding a decent doctor. They seem to not exist. One avenue I haven’t explored yet is to find experts in home audio systems and see if they can at least supervise the menial task of car stereo installation. These car stereo places only know how to screw on head units and run wires through the car. This is a mechanical, menial job. There is very little theory and mental effort involved and the experts who really do know the theory behind electronics simply do not work in shops doing these installs. There is a huge dichotomy in this field and perhaps this is why a good stereo installer is almost an oxymoron.

These guys are the best I went there with my niece, she has a older car and we wanted some speakers installed, we even had the speakers with us, I knew this was not going to be a big money maker for them, but thought I would ask them how much. They were very reasonably priced and treated us liked we mattered, WOW they really are the best !!!

Wow! Today I went to Phantom to explore the purchase of a radio for my 1989 truck. I was hoping to find some reasonably priced and vintage looking. To my surprise and delight the owner searched old inventory and found a radio in his old stock that was nearly the original style radio that was in my truck when new. Further Ron removed and installed it in no time and did it with a smile. They even found a black antenna to match my truck color. It is so refreshing to find businesses who employs true professionals, who listen to customers and perform great service. I highly recommend giving Phantom your business.

Great service always have an answer for all my questions and they’re always willing to help :)

I’ve had multiple vehicles done by Howard’s team at Phantom’s over the years. The quality of work, level of service, and depth of knowledge are of the highest order. If you drive a beater car and want to save money, go to Best Buy. But if your vehicle is worth something, sound is important to you, and the overall experience is something you appreciate — I highly recommend Phantom.

Well, I expected to pay hundreds of dollars to get the radio in my ’96 Lincoln Towncar fixed. I brought it in because Dave of «Dave’s Place» (mechanic) recommended Phantom Electronics.
I called and Dave of Phantom was real nice and encouraged me to come in just so his boss could see the car. Howard, his boss, got right in, pulled out the radio, adjusted some plugs, went into the trunk, pulled more plugs, and Voila! The radio works perfectly now. And then he charged me. .. $ 0.00. That’s right. Nothing!
Thank you so much, Howard!

I always love going to Phantom Electronics! The guys are great, and the service is good. Everyone there is very nice, and even if something is wrong with the car, or device they work through it, they’re fantastic here!

Great place. Flexible on their prices. David was very helpful and honest. Makes these other places look ridiculous.

I usually don’t write reviews but I thought Howard the owner of this shop deserves it, not only does his company do outstanding work, He went so far out of his way to arranged all the work that my car needed, Howard I can’t thank you enough for the outstanding job you did, you have a customer for life.

I have had nothing but good experiences with them, having had them install or repair several things for me on a couple of cars. One thing turned out to not work so well, not their fault — was the device — and found them to be helpful and patient throughout the experience.
I don’t post many reviews, but felt the need to balance out these bad reviews as my experiences have been consistently positive.

I have been doing alot of research online for the best stereo to have installed on my 2008 Ford GT Mustang. I was ready to make purchases on other stereos. However after speaking to my wife she remembered a place where she back in1979 had her stereo installed. I called them up and again after many questions to David the Manager. He spent time with me over the phone and he advised me on the many complexities that a stereo shop will try to steer you in a wrong direction. I had a budget in mind and a type of stereo (touch Screen) that I wanted. I was purely looking at price and even though price is important confidence in knowing your working with a company that has proven itself for well over 33 years, is very important. He inquired even to the extent about the music I was listening to and asked more questions from what I would expect, I was totally impressed with his professional guidance and recommendations. He allowed me to make up my own mind but to keep certain factors in mind when price comparing. I made up my mind that this was not just some guy trying to earn commission but someone who cares about his customers and wants their business for LIFE. In this day and age it is very refreshing to find a company that is willing to spend the time with you via the phone and inform you what the other guys don’t want you to know. They installed my stereo in a very timely fashion with no issues and made some more recommendations to think strategic while planning my next purchase of either better speakers if I felt I needed something additional other than the stock ones in my mustang. He went as far as saying you might find this is sufficient for you and no further purchase might be required. Indicating that before I shelled out some additional cash, he wanted me to learn the stereo and play with the controls before spending any more money. That is someone who cares about customers. Howard the owner also was very helpful in aiding me as well. I highly recommend this place for all your audio/​visual needs. They have indeed earned a customer for life. Thanks to all the guys at Phantom Electronics. Sincerely Jim Gonzalez — Vice President of

Not so good. These car stereo places seem to be on the overpriced side. They think that just because they can dissemble and reassemble a car door that rationalizes them to overcharge you.
It happened here and another place too.
Next time I’m going to Best Buy or walmart. I found out they do the same thing for a lot less