Frequently Asked Questions

We serve all of Tucson and Southern Arizona from three Tucson locations — our operations center at 4775 S Butterfield Dr, our Control4 Experience Center Showroom at 2015 N Forbes Blvd, and our Lutron Ketra Lighting and Shade Showroom at 8339 N Oracle Rd. Both showrooms are by appointment only. Regular service areas include Oro Valley, Marana, Dove Mountain, Catalina Foothills, Casas Adobes, Vail, Corona de Tucson, Rita Ranch, Sahuarita, Green Valley and SaddleBrooke.

It depends entirely on the room and the system. A living-room surround setup with a wall-mounted display and an easy-to-use remote is a very different project from a dedicated theater room with tiered seating, acoustic treatment and a projection screen. Rather than quote a number that will not match your home, we do a free, no-obligation consultation: we walk the space or review your plans, then give you scalable design options and a written price for each. There is no charge and no obligation for that visit.

No. Consultations are free and carry no obligation. We will meet you at your home or job site, review your plans or walk your existing home, and present design options built around how you and your family actually live.

A Certified Showroom is a Control4 dealer location that meets Snap One's standard for demonstrating a fully working, professionally installed system. It means you can come in and actually use the lighting, audio, video and shade control before you commit to it, instead of choosing from a brochure. We were recognised with the 2023 Certified Showroom award. Our showroom is at 2015 N Forbes Blvd, Suite 105 in Tucson.

Yes. We are licensed Residential and Commercial Electrical Contractors in Arizona under ROC 349867 & ROC 364786, and we hold an A+ accredited rating with the Better Business Bureau. That electrical licence matters: it means we can do the line-voltage work a low-voltage-only installer has to subcontract.

The company is co-owned and operated by Chad Carney, Brian Beezley, Austin Miller and Jim Casner. It traces back to Millennium Electrical Systems, founded by Chad Carney in 1994, which became AV Specialists in 2006. In January 2024 AV Specialists merged with Automation Specialists Inc — a Tucson low-voltage and automation firm established in 1995 — to form AV & Automation Specialists LLC.

We are an authorised dealer for Control4, Crestron Home, Savant, Lutron and Josh.ai. Each suits a different project: Control4 is the most versatile whole-home platform, Crestron Home and Savant serve luxury installations that demand deep customisation, Lutron leads on lighting and motorised shading, and Josh.ai adds natural-language voice control that can run standalone or on top of Control4 or Crestron. Because we carry all five, we recommend the platform that fits your home and budget rather than the only one we sell.

More than 100, including Control4, Crestron, Savant, Lutron, Josh.ai, Sonos, Sonance, Bowers & Wilkins, Klipsch, KEF, Monitor Audio, Triad, Denon, Marantz, Yamaha, Sony, Samsung, LG, SunBrite TV, Epson, Sony and Optoma projection, Screen Innovations, Araknis and Ruckus networking, Ring, Honeywell and PDK access control. The full A–Z list is on our products page.

Yes, and we have for three decades. Our commercial work includes restaurants, sports bars, nightclubs, churches, conference and convention spaces, hotels, apartment and multi-dwelling properties, and office video-teleconferencing systems. Our team has delivered projects for the University of Arizona, Pima Community College, Raytheon, the City of Tucson and Tucson Unified School District.

Usually, yes. Our technicians work on both new and existing systems every week, including systems we did not originally install. Send us the make and model of your controller, receiver or alarm panel and we will tell you honestly whether we can support it, upgrade it, or whether replacement is the better value.

A single room — a living-room surround system or a TV mount with in-wall wiring — is typically a one-day job. Whole-home automation with lighting control, shades, audio and security integration is normally scheduled over several days to a few weeks, depending on how much wire has to be run and whether the home is occupied. New construction is coordinated around the builder's schedule, and we prefer to be involved before drywall.

Yes. Every platform we install offers secure remote control from Apple and Android devices over an encrypted connection, alongside in-home control from wall-mounted touchscreens, handheld remotes and your TV's on-screen navigation. You can adjust HVAC, turn on pool and spa lights, dim the lights, close the blinds, arm the alarm and lock the doors — from bed or from another state.

Yes. Motorised window treatments and centralised lighting control are among our most requested services, and they matter more in Tucson than almost anywhere — automated shades that close against the west-facing afternoon sun measurably reduce cooling load. We are a Lutron authorised dealer and also deliver shading and lighting through Control4, Crestron Home and Savant.

We install smart alarm packages with remote access to locks, interior and exterior camera systems with remote viewing, access control, and smoke and life-safety detection — all of which can be integrated into a whole-home automation package controllable from your TVs, wall touchscreens or phone. We were named one of Expertise.com's Best Home Security Companies in Tucson in 2022.