Continuing the trend in 2024.   

     We are excited to announce that we have been approved to go direct with KEF speakers.   They have an extensive lineup that will blend in nicely with our lineup.    Looking forward to many great projects with this accomplished brand..

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     2023 was a great year for expanding our product line and building brand relationships..   We have partnered with several new companies and have access to several more.  This greatly expands our available lineup, adding options, including high end components and speakers.  A very exiting time!  


   This year we have formed a partnership with  NAD Audio components, Bluesound streaming speakers and players, audioquest interconnects and PowerQuest power filters/surge/transient power supplies.   Also Motorized and manual shades with Clara.


    Clara Shades is a new avenue for us as we have expanded into the world of motorized shades.  They offer rechargeable, hardwired power and POE shades.  A variety of styles and colors are available and they are built to fit.  


     audioquest cabling fits a need for assembling a quality system.  We have been looking for a source of readily available high quality audio/video/power interconnects for some time.  That is now behind us with a healthy selection of great to incredible cables and connectors enabling our systems to reach full potential.  It's such a good partnership!   PowerQuest is the other side of audioquest.   They offer very capable surge protectors that also clean (filter) the incoming power to help eliminate interference traveling in the power from the wall.   This is noise you can see &  hear and interferes with performance.  Several of their models also offer transient power supplies to support those instantaneous high current draws that normally starve equipment when playing dramatic or dynamic music and movies.  


     Bluesound  ​Streaming Players and Speakers are a refreshing addition to our lineup.  They have the backing of long established audio company (NAD) that strives for better sound over all.  They support real high resolution streaming and are committed to supporting dealers.   For music lovers that prefer the convenience of controlling the system with an app. but want more than the compressed audio sound, that many other popular music players provide,  this is a much better option.


     NAD is an audio component manufacturer that has a long reputation for manufacturing some of the cleanest sounding electronics available.  They then take it another step higher with their Master series of components that are exceptional sounding  brining a system to another level. Components are rated conservatively, a refreshing and honest approach.   Included in many of their source components is a Bluesound music streamer for streaming without compromise.     NAD is owned by the Lenbrook Group which is a company that is more concerned with sound and build quality than volume of products sold.  They also own Bluesound.


Revel expands the Be Series

    Revel speakers announced several new models of architectural inwall and inceiling speakers to match their acclaimed beryllium series of floor standing and bookshelf speakers.  Theses speakers now bring the sound signature of this exceptional series of speakers into your home without taking up any space.  Truly amazing.


Origin Acoustics landscape speaker options

  Origin Acoustics has some great options for speakers.  We have had especially good results with their outdoor surface mount and landscape speakers.  One favorite is bollard speakers they offer in multiple sizes and two shapes.   These are appealing to look at when seen, can be hidden with plantings if preferred and have great sound.   


Sonos adding again

   Sonos has expanded their lineup again.   A new smaller soundbar for compact systems called the Ray is now available.   Need to add some bass but the existing Sub is to much?  A Sub Mini is now available and you can use two in the same room  (two original SUBs can be paired now also, more info below)!



Revel Speakers® added to the family


   We are so excited to announce the privilege of having Revel speakers become available to our customers.  These renowned speakers have been known as some of the best sounding speakers available.  We are looking forward to using these on many projects.  Update:  We have installed many of the architectural speakers and they sound amazing!


MantelMount® is now part of our lineup

    Have a high mantle but above it is the only place to put your TV?  This is the ideal use for a MantelMount TV mount.  Store the TV safely above the mantel and easily pull it down to watch comfortably.  Check them out.


New TV Lifts available from Nexus21®

     Some of the best lifts in the business are now part of our catalog.  Nexus21 is revolutionizing the motorized lift industry.


Sonos® adds to the lineup

   Sonos has been busy.  They have added a new soundbar to replace the Playbar® called ARC®.  This soundbar incorporates the newer ATMOS surround sound format to give you another dimension of sound.  By using height speakers ATMOS can deliver a much more immersive experience.  The ARC has upward facing speakers to accommodate this new format.    Add some surrounds and you've got a great sounding easy to use little surround sound!


   Want more bass?   Sonos have released an update allowing the use of two subwoofers with a system.  You may think this could be too much but, two subwoofers splits the load with hard hitting movie soundtracks and helps with room nodes (loud or quiet areas) by balancing things out.


   The Beam® soundbar is now on the 2nd edition.   Two portable speakers have also been added.  The Move® with is the first Sonos speaker ton include Bluetooth and the  Roam® which is for when you're on the go.


Another new Sonos Soundbar.

  Sonos has released a new soundbar called the Beam®.  It's the smaller brother to the Playbar®.  It's only smaller in size though since it's filled with great features.  Just like the Playbar, it plays music & TV while using your existing remote.  You can add Sonos speakers or the new, more powerful Amp and inceiling or inwall speakers for the full Surround Sound experience.  Add a Sub to feel the movie or music.  To top it off, Amazon Alexa Voice control ® is built it!

Outdoor Landscape speakers are all the rage​

  Sonance® and Origin Acoustics® have some great outdoor landscape options that are getting very popular lately.  These style of speakers resemble some popular low voltage outdoor lighting fixtures and are easy to blend into flower beds or mulched areas.  Some of the sets come with an inground subwoofer to complement the smaller satellite speakers and give the whole package.  The sound is surprisingly crisp and loud for such compact systems.  This is a nice alternative to the traditional rock or surface mount outdoor speakers.

​Sonos has released the Sonos One with Alexa®


   This new model is like a Play1 speaker but, Amazon Alexa® is built in.  Use voice control to play and control your music on this speaker and other Sonos players in your house through the One.  Control other select smart devices and take advantage of all of the other features Alexa® has to offer.


Check it out here


Sonos just introduced the Playbase

 

  A new, under TV, model speaker has been released for televisions that are using their stands and not wall mounted. Since a large portion of the flatscreen TVs out there are still tabletop, Sonos designed a speaker to compliment them.  It comparable to the Playbar in terms of features (brains for a surround sound, improves TV dialog and overall sound quality, Trueplay speaker tuning and plays nearly every music service available) and adds the option of sitting directly under the TV, not in front.  An additional swivel TV base has also been announced to hold the TV above the Playbase and allows for swiveling up to 20º.


http://www.sonos.com/en-us/shop/playbase.html


 Tivo Bolt gets and upgrade


  The Tivo Bolt series has a new upgraded model,  the Bolt+.  It has 450 hours of recording, can record 6 shows at once and is 4K compatible.   Multiple Tivo Minis can be added to other TVs so you can watch your recordings or live TV programs as well.  Skip mode™ allows you to hit one button and jump past all commercials on participating shows and Quickmode™ allows you to watch a program 30% faster while correcting the audio so the sound pitch isn't off.   Don't forget that they also stream Netflix®, Amazon TV®, HULU®, VUDU® & HBO GO®.  Don't have a smart TV or don't like the poor user interface?  Tivo can help.  All you need from your cable provider is to rent a cable card which is typically cheaper than one cable box.   The existing Tivo Bolt also works with ATSC terrestrial antennas if you want to cut the expensive Cable TV cord altogether!


Tivo.com


Sonos Subwoofer is now available in White

  ​ The popular Sonos wireless Sub is now available in gloss white.  

   http://www.sonos.com/en-us/shop/sub.html​

    

Sonos adds room calibration

    Sonos has just released Trueplay room calibration that works with the Playbar, Play 1, Play 3 and Play 5 speakers.  This update allows the calibration of these speakers to the environment they are used in.  This makes the speaker more accurate.  Speaking of Play 5...a new version has been released with superb sound and advanced wireless connectivity.

New projector line announced!

  Home Theater Solutions is now a reseller for Epson projectors.  These are high quality projectors at a value.  Some are very flexible which is great for retrofitting into existing systems.

Sonos Surround Sound expanded! 

   With  the success of their Playbar and Play3 Home Theater systems, new firmware has been released that will enable their Connect Amp component to run built-in speakers, that are installed flush in the ceiling or walls from another speaker manufacturer, as the back surround speakers in a Home Theater system.  This taps into the custom stealth installations that we all prefer.  Sonos has also announced the Play1.  A new smaller individual (or can be paired) speaker for a more portable option around the house.  Plus they can work as small rear surround sound rear speakers.  A new software release for this setup was released allowing the surround speakers play at a fuller volume when listening to music, if preferred.  This setup is complemented by their Sub, a wireless subwoofer to get a deeper sound and that exciting movie rumble.





Did you know about the water resistant remotes from RTI and Universal Remote?

    Our two major remote manufacturers have remotes for use around the pool, outdoors or in a bathroom.  They are designed with weather sealing and work via Radio Frequency through walls.

How does the color of your room affect your picture?

    "What color should your room be?  Everyone knows black or very dark grey is the correct answer, but no client will go for that.  So target three things: dark, neutral and flat.  Color is OK in a screening room but, make sure it's really dark or tends toward neutral grey (e.g. blue-grey), and by all means use flat, not gloss paint.  I have found that dark blue works well, perhaps because green and red influence skin tones.  (Skin tones, which tend toward yellow, are comprised of green and red light.)

  The lesson here is that light-reflective room surfaces ruin dynamic range, which is the difference between the brightest white and the darkest black that the video system can produce when displaying actual program material composed of light and dark content.  If a client insists on light-colored walls, you're really better off switching to a very large plasma or LCD monitor.  Don't hesitate to tell them that, either, because it is more in line with what they want.  Generally, people who truly want screening rooms don't mind the dark look."
                                                                              Anthony Grimani Residential Systems 
                                                                                           April 2008 here.