Review: Home Acoustics Alliance Audio Calibration Training

I have wanted to get up to speed on audio for about 14 years, but "work" always got in the way. Previously, I actually had sat through bits and pieces of Home Acoustics Alliance (HAA) training but never an entire course.

For most integrators, it’s not feasible to spend four days like I just did at "Club HAA" because of cost, time, etc. It’s a rough economy and folks just don’t have the time or money to burn…you get the picture.

But now, HAA has created a one-day program called the TurboCal Certification Workshop. It's a high-intensity, hands-on treatment of the art and science of home theater audio calibration. Designed for novices and experienced calibrators alike, it distills the basic steps of audio calibration into a concise, organized process that takes less than two hours. Driven by the AVPro TurboCal software, students are taught how to systematically and precisely tune and align a home theater.

Sounds good so far right, then why aren’t CEDIA types flocking to the course? Oh sure, integrators offer up all the common objections – My customer doesn’t care. My systems already sound good to me. I know how to do this already... been doing it for years. My customer won’t pay for it. All the new pre/pros come with a microphone and EQ, etc. and you can fill in your own reason for never attending here:____________________________________.

Well, it finally hit me – all those objections have nothing to do with it. It all comes down to "belief":

• Belief that what the instructor is telling you is true.
• Blind faith that if you follow the steps you will significantly improve your customers experience and produce sound beyond his expectations.
• Belief that what the other HAA Level II personnel were telling the class was true.
• Belief that you could complete an entire system in just 2 hours.

I know what you are thinking – it’s just not possible, can’t work, no way, no how -- right?

But the course works... I "saw it with my own ears." When I finished TurboCal (which was Day One of the four-day training I attended), the group had created an awesome-sounding system in a poorly designed room (for sound anyway), and we also had a fantastic and professional color report with details and explanations that any integrator would be proud to hand over to his customer.

Truth is, at first I still didn’t realize how successful the training was... it took a while to sink in and I think I know why now.

The human brain does not take kindly to accepting the philosophy of "just trust me." When you are marketed and told how "great" something is beforehand, there is a wall of skepticism, which is healthy. I should have remembered this from sales training and team training sessions from my past where we did blind trust walks and other exercises like this – a teammate is blindfolded and then must be led around by the other teammates and even asked to fall backwards – it’s a lot harder that you would expect and if you have gone through this stuff you know what I am talking about.

For the money you can’t go wrong with this one-day course. Send an installer or two and you will have them producing great sound and increased revenue as soon as they get back from the course. For that matter, I’d even recommend sending your sales people also if you want them to sell more audio systems.

Here is how the ROI numbers break down.
Costs:

• TurboCal 1-Day Training $399
• TurboCal Software $999 (Optional)
• RTA/SPL Meter and Polarity Tester ($5 to $2000) and you probably have one lying in the back room or you can download an app from ITunes.

Revenues: $300 per calibration, 2 Hours, full color report and great sound – A company in Utah has completed over 500 TurboCal-trained calibrations with a 100 percent money back guarantee and has not given any money back. It has even made additional revenue on recommended upgrades (which are also built into the report – along with canned comments if you choose to use them). If you want to talk to this integrator (I did) or a few dozen other TurboCalers I am sure Gerry Lemay can arrange that.

Location: The events are run all over the U.S., Europe and Asia.

Time: It's only one day.

In conclusion, the next time you see this course offered – take it. You have nothing to lose and a lot to gain – and for only $399!