It's been a few months since Control4 purchased Triad Speakers for $9.6 million.
As dealers adjust to post-acquisition changes, we spoke to Bryce Judd, senior VP of global sales, Control4 and Larry Pexton, director of channel evangelism, Triad Speakers, about new dealer offerings and why Control4 supports popular products like Sonos and Amazon Alexa.
See the two interviews below.
Bryce Judd, Senior V.P., Global Sales, Control4
CE Pro: What does the acquisition of Triad Speakers mean for Control4?
Judd: Entertainment is at the heart of what our customers want from their Control4 connected home and we believe this interest is increasing. We believe that we are in the early stages of trends around high-resolution audio and Dolby Atmos-enabled home theaters. The Triad solutions in these spaces are a perfect complement to our own products and our ongoing strategy.

Will special dealer packages be available?
One of the enhancements for Triad dealers post-acquisition is an online portal to make it easier for them to order Triad and Pakedge products.
We also made all Triad products available on the Control4 and Pakedge Dealer Portals. We have found that offering products in packages simplifies the ordering process, especially for those that are new to the product.
How important are alliances with brands like Nest, Sony, Sonos and others to driving more Control4 sales?
Control4’s philosophy has always been to make great products even better through interoperability. Broad support for popular products, like Sonos, Amazon Alexa and Sony offer customers and integrators more choice in how they build a connected home.
Amazon Alexa is a good example of a great product in its own right, that when integrated with a Control4 system enables a homeowner to do so much more.
Larry Pexton, Director, Channel Evangelism, Triad Speakers
CE Pro: Why did Control4 make sense for Triad as a parent company?
Pexton: My priority was finding the right home for the company and for our people. At the time, I wasn’t actively searching for a buyer, but was open to selling Triad. When Control4 approached me with an unprompted offer, I was interested because of their strength and commitment to the channel.
Control4 stays true to their company identity and their target for growth and quality; it was a good fit for them since they work so closely in the industry and will use our products to better serve their customers.
What can Triad dealers expect?
Dealers can expect familiarity and most processes will be consistent for them. They also get to enjoy some upgrades like online ordering in the dealer portal from Control4.

Triad-only dealers operate as business-as-usual, working with our internal team through the same interactions for help spec’ing homes and ordering product. Dealers who carry Control4 and Triad can now simplify their ordering.
What’s the most exciting part of being a part of the Control4?
Control4 brings resources that allow us to fast-track projects Triad hadn’t had the capacity to do previously. It’s wonderful to see that we can put more into product development, product planning and product acquisitions.
Concentrating resources in these critical areas of the company is exciting, and should yield more products in new product categories down the road.
Will object-based surround sound continue to drive home theater?
We believe demand is accelerating. One of the factors that has slowed growth of Atmos sales is that most dealers don’t have an ideal demo facility. Triad and Control4 plan to change that, and there will be a direct correlation between dealers’ quality Atmos demo space and end users experiencing and understanding object-based surround sound.
Will Triad be taking a new approach to designing loudspeakers for whole-house audio systems?
We’re always looking at new design methods in the interest of quality, and now considering the whole-home experience from Control4, but we don’t have any updates to share just yet.
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