For just over a decade installers have had access to a residential product line from Digital Projection, a high-performance video manufacturer with roots in the commercial market. Not too long ago, Digital Projection was joined in the high-performance residential market by rival commercial companies Christie and Barco.

Meyer Sound is following their lead. After years of delivering sound reinforcement for some of the world’s biggest music tours providing the tools necessary to mix Hollywood’s biggest hits, the Berkeley, Calif. manufacturer has decided to enter the home theater and light commercial markets.

Meyer Sound says that with its entry into the home market dealers will be able to offer the same systems that are utilized in Skywalker Sound, Pixar Animation Studios, the Dolby Theater, NBC Universal Studios, Dreamworks Animation Studios and many other A-list facilities.

Andy Willcox, sales manager, private cinema and residential systems, Meyer Sound, explains that the company's entrance into the resi market wasn't exactly an impulse decision. 

“John Meyer, our president and CEO, likes to let everyone know about his boyhood love of television and movies. In 1979 he built cinema subwoofers for “Apocalypse Now” screenings in 70mm theaters,” says Willcox. “However the technical performance of cinema formats was frustratingly limited, and so Meyer Sound turned its focus to concert sound. When the DCI format was introduced in 2006 John finally saw the opportunity of providing this much-improved audio format with loudspeakers that equaled the improved performance of the new digital format.”

Willcox says once the commitment was made to develop solutions for cinemas and post production, the move into the residential home theater market was logical.

“It was a natural progression step to bring this to the high end, discriminating dealer base and end users—both corporate and residential—who want to have the same experience that directors, producers and sound editors have enjoyed when they created the movie content,” comments Willcox.

Delivering a product line that leverages the company’s vast R&D resources, Willcox notes that Meyer will bring to the consumer market its emphasis on “accurately measuring and reporting loudspeaker SPL as a long-term, full power, full bandwidth signal.” Willcox says the emphasis on full-power, full-bandwidth SPL signals means that users can expect the same level of audio quality regardless of how loud the system is played.

In order to deliver this type of experience, Meyer Sound provides dealers training for the sales and installation of its product line. Willcox says the company offers more than 300 classes at its headquarters, and it also provides online education. Once dealers are trained, Meyer supports its dealer base with its Design Services Department that assists dealers to specify complete systems.

In addition, dealers can also utilize Meyer’s Technical Services department that supports dealers’ technical needs, including product and programming assistance.

“Meyer Sound has always provided and reinforced training and education. Our messaging regarding high-SPL performance with the lowest levels of distortion has been consistent,” says Willcox. “We have used established SMPTE [Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers] standards to develop our products, and [we] developed our own methods of verifying proper headroom. We always strive to improve all of the performance characteristics of our products through innovation and testing [in order] to meet the most stringent specifications based on the needs of the professional cinema and performance industry. After all, translation from the studio to the end user’s experience should be 100 percent consistent, and a key factor in the end result.”

Providing some background to residential and light commercial dealers who are not familiar with Meyer Sound, Willcox says dealers will find that Meyer Sound is meticulous throughout the design and engineering phases, all the way through to manufacturing and the testing of its products.

“Meyer Sound builds its own speakers, drivers, amplifiers and processing electronics in our Berkeley headquarters. Quality control is exceptional because every product we make is fully tested without exception,” stresses Willcox.

“The crafting of the Meyer Sound residential dealer base is in the process, but far from complete. It will be limited to the best in the industry—those with passion, expertise and goals to provide a winning experience for their customers every time,” says Willcox. “It isn’t necessary to achieve our goals through the quantity of our dealers—it’s more important to have a team of the best who support an exceptional brand that can always deliver a quality experience.”

See It at CEDIA

As part of Meyer Sound's new residential pursuits, the company is holding an exclusive event this week during CEDIA 2016 in Dallas. 

During CEDIA, dealers can visit Meyer Sound through an invitation-only system demonstration at an off-site location near the convention center. The system is similar to the system Meyer showcased at InfoComm 2016 in Las Vegas earlier this year.

Calling its home theater experience a “private cinema,” Willcox says the system incorporates a DCI cinema with DCI content, as well as a BelAir server, a Barco projector, a Dolby CP850 Pro Atmo surround and a Meyer Cinema loudspeaker system. Keith Yates is handling system design. 

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