With the winter behind us, CE Pro’s “Audio Guys” are embracing the spring, looking forward to the warmth of summer, and talking about the fun of whole-house entertainment that includes outdoor AV.
Paul Bochner, owner and president of Electronics Concepts in Rochelle Park, N.J., Steve Silberman, business development, audio for Savant, and Alex Camara, CEO of AudioControl, are bullish on the possibilities of well-designed whole-house AV, including outdoor systems.
In this CE Pro Podcast episode, the trio discuss the importance of system design, as well the proper choice of equipment during the engineering phases of whole-house system design for both indoor systems and outdoor systems.
Before the Audio Guys began their chat on whole-house audio and outdoor audio, Camara provides some insight on the recent acquisition of AudioControl by AAMP Global.
“They are a good finance company and for us, it was an opportunity to continue to really push forward on the strategy we’ve been following for the last 10 years,” Camara says.
Camara also states that for dealers nothing will change in terms of working with AudioControl and going forward he is excited about opportunities the acquisition will provide in terms of resources.
“It’s all good, particularly in the residential and commercial side of what we are doing,” he adds.
‘Audio Guys’ Cover Adding Subwoofers, Using 70V Products
Moving on to the topics of whole-house entertainment and outdoor audio, Silberman, Bochner and Camara say there are a number of things integrators can do to add value to their installed systems.
One of the first things Silberman recommends is the use of subwoofers in both whole-house and outdoor AV systems.
“Having subwoofers in a system in several different zones is essential, and in fact, I prefer to have at least two subs in a room … It’s going to be good in some areas where you sit and other areas that lose bass,” he states.
“At least two subs that are placed equal, but opposite, so maybe it is the front left and the front right rear, will give you more equalized bass in a room. Sometimes you may need four subs, so typically I like to lean on some sort of room-modeling tools where if I punch in the cubic dimensions in the room; it’s going to first show me what the modes of the room are, and where the peaks in the room are.”
These tools provide predictive analysis to show how the subwoofers and their frequency response impact the space, Silberman says.
Regarding outdoor audio, Bochner points out the home electronics market has been migrating toward the use of true landscape speakers and 70-volt technologies. Bochner notes that in his region of business, based in Northern New Jersey, there are many affluent homeowners with vast properties. For such clients, these properties need good, balanced sound coverage that doesn’t annoy the neighbors.
Understanding How Clients Will Use Space Is Key
Bochner adds that outdoor video is another market segment that’s been thriving, and with the growing availability of 70-volt audio dealers can design and install some really robust systems. He explains that a well-designed system starts by listening to what the client has to say so you can understand the scope of what they want.
“I take the approach of, let me understand how you live in this space and that’s true of my indoor pitch or my outdoor pitch. I want to understand how they use the space, and then we design around that,” stresses Bochner.
“There’s always got to be a subwoofer outside … if it’s a landscape system, it has to have subs and typically they have to have more than one.”
Not to be overlooked, the discussion closed on the user friendliness of these systems. Silberman said that when he consults with integrators designing Savant systems, he makes a point that these systems have to be easy to use and often GUIs and “scenes” can be important in that role.
“It’s defining how people are going to use the system, so I’m really big on scenes. My [4-year-old] son … can walk up to a Savant touchpad he can see the scenes and see a picture of himself playing in his room. He can see himself playing in the living room or a picture playing outside and he just know if you go and touch a picture in a room that this music will be played automatically,” comments Silberman.
“I think about all of the users in the home, and the kids are just as important as parents.”
Hear the entire conversation by watching or listening to the podcast episode above. Find past episodes of the CE Pro Podcast by subscribing to the CE Pro YouTube channel or our Apple and Spotify podcast feeds.