Hearing is Believing!
PHC, or Professional Home Cinema, is the most unique sound we have ever heard and it is taking the home cinema industry into uncharted territory. Since we installed the system in our studio, it has been interesting to hear the comments and see the facial expressions when the "ride" is over. It is safe to say that this is a product that does not seek to merely replicate the movie theater experience- it blows it away!
Since it's introduction, PHC has been installed in the homes of numerous 'A' list movie stars and directors. It has been a fairly well-kept secret but, with horns like that, the secret is getting out. Dynamically. You see the PHC is not just about high sound pressure levels. It's about dynamics. And it achieves it with all the finesse of a high-end loudspeaker. No small wonder since its designer is Paul Hales, the designer behind the famed Hales Concept series.
Price tag you ask? Let's put it this way, they're not for the bargain hunter. And bear in mind that this is a cinema system, not just a speaker. Each speaker has it's own matching PHC amp with digital signal processing specifically dialed in to that speaker and the specific room it will call home. PHC makes quite a few models ranging from "expensive yet attainable" to outright "exotic". You are invited to personally hear the PHC system at AVA's design studio. Click here for more info.
NAD Returns to Memphis
Europeans live life a little slower. Perhaps that explains why they are generally more serious about listening to music than us Americans. Although we build a good bit of serious gear here in the states, the bulk of high-end audio hardware and software comes from Europe. British gear has long been our favorite import and no Brit line stands out quite like NAD. 
Perhaps it's the broad line of gear that appeals to the ultra high-end client and the budget minded consumer alike. Perhaps it's the sound- with those smooth yet muscular amplifiers. Sure, for some of you it's the name, which originally was an anacronym for New Acoustic Dimension (innocent enough).
What we love about this line is NAD's embrace of A/V trends and the quality twist they give them. An example would be the fact that they make 3 blu-ray players! We love the logical pricepoints that anybody can afford. We have always loved the sound. Styling is simple and build quality is serious. You are welcome to audition NAD at the AVA design studio. Click here for more info.
AVA Attends CEDIA '09
CEDIA stands for Custom Electronics Design & Installation Association. Members since 1999, Audio Video Artistry heads off to the trade organization's exposition annually in search of the latest and greatest in custom electronics. Every show brings the finest vendors from around the world to show off the newest in technology for the year to come. Held in Atlanta this past September, Expo 2009 was light on attendees, but heavy on fun.
Octave Audio Our friends at Dynaudio are importing this fine German brand for the two-channel aficionado. We are big "hi-fi" guys, so we had to take a closer look. The build quality and feel of the product was excellent. Although it is hard to really hear anything at the show, the Dynaudio crew swears by it. Look for this to auditioned soon at the studio.
Trufig was one of the most talked about products at the show. What you are seeing in the picture at right are standard wall mounted devices at right and Trufig versions of the same at left. Basically, Trufig has eliminated the bezel for light switches, volume controls, Lutron keypads, and even Crestron Touchpanels. This allows the device to be totally flush with the wall creating clean, flowing sightlines. www.trufig.com
Eric Taylor is dwarfed by the mighty CAT MBX towers.
The Chordette Gem (right) proves that downloaded music doesn't have to mean downgraded sound quality. This bluetooth device allows you to send your music digitally from your bluetooth device, such as an iPod, to your stereo system. Because the music is sent digital, it allows the analog conversion to be made using the DAC in the Chordette producing much better fidelity than a basic wired connection.
I do believe this is the smallest in-ceiling/wall speaker that I have ever seen. This little guy was a prototype by Monitor Audio and it reminded of me of the little KEF 3" speaker we sold a fews back. They were an attractive tiny size, but the sound was unfortunately sized to match. I wondered if these were any better but there were no working demos to hear. I still have heard nothing that could compare to the big sound and small size of the 4" Sonance Merlot!
CEDIA introduced the Product Hall of Fame this year and we were proud to see our brands representing about a third of the space. Among them was Audio Design Associates, the inventors of the multi-zone, multi-source system (right). Crestron's first RF touchpanel was on display along with Lutron's first automated lighting control and Sonance's first in-wall speaker. I say that just becomes a company is "first" doesn't make them the best, but these 4 are still at the very forefront of the industry and we're proud to be leading dealers for them.
LeBonheur Room of Magic
LeBonheur Children's Hospital opens its new building on Tuesday, June 15, 2010. In the heart of that building will be an awesome new theater for the children to enjoy while they are at the hospital. The theater is being donated to LeBonheur by Audio Video Artistry, our customers, and our vendors. The theater will be named for the LeBonheur employees who have raised $1.4 million towards the hospital's construction. "The idea is for kids to go in there and forget about being sick for a couple of hours through the magic of movies" says AVA's Brad Parsley.
Children will be moved into the new building at the end of summer and the theater will be ready as we get everything wired and installed this summer. As of June 11, speakers from Sonance are en route to Memphis. The movie projector donated by AVA customers is here as well as the motorized screen donated by Screen Innovations. Amps and processing from Audio Design Associates are being put together and we are working to get Crestron control equipment on the way.
We need movies and other hardware as well. Your donations are needed and will be put to use in a place where you can see first-hand the joy they create. This system is funded solely by our donations, so every little bit helps. Contact Brad at 901-601-6254. Thanks!!