AV Adviser

Electronic House announces homes of the year

Cleveland - Yesterday I pointed you to some photos of well designed home theater installations for inspiration.  Well, you ain't seen nothin' yet.

Whether you're considering a home theater, a distributed audio system or a home with a control system for your lighting, security and climate, etc. you'll find ideas galore here.  The annual Electronic House Homes Of The Year Awards (2013) have been announced.

Here you'll find in depth looks at a fully automated 42,000 square foot home, an underground 200+ inch home theater screen, and a 24 zone distributed audio system, along with much more.  There's also awards per budget that'll give you an idea of what you can expect for the money you plan on investing. 

We at K+ Integration Systems can create something just like this for you.  Note to self.  I need to enter our company in this competition next year.  We can hold our own with the best. 

If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com

John Hannibal

 

When your house sings with music life is good

Cleveland - I suppose there's some people who enjoy the silence.  My wife is one of them.  As much as she likes music she enjoys a quiet home more often than not.  Oh, did I mention we have seperate homes.  Ha.  I kid you not.  It's a story for another day. 

Then there's those who need to have some sort of sound in the background all the time so they turn on the TV.  Is there anything worse than random television?  Thank god for the DVR, but I digress.

Do yourself a favor.  Turn off the TV and turn on the stereo.  What's that you say?  Your stereo is in the den, which is not centrally located in your home.  Then you need a distributed audio system.  A way to take that sound from your stereo and send it to speakers throughout your house.  Now tie in all that great audio content emanating from your computer and your life will be forever changed. 

It used to that the only way to achieve sound in every room was by running wires from the amps to the speakers.  A messy proposition if the house has already been built and you have a dry-walled ceiling in the basement.  That's not the case today.  Wi-fi has changed things for the better and forever.

So here I am at my office desk writing this story, my large McIntosh speaker cabinets behind me playing the daily music session I create every day for my other blog Radio Hannibal.  Once I'm done writing I'll have breakfast.  The music follows me as I have speakers in the living room and the kitchen.  Then it's down to the basement for my workout where, you guessed it, there's more speakers.  Tonight I'll head to bed where I can tap my iPad and have a lullaby lull me to sleep through the speakers in there. 

My home sings with music and it makes me happy.  Are you missing that sort of joie de vie in your life?  Let me know and we at K+ Integration Systems can create a happiness system for you.

If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com

John Hannibal

 

Music for your home, all you have to do is stream

It's time to put the CDs away.  Or at least save them for special occasions.  Treat the CD like a vinyl record.  Save those listening experiences for what we in the business call critical listening times.  Music listening is all about streaming today, even if Apple, for whatever reason, has decided not to offer a service themselves, yet.

While last week's Apple event failed to bring up any new sort of music service there's still plenty of reason to jump fully into the stream.  If you're still loading that CD player, or worse, just listening to the same limited number of CDs on a regular basis it's time to get with it.  Streaming music from the internet is where it's at. 

You can listen to radio stations from near and far.  You can make up your own radio station via Pandora or Spotify.  You can have a music collection larger than you'd ever imagined.  You can enjoy the creativity of satellite radio.  The best news is that if you already have a distributed audio system it's doesn't take much to do it.  And for the cost of a CD or two a month you can have it all. 

Imagine doing the housework to an upbeat pop record from your childhood.  Whatever happened to your copy?  There it is on Spotify.  How about cooking a nice meal while listening to a radio station out of France, complete with DJs speaking that romantic language.  Spend the evening doing paperwork while enjoying a bootleg Bruce Springsteen concert on SiriusXM.  Or cuddle up on the couch and listen to a romantic station that you and your significant other designed yourselves on Pandora. 

What's that you say, the sound quality isn't as good as a CD?  That may be so but trust me, the music sounds fine and it's going to get better.  As I said, when you do want to listen to one of your favorite CDs treat it like an event and really appreciate the experience on your main sound system. 

If you need to get started on creating a distributed audio system let me know.  That's my specialty.

If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com

John Hannibal

 

21st century Top 5 home entertainment developments, number 2

We've reached the number two development in home entertainment for the 21st century.  For my money it's Sonos.  Here's a distributed audio system that has so much going for it.  It's great on numerous levels.

First of all it gives you access to all the music on your hard drive as well as content from the net.  That may be internet radio stations, thousands of them, or streaming music services like Pandora or Spotify (which came in at number 4 on my list). 

Then there's the fact that it can send this audio wirelessly, a godsend for apartment dwellers or homes that simply cannot be hard wired.  The more units you add the stronger the network. 

Lastly there's the beauty of the interface.  Bring it up on your iPad and you'll find yourself surfing through music for hours.  Now that's what I like, exciting people about music again. 

If you have a question or if I may be of service eamil me at radiohannibal@gmail.com

John Hannibal

 

The Sonos subwoofer arrives June 19

A couple of weeks ago Sonos introduced their own subwoofer.  It goes on sale Tuesday June 19. 

As I've told many a customer and my readers, Sonos is the best distributed audio product in the past ten years, possibly ever.  What's surprising to me is that no one has come along to compete with them.  You'd think Apple would've given them a run but luckily for Sonos they've let them have the category. 

The Sonos Sub is simply a wi-fi enabled speaker that delivers the lower end sound that's missing from the standard mid to high range drivers found in most speakers.  The sub will work best in designs where the Sonos system is set up wirelessly.  Often times I design Sonos systems with existing equipment or incorporate it into an already installed distributed audio system.  In which case, I simply plug a Sonos piece into the pre-amp/amps that are centrally located. 

I'm going to be suggesting this compact addition to the Sonos line to current and future Sonos fans.  And believe me when I tell you, once someone has Sonos they become a fan.

Getting Spotify off your computer and throughout your home

This is pretty much a quick lesson in simple distributed audio but since I have some friends in New Zealand and Australia who've just seen Spotify unveiled this week I thought I'd help them out.  There's nothing worse than having all sorts of great music yet be stuck at your desk in order to listen to it. 

If you have a smart phone, be it an iPhone or a Droid product the first thing you want to do is become a premium member.  Then you can stream Spotify on your mobile device.  From their it's simply a matter of plugging the phone into your car or stereo system.  Most new cars come with a mini aux jack, therefore you'll need a mini to mini patch.  For interfacing with a stereo system you'll need an unused input and a mini to RCA patch cord.  Just plug the RCA ends into the unused input. 

Now it gets more tricky if you don't have a smart phone.  Say you just want to get the sound from your PC where Spotify resides to the stereo in your living room.  The cheapest way is to run a long patch cord from the mini jack on the soundcard to the stereo, again, using an unused input.  If your wire run is long, use 22 guage 2 conductor shielded wire then splice on the needed ends.  Here's how to splice it.

If you want to accomplish this without wires here's a few products from RAM that could do the trick.  And there's a good story from the New York Times, Wirelessly Moving Music From Gadgets to the Stereo, with some ideas as well.  Granted these are a bit more expensive. 

Saving the best for last I recommend Sonos.  It's not cheap but not awfully expensive either.  The beauty is you can slowly add more rooms of sound, even getting the music outdoors. After all it's Memorial Day weekend here in the states.  We'll all be outside grilling and chilling. 

If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com

John Hannibal

My distributed audio system as baseball central

It's 6:15 in the morning here in Cleveland, Ohio and I'm listening to a baseball game.  It seems quite strange.  It is quite strange. 

The Major League Baseball (MLB) season got underway at 6am east coast time with the Oakland A's taking on the Seattle Mariners at the Tokyo Dome in Japan.  And my fantasy draft isn't until Sunday, but that's another story. 

I'm a big baseball fan.  It's my favorite sport.  So I'm feeling good as I listen to this game right now.  I posted on Twitter that I'm listening to the game and people are asking how I'm doing that.  I've promoted the MLB At Bat smart phone app in the past.  Not surprisingly it's my favorite app.  For the price of $15 you can listen to every single baseball game in the 2012 campaign.  Better yet you can choose which team's announcers you want to hear. 

If my AT&T U-verse package had the MLB channel I might be watching this game but probably not.  I prefer baseball on the radio.  Not only is it fun to listen to the announcers paint a picture but you can be productive while still enjoying the game. 

I can hear the game anywhere in my house by plugging my iPhone into an input on the receiver of my home distributed audio system.  All you need is a mini to RCA patch cord.  Well, that and a distributed audio system, meaning speakers in various rooms of the house.  And with the trend in baseball of more day games there's more hours of baseball to hear throughout the day. 

Well, it's time for my morning workout in the basement.  Of course I have speakers down there.

If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com

John Hannibal

More on Google's supposed audio system

The buzz is becoming louder.  Google's coming out with some sort of consumer electronics that may challenge Sonos and/or other systems in the home. 

Here's what Forbes has to say, Google Could Be Cooking Up Major Hardware Launch.

I'm personally not as excited as I might be if I weren't in the Apple platform camp as opposed to Android.

If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com

John Hannibal

Google's audio system?

Word is that Google is making some sort of audio system.  It's supposed to undercut that of Sonos which, though fabulous, is pricey. 

Here's the scoop from IGN, Is Google Building a Home Theater System?. 

It sounds very plausible and makes sense in that its a niche that Apple hasn't really dabbled in.  The fact that Apple has kind of left Sonos alone has been good news for Sonos.  This may have them shaking in their boots a bit. 

If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com

John Hannibal

5 reasons to upgrade your distributed audio system, 5

We've come to the final reason you should upgrade your distributed audio system.  I've discussed how technology has changed the way we listen to music but it's also made controlling the system a dream.

Part 5, Control

I talked yesterday about Sonos.  Probably the most exciting audio product introduced in the past ten years.  One of the reasons it's so loved is its control.  Be it with their own hand held controller or downloading the free app for your smart phone or tablet. 

From the control you can adjust volumes and choose sources.  Tired of the jazz music you've been playing while preparing dinner? Access your own library or that of Spotify right there in the kitchen. 

You don't even need Sonos to enjoy the beauty of control.  iTunes and Spotify both have downloadable smart phone apps that allow you to control those programs over your wi-fi.  The iTunes app, simply called Remote, is free and made by Apple.  As for Spotify, I use an inexpensive app from a third party called Remoteless. 

There's something very gratifying about sitting on your deck or, in my case, gazebo and having complete control of your distributed audio system in the palm of your hand. 

If you have a question or if I may be of service email me at radiohannibal@gmail.com

John Hannibal