You’re at a friend’s party and loving the music they’re playing. But when you look around, you can’t find the loudspeakers. Where is the sound coming from? The room is perfect: the design, the detail, the furnishings, the art. You look again. Nothing. Not a music speaker in sight, yet the sound is marvelous!  That’s the job of Invisible Speakers. They don’t just “blend” into the room, they disappear!

What Are Invisible Loudspeakers exactly?

As the name suggests, invisible speakers are built-in and can’t be seen. They are designed to be hidden from view and engineered to work without any appearance. They are part of the construction process. The frame is installed in the open walls, then the speaker is installed when the plasterboard is in, and then comes a Level 5 skim coat.  In other words, it becomes part of the wall. When the job is done, the furniture is moved in, the party starts, and the room comes alive with the sound of music. No large box speakers taking up floor space or detracting from the aesthetic of the designer’s vision.

Architectural Electronics, dba SimpleHome, a pioneer in smart home technology, proudly marks its 50th anniversary, celebrating five decades of innovation, reliability, and a commitment to the luxury design community.

Founded in 1973, SimpleHome quickly became a leader in the luxury home electronics industry, providing high-quality alarm systems at a time when most were unreliable. By the mid-1980s, the company had transformed alongside technological advancements, providing every type of home electronics to the luxury residential market and specialty tech to restaurants and corporate boardrooms.

At SimpleHome, the ethos is clear – to create living spaces that are functional, aesthetic, and simple. From basic WiFi speakers, thermostats, and cams to the sophisticated technologies of Circadian lighting, Lutron motorized shades, and air and water monitoring systems, SimpleHome is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for its customers.

"We've spent 50 years understanding what people need and how to make it hassle-free. Our focus has always been on reliability and ease of use," says Brad Smith, Chief Performance Officer and Principal. "At SimpleHome, we are truly committed to keeping it simple and reliable while still providing the fun and luxury you expect in a quality home.”

Key highlights of SimpleHome's 50-year journey include:

As the sun rises, so do your shades. The lighting softly shifts from a warm glow as sunshine illuminates the room. Cue a morning wake up soundtrack and the latest news displays – all without effort.   

Your home is a stage for your life, but setting the scene shouldn’t be a herculean effort. With the magic of simpleHome Automation, setting the scene for your best life can be as easy as walking into a room.  

 Understanding Home Automation 

Creating Dream Spaces: Listening to Family Needs 

Personalization is the key to comfort. Your home should cater to the needs of you and your family, from the tools you need to the temperature and environment. With home automation, shifting environmental conditions to meet the needs of your family is easy, ensuring a space that always suits you, . Whether you’re snuggling up for a movie night or cooking a bountiful breakfast, the lighting, sound, and temperature of your space are set for the perfect ambience.  

Enhance the Experience of Every Space with a Whole-Home Audio System

Your home in Dover, MA, is unique. You have taken the time to design every space as an extension of yourself and your lifestyle. The furniture, finishes, and overall decor already look great, but something is missing. 

As the leading technology integrator in Massachusetts, simpleHome can design and install a whole-home audio system tailored to your needs, helping you get the most out of any room at home. 

In this article, we will explore how whole-home audio enhances the character and design of three different spaces in a smart home: the entrance, the home theater, and the backyard. 

Enjoy the sunshine of springtime with a whole-home audio system!

Enjoying your home doesn’t have to be limited to your indoor spaces. Spending time in your backyard, patio, or terrace is a great way to keep yourself healthy, change your routine, and have some fun with your family and friends. Add a whole-home audio system and enjoy from work to entertainment in your beautiful outdoor space. Keep reading to learn more about the unique and fun alfresco activities you can do without leaving your Cape Cod, MA home.

Creating a perfect sound system for a home or office can seem like significant task for audiophiles at any level of expertise. Experts enjoy the challenge of assembling a system from scratch and balancing its many components, while beginners can be bewildered by the range and type of audio equipment available. The following overview of some of the most popular new high-tech sound equipment can help both advanced users and new initiates understand what options are available.

• Bluetooth speakers: Connecting your sound system to your speakers has long involved a sometimes complex and messy array of wires. Bluetooth speakers give you the option of wireless connections that eliminate the need for wires while still providing excellent sound. Lower-quality speakers may sacrifice some sound quality for the convenience of wireless operation, but higher-quality, higher-priced models will deliver sound that is equivalent to a high-end wired speaker system.
• AirPlay Speakers: AirPlay-enabled speakers offer another wireless option for home sound systems. These speakers use your home Wi-Fi network to stream music and video to Apple devices without a loss of quality. An AirPlay setup provides generally higher quality sound than Bluetooth, but tends to interfere with network performance if being used at the same time as other network tasks.
• Soundbars: Soundbars provide a modern shape for speaker systems, usually a long, narrow, bar-shaped speaker set up. They contain several drivers and an amplifier that makes them excellent as upgrades to TV speakers or as stand-along speakers for a typical sound system. Since soundbars are smaller than many other speaker types, they can be used in situations in which larger speakers may be impractical.
• Passive speakers: These are the standard wired speakers that are common in many sound systems. They require a receiver to generate the power that provides the sound, but they can achieve excellent quality for a reasonable price.

Beginner or expert, Audio Video Design can help you choose the right sound system and equipment for your home or office. Contact us today for more information on the audio technology and components that will make your sound system work best for you.

Have you ever heard of room correction in reference to audio equipment? You might be surprised to learn that with most audio systems, more than half of the sound you hear doesn’t come from your speakers alone. The shape and dynamics of the room, including your furnishings, play a big part of what you do hear in terms of echoes, reflections and absorption of sound. In the past that meant placing your speakers in the best spot acoustically, but not necessarily aesthetically.

Enter the Danish engineers at Lyngdorf who have created the most advanced and user-friendly room correction system on the market. More than twenty years of research have gone into this stylish integrated stereo amplifier that identifies the characteristics of your speakers and the influences of your room, and then takes the room out of the equation. With built-in RoomPerfect™ room correction, you hear exactly what the music is supposed to sound like, not the way your room makes the speakers make it sound.

This award-winning amplifier is the audiophile’s friend. A fully digital component, the TDAI-2170 has flexible upgrade modules that use the RoomPerfect™ technology. It is easy to set up and use, and enhances all speaker systems.

Good News for Design Enthusiasts

“I like it because with RoomPerfect™ you can place the speakers where they look best, not necessarily where they sound best,” says AVD president Brad Smith. “That’s why interior designers and architects should like it, too. And the sound is shockingly good.”

No more worrying about minimalistic spaces with echoes or rooms with a lot of upholstery absorbing too much sound. Applying RoomPerfect™ calibration allows homeowners and designers to position speakers in a way that best reflects the style of a room.

‘Tis the season for giving gifts. It’s not too late to present the technophile in your life with something special from Audio Video Design! We even have great ideas for technophobes, too, because AVD makes your digital home easy.

Listen Up…

• May we recommend speakers from Bang & Olufsen? AVD now carries B&O products and can set them up for you. Our staff has recently finished B&O training, so our customers can relax and enjoy the holiday with great sound.Mid-century modern design lovers rejoice! We think this Beoplay A9 speaker is very cool. It offers 480 watts of powerful sound and wirelessly connects to everything! (B&O) Comes in a few color choices (black, white, and smoked oak. Covers are available in a variety of colors). 
• We have often touted the fun products from BlueSound. We think their wireless speakers bring the party to wherever you are! And we’re excited about their Pulse Soundbar. “The PULSE SOUNDBAR delivers a fully immersive sonic experience that brings any soundtrack to life in vivid, cinematic detail. Designed specifically to fit perfectly under your HD TV, the PULSE SOUNDBAR is the world’s first multi-room high-res soundbar to feature crystal clear, 24-bit resolution and audiophile-grade bass response – without a subwoofer. This is the soundbar your TV deserves.” (BlueSound)

• One of our new product lines, we recommend Golden Ear speakers. For this holiday gift giving season, why not give the Aon2 or Aon3 – exceptionally compact, ultra-high-performance bookshelf speakers that were originally developed for use a near-field monitors in professional mixing applications. Audiophiles, contain your happiness!“The design goal was to produce modestly-sized shelf or stand-mountable speakers that would achieve  accurate high-definition sonic reproduction, with superb three-dimensional imaging, comparable to that achieved by Golden Ear’s award-winning Triton Two Towers. Although they don’t have quite the awe-inspiring bass of the floor-standing Tritons, great care has been taken, and extensive technology has been incorporated, to ensure that the Aons can deliver a remarkably satisfying listening experience without the need for a separate subwoofer.” (Golden Ear)
  

Watch in Style

• Speaking of Bang & Olufsen, we love the BeoVision Avant model from B&O. A celebration of movement, this product is an unforgettable fusion of Ultra High-Definition (4K) picture and the iconic Bang & Olufsen sound that engages your senses.

• We’re also fans of the SonyXBR55930 TV. With its slim backlight Drive+, 4K HDR Processor X1 Extreme and Triluminos display, it looks as great as it works. Design conscious homeowners will love it!
  

And…more to love and share

• We’re also big fans of the products from Paradigm. This Millienia CT2 is high-performance design inspired by the award-winning Paradigm Reference MilleniaOne speakers, winners of Sound & Vision’s Product of the Year. It’s a fully powered audio/multimedia system, no receiver required! (Paradigm)

Happy shopping and happy holidays from everyone at AVD!