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The New West Coast Experience Center for Savant? A Stunner…

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Savant's new West Coast Experience Center

Nestled in the hills over the Nevada plains, not far from the bright lights of Las Vegas, Savant Systems partnered with design-led development firm Blue Heron and integrator Eagle Sentry to create what they call their West Coast Experience Center – otherwise known as a stunning residential home showcasing a million dollars worth of Savant technology (as well as a few technology partners). The ultra-modern home, clearly destined for an ultra-rich niche, featured a design that was – to my eyes – just stunning…and the installation is a true testament to Savant’s theory that installed AV should be “hidden in plain sight.”

You’re going to want to see Savant’s new West Coast Experience Center…

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MQA Finale: Both Anti- and Pro- Forces Have Their Successes and Failures

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MQA and Tidal on a smartphone

Part 4 Finale – A Summation That Doesn’t Always Add Up

STRATA-GEE – This is the fourth and final installment of our contemplation on the controversy swirling around MQA. I want to start by thanking Bill Leebens for the many, many…MANY hours he spent interviewing, speaking with his editor (me), writing, and rewriting these pieces. It was a lot of work that for him, I’m afraid, will largely be thankless, as one side or the other will decry his work. At the same time, Bill and I end up in a slightly different place and you can see some of my thoughts at the end of his piece. But none of that takes away from the herculean effort this topic represented and I am eternally grateful to Bill Leebens for his thoughtful approach.

See where we end up after weeks of study on MQA

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SnapAV and Control4 are Rebranded as Snap One

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SnapAV and Control4 logo

SnapAV Execs Hindman & Vaughn Explain the Rationale Behind the Change to Strata-gee

Recently, in a special Zoom presentation for Strata-gee by SnapAV executives Jeff Hindman (Chief Revenue Officer) and Kordon Vaughn (VP Marketing), I was about to learn about the company’s new brand strategy going forward. Ever since SnapAV acquired their largest division, Control4, there has been much speculation about how to address the market with two strong, well-known brands. I joked, “So what’s it going to be…ControlAV or Snap4?

It turns out I wasn’t that far off, as the executives shared with me that they would be rebranding the organization as Snap One.

Learn more about how SnapAV became Snap One…

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Congress Prepares to Regulate Big Tech, Yet They Top ‘Most Trusted Brands’ Poll

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>Learn How to Improve Consumers’ Trust in Your Brand

Many political observers have declared the end of bi-partisanship, as the political right and left seem further apart than ever before in the history of the country. Yet there is one area where both parties agree, it is time to rein in the big tech players. Ironically, in a new poll of the 15 most trusted brands in the world, we find a lot of tech represented – including some of the Big Tech players. Is Congress out of step with the American people? And how important is “trust” to a company or brand anyway?

See the most trusted brands & how to improve yours…

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MQA Controversy – A True Audio Breakthrough? Or a Marketing Scam?

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MQA uses a process they call music origami
MQA utilizes a process they call “Music Origami”
[Photo: By Laitche – Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3244373}

Part 1 – A Bill Leebens Guest Post

STRATA-GEE: For some time now, I have been hearing rumbles throughout the audio community, particularly the high-end audio community, about controversy surrounding MQA (Master Quality Authentication) – a U.K. company that claims to have created a proprietary technology that allows for the delivery of “better than lossless” audio via certain streaming services. At first, it seemed like the Holy Grail of audio – delivering music that is identical to the original master recording into your earbuds via streaming services such as Tidal. Then the whispers started – “It sounds like it is too good to be true because it IS too good to be true.“

Recently, a YouTube video appeared that blew the doors of MQA dissent wide open and seems to show that MQA technology is NOT doing what the company claims and leaves many to conclude that MQA is little more than a thinly veiled marketing scam. The company pushed back…hard. I asked Bill Leebens to investigate the swirling whirlwind of controversy now engulfing MQA.

See more on our investigation into MQA…

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A/V Maker ClearOne Files Application for Trademark on ‘MAGA’

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ClearOne wants to register this 4 letter acronym, MAGA, as their trademark
From ClearOne’s trademark registration application

Industry audio/visual manufacturer ClearOne [NASDAQ: CLRO] has filed an application to register a trademark on the characters “MAGA.” According to multiple comments on Twitter on the matter, ClearOne apparently intends for MAGA to represent Make Audio Great Again. This is very close to a political slogan that has became quite controversial in America. From the looks of the comment stream I saw on Twitter…this is going to be the topic of a lot of discussion.

See more on ClearOne and MAGA

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Top AudioControl AVRs and Pre/Pros are Now Certified Roon Ready

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AudioControl system with Roon

AudioControl announced this week that their top-rated X-Series audio/video receivers and preamp/processors are now certified to be Roon Ready. What this means is that these models can auto-discover and connect to Roon without any user or integrator involvement with advanced configuration steps.

See more on AudioControl and Roon…

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Vanco Feels the Need, the Need for Speed, in New HDMI 2.1 Cable Line

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Vanco continues to impress me with their wide assortment of solution products needed and used by integrators every day. But they aren’t just an outlet for useful tools and gadgets – they also know how to push the envelope in core product performance. No better example of that exists than their latest announcement of the launch of a new line of Ultra High Speed HDMI 2.1 cables.

These cables aren’t just fast…they are certified fast by HDMI themselves.

See Vanco’s latest line of Ultra High Speed HDMI cables…

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Amazon Readies Entry into Step-Up Smart Home Control Market

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Amazon Looks to Compete with Control4 & Others

Amazon.com Inc.’s secretive tech innovation development center, called Lab126, is said to be working on a more robust, step-up smart home control solution designed to be mounted into the wall, in a bid to take share in the custom integration channel. The move, first reported by Bloomberg News, is designed to take on major players such as SnapAV’s Control4 and other “professionally installed smart home control” providers.

But will it cannibalize their own Echo Show line?

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CES 2021: Sony Evolves From Hardware Maker to Experience Creator

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Sony Airpeak drone
Airpeak drone

“Please join us in looking forward as we continue to evolve as a ‘creative entertainment company,'” said Kenichiro Yoshida, Sony Chairman, CEO and President to kick off Sony’s presentation to the media on CES 2021’s press day this past Monday. It was a carefully crafted opening, with words of particular significance that contrasts strongly with previous company characterizations. Sony is changing.

Has the train jumped the tracks? Or has Sony hit the hyper-drive taking us to a new and exciting unexplored planet?

See more from Sony’s press presentation…

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