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The Real Story Behind Control4’s Certified Showroom Program

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A Strata-gee Exclusive Interview

Control4 Certified Showroom plaqueControl4 surprised everyone about a month ago when they suddenly announced the launch of no less than 140 Control4 Certified Showrooms in partnership with certain dealers around the world, including the U.S., Canada, UK, China, and Australia. These showrooms were said to meet “elevated standards” and were positioned with dealers who were “experts in WOW-ing’ homeowners through interactive storytelling, visually-stunning displays, and hands-on demonstrations.”

At the recent launch of these showrooms on May 31, 2018, in an event called C4Yourself, I had the opportunity to visit one of two Certified Showrooms in New Jersey and to meet with Larry Bennett, Control4’s Managing Director of Global Programs. Bennett is the Control4 executive in charge of their global Certified Showroom program.

See what the Control4 exec said was the real purpose behind the program… [Read more…] about The Real Story Behind Control4’s Certified Showroom Program

Glowacki Out as Editor of Residential Systems

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BREAKING NEWS

Major Restructuring at Leading Publication by New Owners

Photo of Jeremy Glowacki

This week, subscribers of the digital version of Residential Systems Magazine are getting more than the usual expert advice and latest news on the custom integration business in their newly received June issue – they’re getting a farewell message from the magazine’s editor-in-chief – and founding editor – Jeremy Glowacki. In a surprise move, new owners Future Plc, a global British media company, has launched an aggressive restructuring program which, as is typically the case, has resulted in staff cuts at multiple levels, up to Glowacki’s senior position.

See more on this shocking exit of a popular CI industry editor… [Read more…] about Glowacki Out as Editor of Residential Systems

Tidal Accused of Manipulating Stream Counts

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Changed Data Favors Payouts to Two Owners of the Service

Tidal logoA report by Rolling Stone magazine says that Tidal, the troubled streaming service owned by rapper Jay Z and a consortium of music industry personalities, has been accused of faking their data, manipulating stream counts to artificially boost figures for certain Beyoncé and Kanye West projects. Although Tidal denies the reports, some of the facts being reported are indeed troubling.

See more on the accusations against Tidal… [Read more…] about Tidal Accused of Manipulating Stream Counts

Ex-B&W President Finds New Home at JL Audio

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Doug Henderson

It was only a matter of months ago that Strata-gee broke the news that EVA Automation founder Gideon Yu, the new owner of Bowers and Wilkins (B&W), had dismissed Doug Henderson, President of the B&W Group North America. It was a move that was to send shock waves around the industry and presaged a round of additional staff departures (and additions) as Yu worked to restructure the company.

Now we can report that Henderson is the new Senior Vice President of Home Audio at JL Audio, the scrappy upstart that launched first in the 12-volt business, but has since expanded into the marine, powersports, and home audio segments as well.

See more on this new role for Henderson… [Read more…] about Ex-B&W President Finds New Home at JL Audio

Far From Legally Dead, Monster Slugs Back at Beats

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Beats Gets More Awarded; But Monster Wins a Key Ruling Too

Photo of Noel LeeWhen we last visited this legal clash of the titans, a jury had just found that Monster must pay Beats nearly $8 million to reimburse them for the legal expenses in fighting the lawsuit that Monster had brought against them in 2015. Now, we have learned that the judge in that case has increased the judgment with an additional “directed” verdict. And in the matter of a separate case, Beats vs. Monster filed late last year, Monster has filed a countersuit and won a key ruling.

This Beats and Monster slugfest goes on… [Read more…] about Far From Legally Dead, Monster Slugs Back at Beats

Is Krell Out of Business?

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A Krell mono amplifierRecently, we have spoken with multiple sources who have said that Krell Industries, a maker of high-end, high-performance electronics, has fallen on hard financial times. Some suggested the company closed at the end of last week for good. Others told us the company may be already in bankruptcy or in the process of filing for bankruptcy. Is this another Classé situation?

So what is really going on at Krell?… [Read more…] about Is Krell Out of Business?

James Loudspeaker Adds John Bishop to Their Team

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James Loudspeaker logoJames Loudspeaker, the Napa, CA-based manufacturer of innovative, high-performance speaker solutions, announced this week that it is adding John Bishop in a new role with the company – Director of Architectural Audio Services. Bishop, a fairly well-known sales representative in New England, is being brought on in a contract basis and will continue with his rep firm in addition to this new role.

See more on Bishop’s appointment by James Loudspeaker… [Read more…] about James Loudspeaker Adds John Bishop to Their Team

The Forgotten Thiel

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Strata-gee *EXCLUSIVE* Interview with Tom Thiel

Tom Thiel at Northwind TonewoodAlthough Strata-gee has loosely followed Thiel Audio for many years, since 2012, when the company was sold by co-founder Kathy Gornik to a group of Tennessee private equity investors, our coverage intensified. Part of the motivation for devoting more coverage to this stage of Thiel, was a growing interest in the apparent deteriorating state of specialty A/V – but it was also fueled by a wacky, reality-show like, “You’re Fired!” atmosphere as principal owner David B. Griffin routinely dismissed newly constituted management teams. With five different CEOs over a five-year period, some with tenures measured in months, the company’s business suffered from inconsistent fits-and-starts as each team pursued a new direction.

This state of constant turmoil at Thiel caused extreme consternation among – first the Thiel dealer base, and when that disappeared – Thiel end-users, many of whom were huge fans of Jim Thiel. A host of audio forums and bulletin boards had ongoing, passionate postings bemoaning the end of an era: the end of the Kathy Gornik era…and of course, the end of the Jim Thiel era.

Kind of like in Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, when Obi-wan says: “That boy is our last hope.” Yoda replies: “No, there is another…” [Read more…] about The Forgotten Thiel

King Thiel is Dead, Long Live Coherent Source Service

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Thiel Owners Celebrate the News of the Rebirth of Thiel Service

New Thiel Audio logoThe rumors have been swirling around various audio blogs and forums for a couple of weeks now and Strata-gee has confirmed that the service department of Thiel Audio, the only part of the Nashville-based company that remains in Lexington, KY, has been split off from the company and purchased by long time head of service, Rob Gillum. The development is incredibly good news for Thiel owners everywhere, many of whom were crushed to hear the brand was closing down.

Rob Gillum talks to Strata-gee… [Read more…] about King Thiel is Dead, Long Live Coherent Source Service