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Hundreds of Integrators Descend on Boston for the Crestron Next Road Trip

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Crestron Next Road Trip Day 1 crowd

Attendees Got a Full Show, Training & a Preview of Future Technology

Last week, Crestron Electronics, a leading provider of control and automation solutions, wrapped up their two-day regional show, the Crestron Next Road Trip, at the Westin Copley Place Hotel in Boston. The well-attended two-day event saw hundreds of integrators descend on Boston to participate in an event that included whole sections of their displays from the CEDIA Expo and InfoComm trade show booths and offered full-day educational courses for both their residential and commercial dealers.

Learn more about the successful Crestron Next Road Trip

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New Vanco Introduction Powers Up Your Assortment, Client Satisfaction & Profits

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I recently became aware of the fact that Vanco, the Chicago-based manufacturer of a broad range of mostly accessory products had decided to become a master distributor for a product category that we all need, we all use, and yet to which we pay little attention. It is in this reality, Vanco’s President Mark Corbin tells me, that there lies a tremendous opportunity to better serve our customers and to add meaningful profit to our financials.

See this Vanco solution…

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Savant Power: 3 Reasons Why It Just Might Disrupt the Power Segment

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A Racepoint Energy, now Savant Power, Microgrid

By now, you may have heard that Savant has acquired Racepoint Energy, LLC, which will now operate as Savant Power. In another post, I discuss this acquisition in a little more detail and interview Savant Power President Anna Demeo. Demeo is incredibly smart and because of this, it was one of my more challenging interviews – let’s just say you don’t want to take her on in a game of Scrabble. This is a big move by Savant and if you don’t look closely, you may miss the importance of what it potentially represents – a significant disruption of the power segment.

See the 3 reasons why Savant Power may disrupt the power segment…

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Savant Power Play, Connecting Integrators to Power

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Savant intelligent companion modules

Strata-gee Interviews Savant Power President Anna Demeo

Last week, Savant Systems, Inc. announced that it had acquired Racepoint Energy, LLC, a provider of innovative power solutions. What many people did not know was that Racepoint Energy was another venture launched by Savant CEO Bob Madonna, and was originally intended to be a freestanding solution – primarily targeted for commercial, industrial, and utility markets.

But then the world changed and it made sense for Savant to bring it under their residential automation brand.

See my interview with Savant Power President Anna Demeo…

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MQA – Voices Arise in Harmony with a Video Critique from ‘GoldenSound’

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Part 2 – We Go Deep into the World of Those Opposed to MQA & Bill Leebens Speaks with GoldenSound

STRATA-GEE: This is the second installment of our series on the controversy engulfing MQA, conducted in partnership with guest poster Bill Leebens. In this post, you will learn more about those who are critical of MQA, with some going on the record for the first time for this story. MQA has been controversial almost from the beginning – with an intense opposition that ebbs and flows over time. But as we told you in our introductory installment (see MQA Controversy – A True Audio Breakthrough? Or a Marketing Scam?), a recent YouTube video critique from an audiophile not involved in the audio industry, has spurred a huge resurgence of interest (that video had over 267,000 views!), in part because of the perhaps naive but seemingly earnest reasonableness of “GoldenSound” and the heavy-handed backslap from MQA.

Learn more on why some oppose MQA

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Bowers & Wilkins Launches All-New True Wireless Earbuds; Yep, They Went There

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Bowers & Wilkins PI7 True Wireless earbuds

Bowers & Wilkins continues to forge new paths through the audio jungle, bringing along their trunks full of high-end ethic and high-performance sensibility to help civilize the undisciplined hoards of audio mediocrity. Now part of the Sound United family of brands, B&W hasn’t skipped a beat as they continue to address both new products and new product segments as first revealed to the press seven months ago.

Yesterday, the company launched a pair of true wireless earbuds that completely embody the company’s unique bespoke design style in both industrial design and technological innovation – meet the PI7 & PI5.

See Bowers & Wilkins new PI7 & PI5 earbuds…

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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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Bowers & Wilkins Launches 16-Ch. Distribution Amplifier

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Front shot of new new B&W CDA-16 from Bowers & Wilkins

Yep, you read that right. Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) today announced that they have launched an impressive looking 16-channel distribution amplifier aimed at the custom integration channel. Long deemed by many to be the king of Hi-Fi stereo sound, the company is making a power move into a decidedly integrator mainstay category. So say “Welcome” to the new CDA-16…

Learn about the Bowers & Wilkins CDA-16

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Global Chip Shortage Forces Cuts to iPhone Production

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Photo of Foxconn Chairman Young Liu
Foxconn Chairman Young Liu [Photo: Ken Kobayashi]

Foxconn, a Taiwanese company said to be the world’s largest contract manufacturer of electronics and Apple’s biggest supplier, announced on Tuesday that due to the global shortage of semiconductors they have been forced to reduce production of iPhones. It was a surprising admission of just how extensive the chip shortage has become – that it is impacting Apple, one of the biggest companies in the world with virtually unparalleled buying power.

See more on chip shortage impacting iPhones…

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Digital Audio Consumption Grows, Even in a Pandemic

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In new data from eMarketer, we learn that digital audio continues to grow even in the wake of a global pandemic. And by grow, they mean that the time users spend listening to this type of content continues to increase. Early in the pandemic, this didn’t necessarily look like it would be the case, as homebound consumers turned to traditional TV or social media (or both) leading many researchers to suggest digital audio would lose some ground.

See what happened with digital audio during the pandemic…

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