AUDIO

Music is a language we all understand and no home is complete without the right audio to compliment your lifestyle. Whether for personal or entertaining purposes, the audio component of automation allows you to play different types of music at the same time throughout different parts of the house commonly known as “zones”. For example, the kids can be hearing their favorite station or genre of music in their bedroom or in the patio while you are playing something completely different in other areas of the house like the kitchen or family room. To accomplish this, multiple speakers which provide the audio are placed throughout the interior and exterior of the home while components such as amplifiers are in charge of the control and distribution of that sound. Signal distribution relates to the areas of the home (zones) you would like to distribute the signal (sound) to. A typical configuration to achieve this is accomplished through different sources which allow the end user the ability to listen to different kinds of music throughout the entire home.

Now you might be asking yourself what are my options for speaker selection and what are the latest trends or standards used in a professional system. Truth is there are multiple speaker combinations available for each project which can be incorporated into your custom design without affecting the aesthetics of each room or space. Every project is different due to the design preferences but speaker selections often include in-ceiling, in-wall, invisible/architectural, sound-bars, subwoofers, and weather proof speakers for shower/patio/pool area use.

Your first thing to determine for the project is what zones or areas you want to include in order to better select the most appropriate package for the budget used. Below are some descriptions to better understand some of the terms used within this section.

Refers to speakers distributed throughout common areas of the home like the dining room, kitchen, gallery, powder room, patio, terrace, and gazebo’s. These speakers are commonly found in-ceiling and can either be visible where the grill of the speakers is noticeable or invisible where the speakers lie seamlessly behind the ceiling walls.

Refers to a set of speakers used for music or specifically for a surround sound experience typically found in home theaters, family rooms, media rooms, or master bedrooms. These speakers are commonly found in-wall and in-ceiling and come in various speaker configurations which will be determined by the size of the room and the number of channels on the receiver that will be controlling them: Most common surround systems include 5.1, 7.2, or 11.2.

Refers to a set of speakers used specifically for landscaped areas of a home. These speakers are used for those that like to entertain outside and are strategically distributed to provide even and balanced coverage for the required area within the back yard or designated area. Speakers used within this category are designed to hide amongst the foliage and can handle extreme conditions.

Refers to speakers that are mounted within the ceiling or wall where the grill of the speaker is visible. This requires a cutout space into the ceiling or wall so they can be mounted and offers a low-profile flush appearance once installed. These speakers are used within a multi-zone space.

An option available for in-ceiling or in-wall speakers where the end product has no visible grill. In order to accomplish this, the speaker sits completely flush against the drywall and then gets plastered and painted so that it becomes part of the wall.

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