Dirac, a fast growing provider of room acoustics management software, announced today that it will launch Dirac Live Bass Management at next month’s CEDIA Expo 2019. Industry attendees at Expo can see the new system in Booth #3235 in the Colorado Convention Center.
Bravas Group Sold to Private Equity Firm in $75 Million Deal
Group Says Deal is Just the Beginning
Bravas Group, a cooperative of integrators aggregated by Paul Starkey and Steve Firszt of VITAL MGMT, was first put together as part of VITAL MGMT’s consulting practice helping member companies better organize their operations, improve their financial performance, and drive greater profitability. Ultimately, the group’s fifteen members coalesced into one widely-spread unified organization, with over-arching centralized management and plans for the group to be packaged and sold.
Now, in a deal said to be valued at $75 million, Bravas Group has been sold to Presidio Investors, a private equity investment company with offices in San Francisco, CA and Austin, TX.
See more on the Bravas – Presidio deal…
[Read more…] about Bravas Group Sold to Private Equity Firm in $75 Million DealNew, Larger SnapAV: The One-Stop Shop of Smart Home
Strata-gee Interviews SnapAV’s John Heyman & Charlie Kindel
The industry is still adjusting to the new normal of SnapAV combining with Control4…even as it continues to gobble up more local distributors and talk about their e-commerce prowess. It can get a little confusing. Is SnapAV a manufacturer? An e-commerce play? A local distributor? Or are they attempting to be all of the above?
I spoke with SnapAV’s John Heyman and Charlie Kindel to try and help our readers sort this all out. It’s certainly a new world out there…but just what planet are we on?
See what I learned from these top SnapAV execs…
[Read more…] about New, Larger SnapAV: The One-Stop Shop of Smart HomeHigh Note Sales Expands Team
High Note Sales, a custom integration-focused manufacturer sales representative firm based in Boca Raton, FL, announced this week that it has expanded its team – adding Sammy Garber as Vice President of Sales. Garber is well-known throughout the state of Florida having worked in various roles in the industry there for many years.
Learn more about this new addition to High Note Sales….
[Read more…] about High Note Sales Expands TeamEXCLUSIVE: Strata-gee Tours James Loudspeaker’s New Nevada Factory
Newer, Bigger, More Efficient, Higher Output
It was like my Uber car was actually a time machine. After landing in Reno, Nevada, my Uber driver – an eccentric older fellow who is both a ride-share driver and a real estate agent – demonstrated an uncommon grasp of the local geography and history. Heading south on I-580 out of Reno there was a dramatic ridge of mountains to my right and a nonstop running monologue from my old-West style stagecoach driver: “Those are the Sierra-Nevada Mountains,” he helpfully offered. And on the left…the high desert.
This was going to be an adventure…
[Read more…] about EXCLUSIVE: Strata-gee Tours James Loudspeaker’s New Nevada FactoryInside Crestron’s Amazing Research Center
It’s Like Disneyland for Geeks
Sometimes, I’m amazed at what I’m able to pull off. A year or so ago, John Clancy, Crestron Vice President of Residential, invited me to tour Crestron, a place I’ve heard much about but have never seen. OK…it was at a tradeshow cocktail party and John may have been drinking…but I immediately jumped at the opportunity. Just a few weeks ago, that visit finally happened and Crestron – much to their credit – granted me unlimited access to whatever I wanted to see…and photograph.
Go inside the amazing Crestron Research Center with Strata-gee…
[Read more…] about Inside Crestron’s Amazing Research CenterAmazon to Kill the Dash Button
Amazon has announced that the end-of-life for its Dash button is rapidly approaching. If you’ve been dying to try it, better move quick – Amazon will completely disable the system just three short weeks from now on August 31st.
What went wrong with Dash? Read on…
[Read more…] about Amazon to Kill the Dash ButtonJosh.ai & Sonance Partner with Amp Integrations & TRUFIG Mount
Josh.ai announced today that they have a new multilevel partnership with Sonance that includes new integrations with Sonance amplifiers and a new TRUFIG flush mount for the Josh Micro device. The company says this new partnership allows their technology “to seamlessly fit into any architectural aesthetic.”
See more on the Josh.ai & Sonance alliance…
[Read more…] about Josh.ai & Sonance Partner with Amp Integrations & TRUFIG MountSonos/IKEA Partnership Delivers SYMFONISK Lamp Speaker & Shelf Speaker
Formally announced back in April, Sonos has collaborated with IKEA on a line of products for which it has great expectations. The first products of this collaboration – a table lamp with speaker built-in, and a thin bookshelf speaker that sits on a shelf and LOOKS LIKE a book…are finally now available. Will IKEA fans turn out in droves to buy these new models?
See the Sonos lamp & shelf speaker at IKEA…
[Read more…] about Sonos/IKEA Partnership Delivers SYMFONISK Lamp Speaker & Shelf SpeakerSex and the CES Attendee
Only six months to go and word has emerged that the Consumer Technology Association – the trade group behind the annual Consumer Electronics show – has proactively taken steps to avoid repeating the mistakes that caused them to endure a plethora of embarrassing headlines last year. The controversy, a self-inflicted wound, surrounded the Association’s awarding – then rescinding – of a CES 2019 Innovation Award…and retroactive cancellation of booth space for that company. The news dominated the early headlines during the January 2019 event…mostly because the matter involved sex.