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In today’s fast-paced world, home automation technology can make even the most mundane tasks easier can have a huge impact on our quality of life. Advancements in technology and automation have revolutionized the way we interact with our homes. The possibilities are endless, but this blog will cover a few different applications for how you can make enable home automation solutions to have a profound impact on your daily life. 

1. Lighting Design 

Lighting design and automation play a pivotal role in setting the ambiance of your living spaces. The Sound Room’s experienced lighting designers can  work with you to define what you’re looking for in your space, make recommendations based on the layout of your home, and then help you install it without a hitch.  

A smart lighting system allows you to customize the color, brightness, and timing of your lights to suit your preferences and lifestyle. Here are some common examples: 

• Dim the lighting when you’re winding down for the evening or hosting a dinner party 
• Automatically turn on bedroom lights in the morning—whether for a stubborn teenager, an early morning workout, or a tired parent 
• Set your lights to turn on in the kitchen at night so you’re not fumbling with them while trying to prepare dinner 
• Enhance home security by making it appear as though someone is always in the house 

No matter the application that makes the most sense for your lifestyle, putting a smart lighting system to work for you is one way to make your daily life easier. 

2. Automated Window Shades 

Implementing automated window shades in your home offers convenience and comfort. There are a variety of reasons that someone may choose to add automated window shades to their home: 

Our employees often have amazing stories about projects they’re working on or reasons why their clients chose The Sound Room. Here is a brief snapshot at 3 of our latest projects from our employee’s point of view.

Andy Hauck:

Clients often tell us they want a new TV installed over their existing fireplace but they do not want to see the wires and do not want to worry about patching holes and repainting walls.  While it is not always possible, we can often retro fit wiring and power where they are needed without creating any additional holes or requiring patching and painting.

We recently installed a TV and surround system for a client who owned a 20 year old home in the Chesterfield area.  The client wanted the TV installed over a wood burning fireplace with a full brick chimney and to have all the equipment hidden away in the existing cabinets.  Our installers were able to retro fit all the necessary wiring without cutting extra holes.  The whole project took less than a day to install and program and the client was thrilled with the outcome.  Here are a few pictures of the before, during and after. 

Jim Kuhlmeyer:

Last week we shared Part 1 of our staff’s favorite gifts and we’ve loved hearing which ones were your favorites too! See if your new favorite might just be waiting on this list!

Aaron Blake:
Bose Quiet Comfort Headphones
Price: $349
This year I’m choosing the Bose Quiet Comfort 35. After spending 14 & ½ hours on a plane with a screaming child, I can say with certainty that I will never board an airplane without a set of noise cancelling headphones. These are not only the best noise canceling head phones Bose has ever made they are also the best sounding ones as well. Excellent Bluetooth connectivity, great battery life, cannot recommend highly enough.

Joshua Beard:
Paradigm Prestige 95F Tower Speakers
Price: $4999. pair

On July 28, Mark Reardon from KMOX NewsRadio 1120 broadcast live from The Sound Room! We had a great afternoon hanging out with Mark and the gang, talking about music, movies, Sony 4k televisions, turntables and much more. The Well Hungarians played an awesome set and were a fun group to chat with.  The interview with David Young, President of The Sound Room and Mark Reardon can be heard below.

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We always have a great time at CEDIA getting a sneak peek at the latest and greatest releases from some of our favorite brands, but this year was extra special for us. We were named Paradigm’s and Anthem’s Dealer of the Year!

Paradigm and Anthem have hundreds of dealers with worldwide distribution, so this is truly an honor to be named their one and only Dealer of the Year. We are also the first dealer to ever receive the award twice, let alone in consecutive years!

Here are a few words from Keith Dowd, the Director of North American Sales for Paradigm & Anthem on what they look for when choosing their Dealer of the year.

“While sales performance is an important element, it’s a starting point and not the only consideration. We narrow down our list of contenders and then grade them on a number of other criteria related to the experience they provide their customers. Much of that is related to their company culture. Are they there to sell or to serve? Are they invested in long term relationships and helping their clients or just after the quick sale? Is after the sale support as important as making the initial sale? Are they interested in cultivating and growing their local market and are they a positive presence in their community? At Paradigm & Anthem, these are the things we value- so we want to recognize those dealers who share our values.”

We have an immense amount of respect for the Paradigm and Anthem teams and we are honestly huge fans of their products. We are thrilled to receive this award and are thrilled to be a dealer and supporter of Paradigm and Anthem.

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The Sound Room Makes CE Pro’s Top 100 List for Ninth Year in a Row

The company ranks No. 30 among the nation’s home technology retailers

July 2014: CHESTERFIELD, Mo. – The Sound Room, St. Louis’ premier home technology retailer, announced its ninth year on the CE Pro Top 100 list, which ranks the nation’s top custom integrators. The company was named No. 30, jumping up two spots from last year.

CE Pro, a leading electronics trade publication, ranked custom home and audio integrators based upon their 2013 revenue. In that time, The Sound Room generated more than $5.9 million in revenue, despite the continued slow growth within the industry.

Yesterday, the president of The Sound Room, David Young, was featured on KMOV’s Great Day St. Louis. During the segment, Young discussed a variety of wireless options for your home including the Bose VideoWave III entertainment system and the Bose SoundTouch Wi-Fi music system. To experience these products and more, feel free to stop by our Chesterfield Showroom to speak to one of our customer representatives.

At The Sound Room, we do more than simply provide home A/V products-we create a truly one-of-a-kind experience! The Sound Room had a retail showroom located in Chesterfield. For more information, call The Sound Room at (636) 537-0404 or visit us online 24/7 at www.thesoundroom.com.

Dear Friends,

It is with a heavy heart that I must announce the passing of our dear friend, Mike Smith. Mike was an amazing person, spreading joy and happiness into the lives of those he touched.

Aside from his kind spirit, Mike was also a valuable member of The Sound Room team, leaving a void that will be very difficult to fill.

We will remember a man of great integrity, kindness and commitment.

On Saturday, January 11th, there will be a visitation at Kutis Funeral Home in Affton (10151 Gravois Rd.) from 10:30AM to 2:30PM. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a charity of your choice. Some of Mike’s favorite organizations include: The Humane Society, Autism Speaks and the Alzheimer’s Association.

As many of you may know, The Sound Room recently acquired St. Louis CompuTronics, a professional and consumer audio/video equipment repair company. We wanted to offer our customers an option to repair their products by expanding into the service industry. We’ve already had some amazing repairs for our customers, and we wanted to share a few repair stories. Often times, these pieces of audio or visual equipment hold sentimental value to the customer, and they don’t want to part with those memories. Jeff Jackson, the Chief Electronic Technician, does an excellent job of taking these outdated pieces of equipment, and making them operate like new. Here are a few recent repair items we’ve seen with their stories.

In these photos you can see a 45 year old stereo receiver that we are in the process of refurbishing for a client.  We are replacing the lamps on the faceplate, cleaning the internal workings and realigning the tuner.  This stereo receiver is proof that if you spend the extra money to get a really good, high quality receiver, it will truly last you a lifetime. One reason the client chose us for this repair, was out fast turnaround times and competitive repair rates. They will have their beloved stereo receiver returned to them in a matter of days, which is a factor that sets us apart from the competition.

Another client came in this week to have us service and refurbish seven McIntosh pieces that were given to him by his uncle. These vintage pieces are from 1965 to 1979. As you can tell, this family has excellent taste in audio equipment! These McIntosh systems have survived the test of time, providing an entire family exquisite audio experience for 50 years! When Jeff is done servicing these McIntosh pieces, they will look and operate like new for another several decades.

Here is some feedback we received from one of our recent McIntosh repairs.

“I recently had an MC2105 in for repair. I picked it up Tuesday and following a chilly ride home, let it sit overnight to warm to room temp. I reconnected things yesterday and am absolutely delighted. It sounds wonderful. I’m thoroughly enjoying the renewed listening experience after a nearly seven-week absence. I feel fortunate to have found you guys.”
-David E. 

We are thrilled to be members of the HTSA, or the Home Technology Specialists of America. As members of the HTSA, we have access to industry-leading programs and marketing tools. These tools grow reach and drive connections with consumers enabling business growth. The HTSA offers us an opportunity to communicate with other HTSA members, including industry leading custom integrators and vendors to increase buying power. The goal of the HTSA is to help one another to build successful businesses as well as forge lasting relationships with manufacturer partners and vendors.

The weather is warming up, and it’s time to bring your parties outdoors! Recently, The Sound Room President, David Young, was on KMOV’s Great Day St. Louis to discuss outdoor entertainment. With the beautiful weather, you might want to spend more time outside, but you don’t have to sacrifice the TV and entertainment you love to do it! We brought a Sunbrite Outdoor TV and Paradigm outdoor rock speakers to KMOV and had amazing feedback from the entire Great Day team.

See the interview in its entirety below. And don’t forget, our Paradigm Outdoor Speaker sale ends June 30! Take your music outdoors, get 20% off Paradigm All-Weather Stylus and Rock Monitor Speakers.

The Sound Room Acquires Second Company in Six Months
The Sound Room Acquires AudioVideo Lifestyles

June 12, 2015: CHESTERFIELD, Mo. – The Sound Room, St. Louis’ premier home technology retailer, continues their growth with a second acquisition by acquiring AudioVideo Lifestyles.

In November 2014, The Sound Room acquired St. Louis CompuTronics, a professional and consumer audio/video equipment repair company. In May 2015, The Sound Room acquired AudioVideo Lifestyles, a local audio and video sales and installation company. They signed on former AudioVideo Lifestyles owner, Tony Julius, as Special Sales Representative, servicing former A/V Lifestyle clients and new semi-custom homebuilders.

“We are excited to see the increased activity in new homebuilding and the awareness of the benefits of networked, automated homes,” said David Young, The Sound Room president. “It is our job to make sure that our clients not only have the latest technology today, but an upgrade path for the future.”

With the new acquisitions and continued growth, The Sound Room has added 7 new employees to their already advanced team. These new hires include Electronic System Technicians, Electronic System Designers and Sales Representatives.

A few months ago, The Sound Room was approached by Make-A-Wish to help create a dream game room for Trevor. Trevor was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis as a baby. His family had little knowledge about the disease, and as a family, they have been doing everything they can to learn, understand and deal with the disease. Since a young age, Trevor has been hospitalized multiple times due to complications from the disease. He also has to complete 2 hours of breathing treatments each day just to stay healthy.

Trevor doesn’t let any of this get in his way of being a young, active boy. He makes time for what he loves, including playing sports and spending time with friends. Trevor’s says that even thought he has this disease, he should be treated the same way as everyone else. He is a brave kid who isn’t going to let anyone, or anything, get him down.

It was Trevor’s wish to have a game room in his basement to relax and hang out with his friends. Make-A-Wish teamed up with The Sound Room to help create the ultimate personalized game room, just in time for Trevor’s 16th birthday! It was a race around the clock to get this project completed in time, but seeing the smile on Trevor’s face made it worth it.

Trevor, his little sister Macy and his friends now have a complete gaming experience right in their home, with booming sound from the Sony HTXT1 Soundbar, and they can easily control all the electronics in the basement with a URC MX-780 Universal Remote Control. Trevor is a huge Dallas Cowboys fan, so of course there are touches of the Cowboys throughout the basement, along with a mini fridge full of Pepsi. Teenagers fully caffeinated, sounds like a blast!

This game room was built for Trevor as a symbol of his strength and to provide a fun escape for him and his friends. After everything he has been through at such a young age, Trevor deserves this game room, a place for him to enjoy being a kid.

Yes, the rumors are true… The Sound Room is moving! We are closing our doors at 1661 Clarkson Road at the end of September, and moving to a new, and larger, showroom in the Chesterfield Valley on October 1st.  Located at 17373 Chesterfield Airport Road, next to Amini’s, the new 10,000 square foot showroom will feature a sample home that demonstrates the latest audiovisual technology and trends.  The new space is 2,500 square feet larger than our current store, meaning we can better serve you and showcase the latest and greatest tech.

Not only is this move great news for The Sound Room, but it’s a wonderful opportunity for you to pick up performance gear without paying performance prices.

All sales will have a full manufacturer’s warranty and will be supported by our new, larger Chesterfield location going forward. 

With over 1 million dollars in inventory for sale, there is no better time to pick up the performance audio and video equipment you’ve had your heart set on. Not only are we selling our entire inventory on hand, we are also selling off all furniture, seating, displays and home theater rooms. When we say everything must go, we mean EVERYTHING!

Here is a sneak peek at just a few of our exclusive sale items:

If you haven’t made your way out to the new Weber Grill Restaurant at the St. Louis Galleria mall, plan a trip as soon as possible! And we’re not just saying this because we were a part of the building process, but because it is a truly unique and fun place to dine and improve your grilling skills! If you’re a lover of dining on outdoor patio, the Weber Grill Restaurant has a huge outdoor patio that is perfect for the warmer months.

Living in the Midwest, we are not strangers to the summer humidity, pop up storms and unpredictable winter weather. The Weber Grill Restaurant called in The Sound Room’s Electronic Systems Designer, Aaron Blake, to help create an outdoor digital display for the restaurant that could withstand the climate and create the ultimate entertainment experience.

Taking in account the location and climate, Aaron knew he would need advanced waterproofing and temperature resistant technology. After researching and testing, Aaron and the Weber Grill team landed on SunBriteTV’s for the patio and they were the perfect choice!

“The SunBriteTVs are located on the outdoor patio, which can be covered or uncovered, meaning that rain and snow weren’t that big of an issue for the install,” said Blake. “The real concern here was the Missouri humidity, and we knew the SunBrite TVs would be able to withstand even the most humid of days.”

The displays also have an audio reinforcement system on the bar that allows customers to choose between listening to music or watching television. The displays are bright and easy to see, even with the bright summer sun shining on the screen, you won’t miss a moment of your favorite show, which is something the Weber Grill customers can appreciate.

At The Sound Room, we have a team of very passionate employees who not only sell the products we sell, but also love them and use them at their homes. Each year, we reach out to our sales team and ask them what items they would love unwrap this holiday season. You should see the smiles on their faces as they think through the items and what they’d like to add to their audiophile collection. It’s pretty hard to get each person to narrow it down to just ONE item, but we managed!

If you’re looking for the perfect gift, look no further. We have combed through our stock and pulled together the best items to gift this year. You’ll make someone (maybe yourself) very, very happy with these holiday gifts.

And now, without any further ado, here is The Sound Room’s 2016 Holiday Gift Guide!

Jim Kuhlmeyer:
Rotel RA 1592
This 200 watt per channel integrated amplifier is a wonderful new product we’re carrying at The Sound Room that I would LOVE to receive as a gift this year. It’s one of the best sounding integrated amps. It’s unique because of the 200 watts. Most amplifiers only have 1/2 that amount of wattage. The Rotel RA 1592 can drive virtually any speaker, sounds great and is super powerful. If you want to buy me or a gift (or any music lover in your life) look no further than the Rotel RA 1592.

Last week we shared Part 1 of our Holiday Gift Guide and we’ve been hearing amazing feedback! And without further ado, here is Part 2 of our Holiday Gift Guide:

Jared Lange:
Anthem P5
If anyone was looking to buy me a gift this holiday season (ahem, sweet, sweet Uncle David Young), the Anthem P5 would be on the top of my list. It’s a 5 channel amplifier that is big, powerful and would be perfect for my theater room. I’ve been needing a new amp and this would be the perfect addition to my system. We currently don’t have one in the story so we just placed an order, while I wait I’ve been going online and looking at pictures of my lovely Anthem P5.

McIntosh MC275
I have had this on my list for the past couple years, and one these days someone will break down and buy it for me (or, I’ll finally treat myself). The Mcintosh MC275 is a vacuum tube power amplifier that has all the features needed to make every music enthusiast very, very happy. It delivers 75 watts per channel into eight, four or two ohms, or 150 watts in bridged mono mode, via four KT-88 power tubes. It looks awesome and sounds like 2 majestic, beautiful unicorns mating (also known as sounds amazing). I would be one very happy and complete man to add the MC275 to my collection.

Gary Macchi:
Crestron Matrix Video Switcher
I recently updated and installed new TV’s throughout my home. I wanted a way to connect all of the televisions to the BlueRay, DirecTV and Wi-Fi with one system. With the Crestron Matrix Video Switcher, I can do just that! I’ll admit, I bought myself an early Christmas present because I fell in love with this device. I was able to install it in the lower level and distribute all of our systems throughout the house. It’s cleaner, simpler to use and everyone in the house is happy. It’s not just a gift for me, it’s a gift for the whole family!

When we heard about the Gary Sinise Foundation and their R.I.S.E (Restoring Independence Supporting Empowerment) program was building a house in Carbondale, IL  for SFC Jared Bullock, we knew we wanted to be involved. Core Brands reached out to us to see if we were interested in participating in this project and we jumped. We reached out to the foundation, offered our services and are thrilled to be a part of this project. The goal of this project was to build a smart home that is fully functional for Jared and his family.

Jared and his twin brother enlisted in the Army two years after the 9/11 attacks, and in October of 2013 Jared earned his Green Beret. In November of 2013 while on a routine patrol, Jared was severely injured when his ATV ran over an improvised explosive device. He lost his right arm and his right leg in the accident and has since undergone over 30 surgeries. Thanks to the Gary Sinise Foundation, Jared, his wife Jessica and their son Aiden will be able to start a new chapter in their lives in a fully automated specially adapted smart home.

This is an extremely exciting home, featuring security, automated remote door locks,  lighting control, motorized shades), video surveillance and recording for security, entertainment including whole house audio and video. This house will be fully automated and be able to controlled via iPad, Tablet and smart phones. There will be touch panels in the Great Room of the house along with other appropriate locations that will make it easy for use.

We are working with our suppliers and vendors to get as much as we can donated to the project, and we have been amazed by the support we have received. Our staff have stepped up as well, donating their time and expertise to the project. The house is expected to be completed in early summer and we can’t wait to share pictures of the final home with you!

We are blown away by the tremendous turn out at our Grand Opening Celebration on February 23rd! A big thank you to 400+ people who came out to join us, it was wonderful to see our showroom filled with so many friends, customers, vendors and new faces. In case you weren’t able to stop by, here’s a recap of our Grand Opening Celebration.

We started the Grand Opening with a ribbon cutting ceremony with the Chesterfield Chamber of Commerce and Chesterfield Mayor, Bob Nation. We were lucky enough to have one of our staff members and great photographer, Justin Barr, get some fun shots of the store and ribbon cutting from his drone.

We had the pleasure of Mark Reardon and KMOX broadcasting their show live from The Sound Room. It was a fun opportunity for us to have Mark and the crew at the store. We had fun talking through the new showroom features and some of our favorite products.

The Grand Opening was scheduled to begin at 4pm, but we had people showing up starting at 2pm for a tour of the store and to talk to vendors.

Speaking of vendors, we had a great turnout of reps on hand to discuss new products, offer special sales and talk to our customers. Those vendors included Anthem, AudioQuest, Autco-Luxul, Bowers & Wilkins, Bose, Classe, Control 4, Crestron, Epson, Goldenear, Hikvision, Integra, JL Audio, Lutron, McIntosh, Paradigm, Rotel, Salamander, Sanus, Screen Innocations, Seura, Sonance, Sonos, Sony, Stewart, Totem and URC and more.

The Sound Room Makes CE Pro’s Top 100 for 2017

The company ranks No. 31 among the nation’s custom installation companies

June 8, 2017: CHESTERFIELD, Mo. – The Sound Room, St. Louis’ premier home technology retailer, announced the company’s spot on the CE Pro Top 100 list, which ranks among the nation’s top custom integrators. The company was named No. 31, and has been on the list for over a decade.

CE Pro, a leading electronics trade publication, ranked CE Pro 100 integrators based upon its 2017 revenue. During this period, The Sound Room generated more than $7 million in revenue, despite the closing of many consumer big box electronics retailers.

“In our 33 years of business, we’ve seen many big box stores struggle due to their focus of selling boxes,” said David Young, The Sound Room President. “Not only are we expanding our space with the continued growth, but we focus on finding solutions for our customers.”