The Play3 is the latest Zoneplayer from Sonos. It is the least expensive at $299 but the size belies it's performance. The PLAY:3 uses 3 state-of the-art digital amplifiers individually coupled with 3 speakers to deliver great sound to any room. The wireless music system provides pure, clean sound that is perfect for bringing room filling music to a kitchen, bedroom, office, or just about any room in your home. A bass radiator produces powerful low notes while two mid-range drivers and one tweeter fills out the sound.

The Play3 includes a stereo pair feature that allows you to group two PLAY:3s in the same room for your client with one PLAY:3 serving as the left channel and the other as the right channel. On the back of the Play3 is a 1/4" 20 thread socket that fits the OmniMount OM10 Wall/Ceiling model. This opens up many different applications for this Zoneplayer both commercial and residential. Imagine the ease of moving music around an office or a restaurant. Just plug them and and the wiring is finished. 

See this short video for a good look at the Play3 in action. 

SONOS PLAY:3 demo

We had the unique opportunity to travel to 6 dealer showrooms and set up a complete Genelec theater in each of their theaters. The theater consisted of three HT208 speaker systems as our LCR's, a pair of HT206's as our surrounds, and an HTS4B for our subwoofer.

Each room we placed the system in had unique acoustic challenges. Using the GACT measurement system by Genelec, we were able to determine the needed correction for each speaker's  Room Response Controls to achieve a linear response in the room. This ability allows each speaker system to become as linear as possible in your client's installation.

In our experience over the six installations we did, the Genelec system sounded identical. It was dynamic, real, punchy and linear. Despite the unique difference of each location the Room Response Correction system allowed the speaker system to be heard as intended by the performance being played. These unique speakers are very capable. They are forgiving to their environment. In their performance, they are unparalleled.

Read the entire story here.

Coming later this year from AMX - The AMX Clear Connect™ Wireless Gateway system allows installers to add light control to virtually any location, without pulling wires. The solution will enable AMX control systems to wirelessly and seamlessly integrate with Lutron's Clear Connect™ Dimmers, Switches, Occupancy/Vacancy Sensors and Keypads. Installers now have a simple and cost-effective path to offer building owners a smart room automation solution that includes light and AV control from a single interface, occupancy sensing, scheduled shutdown and energy management. The Clear Connect™ Enabled devices work with almost any type of lighting and easily integrate with a building's existing electrical infrastructure. The Clear Connect Gateway provides a web interface for simplified integration, configuration, and programming of Clear Connect devices.

Ideal for new, retrofit, and remodel applications looking for the least costly way to add light and A/V control to a room. Use the Clear Connect Gateway with Lutron's Clear Connect Dimmers, Switches, Keypads, and/or Occupancy/Vacancy Sensors.

FEATURES 

• Clear Connect™ Enabled - Lutron's patented RF Technology uses a quiet band, essentially free of interference to ensure communication between system devices is reliability delivered
• Wireless Control - Wall-mounted keypad replaces existing switches with no new wiring-perfect for retrofit applications
• Create Light & Control Events with Room Occupancy - Add the wireless occupancy sensor to any room with NetLinx and program events to power-up and shut-down the lights and AV equipment to maximize energy conservation
• Simple Web Configuration - Browse to the gateway device URL and quickly add Clear Connect Enabled Switches, Dimmers, Keypads and Occupancy/Vacancy Sensors
• Automatic Shutdown - Program the system to automatically turn off lights when they're not needed

 How it fits into your client jobs:

• Perfect Way to Add Light Control - Easily integrates with existing electrical infrastructures - simply replace the light switch
• Reliable Light control - Lutron's patented Clear Connect RF Technology ensures ultra-reliable wireless communication between components
• Simplified AMX Integration - Use an intuitive web browser, to add devices, create scenes, and program the system with no installed software tools

Attend the AMX training on August 10th and obtain valuable information on all new AMX product introductions from InfoComm.  

The GX50 is the latest bookshelf speaker from Monitor Audio. The sculpted low-diffraction cabinet of the diminutive GX50 houses a single 5.5" RST bass driver and C-CAM ribbon transducer. The bass driver exhibits the low frequency extension and power handling of a much larger driver while the excellent C-CAM ribbon soars beyond conventional domed tweeters to a stratospheric 60kHz. Consequently the GX50 combines the frequency range of the finest studio monitors with dynamics that defy its modest dimensions. Optional, dedicated floor stands are available for the GX50 which can be filled to provide the ultimate foundation for the best possible sound quality.

• New C-CAM® ribbon transducer design - providing extension to a class leading 60KHz
• HiVe® port technology for better transient response and tighter bass
• Single bolt through driver fixings for improved bracing, rigidity and driver/baffle de-coupling
• Die-cast alloy terminal panel arrangement with high quality bi-wire terminals and high end spade type link cables
• Pureflow® Silver internal cabling
• Selected premium quality wood veneers or high gloss piano finishes.
• Rigid 20mm MDF construction throughout, employing radial and cross-bracing techniques for high rigidity resulting in low cabinet colouration
• Invisible magnetic grille fixing provides clean visual styling when used with the grille off

The MEN220 is a different breed of device to correct the room without affecting the performance or signature of the chosen loudspeaker. The new MEN220 Room Correction System by McIntosh delivers a potent suite of Room Correction, Custom-EQ and 2-Way Crossover capabilities in one easy-to-use stereo component. While any single feature of the MEN220 has the power to optimize the sonic characteristics of the highest quality audio systems, combining the features can reveal a level clarity and resolution unattainable by any other means.

Styled in the rich tradition of McIntosh audio components the MEN220 features McIntosh's  trademark Fiber-Optic Illuminated Black Glass Front panel and aluminum casework. Front panel buttons and control knobs bring a familiar, easy-to-use analog interface to this digital product just as a 2-line vacuum fluorescent display reports status and aids in set-up of the MEN220.

Full system control and PC link are provided via RS232 while McIntosh Data, Power Control and IR inputs offer additional remote control flexibility. Both single-ended and balanced connections are supported; a hand-held, IR remote control is included.

ROOM CORRECTION
The effect of room acoustics on the quality of music playback is well known to music aficionados, and it is not uncommon to see peaks and dips between +10 to -20 dB in the frequency response. The mechanism by which this occurs is as complex as the range of listening rooms and audio components are variable; no two situations are alike. The MEN220 harnesses the power of RoomPerfectTM* software, an advanced room correction algorithm that automatically creates a digital model of your listening room, called RoomKnowledge. By using data gathered from multiple locations in the room, the MEN220 corrects frequency response anomalies - revealing, perhaps for the first time, the full capabilities of your fine audio system.

EQ
A 6-Band Parametric EQ Application (that runs on any Windows PC) allows the creation of specialized Voicing Curves to suit the tastes of the user, or to solve specific issues such as refreshing inferior but still-cherished source material, or compensating for inferior formats.

"SMART" CROSSOVER
MEN220 contains a sophisticated, phase coherent 2-way electronic crossover that allows for true loudspeaker bi-amping or seamless integration of mono or stereo subwoofers. 

ACCESSORIES INCLUDED
The MEN220 ships with a precision calibrated microphone: a vibration-isolated,
tripod mic stand; and a 25 foot balanced mic cable.  

Education is the key to growth. Here are a classes for you to consider:

• Designing Media Walls: Imagery, video, and information on digital canvases
• BitWise Controls Tutorial Videos 
• OmniMount Training Videos
• iPort CM-IW200 walk through