FEATURE: RESIDENTIAL TECHNOLOGY
Waterfall’s Victoria Evo can reproduce the entire frequency range without the help of a subwoofer
‘Budget is an issue, but
speaker price is largely irrelevant compared to project cost’ Babs Moore, Amina
Puma notes two distinct
markets for residential audio. “The bachelor client is trying to show off – to his friends, to girls, to his significant other and so on. He wants this stuff to be seen, so we use floor-standing systems, all the toys.” That changes when the bachelor succumbs. “Family clients want something easy to use for everybody. They want settable remotes, not touchscreens that young children can scratch and wreck. They always want the speakers hidden – and everything out of the reach of the kids.”
Although there are completely invisible speaker solutions, Puma’s personal preference is architectural speakers such as Paradigm. “We often specify ceiling
speakers – and being a design company we do appreciate and can answer the need for architecturally harmonious solutions.” An alternative approach is
to make the speakers a feature in themselves – which is the route chosen by Waterfall Audio, a French company specialising in glass speakers. “The market split, in our
experience, is not a simple matter of bachelor versus family,” says Waterfall’s export manager, Nadine Chaix-Dewell, “although we might recommend families with young children to go for ‘on wall’ speakers rather than traditional floorstanding units. However, because our speakers give excellent sonic performance, the typical buyer will be the luxury lifestyle enthusiast, who loves
THE WIDE RECEIVER’S CHOICE
Even more than top soccer- players, American footballers are larger-than-life figures – and naming a team the New York Giants is no misnomer. These sportsmen are also handsomely rewarded, so when they come to fit out their apartments they tend to want the biggest and best. Like many of his teammates, Amani Toomer, the former wide receiver for the Giants, asked The Source to fit out the TV room where he watches football and movies.
30 August 2012
This area is unashamedly ostentatious and masculine – Toomer calls it his ‘Man Cave’. Suitably massive, with a 109in screen, it has an audio system to match. “For this room, above all else, I wanted a surround- sound system that made me feel like I was right in the middle of the action,” he says. That’s something Toomer had never previously experienced with surround. “I‘ve always felt like I was almost there. I don’t want
almost. If I’m watching a game, I want to feel the attack.” Toomer went to Puma’s home to check out three different systems, plumping for a Paradigm speaker set- up paired with an Anthem MRX 700 receiver, with integral room correction (capable of handling seven speakers plus a sub) to fine tune the room.
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beautiful objects that he can be proud of and show to his friends. But in Waterfall's case, the ‘Women Acceptance Factor’ is at its best, as women have finally found an object they can be proud of showing. So the man can have his wonderful music with no aggravation with his partner!” Dewell also finds customers are rarely aware of the options available. “The education process starts right at the dealer or integrator’s door, and even upstream from them with the interior designer or architect, the ones who have the direct contact with the customer. And even when a customer knows exactly what he wants, it is sometimes not relevant to what he needs. “We, as manufacturers and
through our distributors, must make sure these
channels are educated. Their education is done through professional press, shows, training etc… but then we have to rely on these channels to pass on the message. We get some direct contact with the end users through press and shows, but it’s limited considering the number of potential customers.”
HEARD BUT NOT SEEN It’s exactly the same problem faced by Amina Technologies, which makes ‘plaster-over’ speakers – not traditional cone-shaped drivers, but based on the concept of reproducing sound from a vibrating surface, like a musical instrument’s soundboard. Designed for use in historic buildings (where speakers would look out of place) or in modern,
minimalist spaces to avoid compromising the architectural intention, the flatpanel speakers are installed into walls or ceilings before the final skim of plaster.
“Our challenge is that, despite our best efforts, most people are not even aware that invisible loudspeakers are an option,” explains Babs Moore, Amina’s sales director. “We try to promote through three routes. First, direct to the general public, through shows such as Home Building and Renovation, and with advertising and editorial in magazines, to help create a pull from the market. “Next, to create a push in the market, we encourage and support our installers by taking part in their local shows, providing demo
CASE STUDY
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