Josh's Picks
Josh's favorite list of favorite stuff that's cool.
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Josh. Ace installer. Master programmer. Man of action and mystery.
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The RTI T3V+ Remote Control System Being a programmer, it should come as no surprise that Josh's first choice is a remote control system! |
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The concept of service
Had an awesome chat with Josh today... we've concluded that there is tremendous disparity in what one installer deems acceptable from another, and rather than point fingers, we felt it would be more appropriate to touch on some of the finer points of our own installations. For the customer, it's easy to get confused into thinking that install is install, and NOTHING could be further from the truth!
Attention to detail is one of the criteria that separates us from our competition. Recently, Josh was called upon to exchange an old surround receiver and dvd player (sold and installed by another local company) with a newer receiver and blu-ray player from us. Previous to our arrival, the customer expressed concern that the system would be difficult to use (as the previous system was 'impossible'), and refused to even consider looking behind the shelves that the gear sat on, as it was a tangled monstrosity making even just checking a connection a mystery wrapped in an enigma. When Josh explained that he wished to rewire the system and apply proper cable management, there was apprehension on behalf of the customer, who seemed convinced that the last firm had already done that - and look where that got him!
Grabbing the bull by the horns, Josh began to work his miracles, and an hour later was calibrating. Only after the system was being demonstrated to him did the customer realize that Josh was done with his cleanup, as the horrific, garbled mess was gone entirely! To the customer's amazement, Josh went on to show him how easy it was to change a connection, or even check to make sure that everything was where it's supposed to be (for those rare instances when the cable company comes to swap out yet another cable box, for example).
The end result was that the customer finally has a system that looks as good as it sounds, and wasn't any more expensive for labor than the previous (shoddy) work had been!
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Sonos Gear and Niles SI-1230 amplification
Josh digs him some Sonos! Uses it all over the place. Few things in life are quite as easy to use as a properly set up Sonos system, and in conjuction with Josh's pro network skills and a handful of slick tricks he can get even a total digital music novice listening to tunes in impossible places. A standby in our installation arsenal is to pre-wire and install a half-dozen zones of in-wall or in-ceiling speakers, the same number of Sonos Connect units and a Niles 12 channel amplifier and suddenly there's awesome sound - for everyone - throughout the house! Each zone can listen to different things (reggae from an FM radio station in Jamaica in the kitchen, Bach streaming from the music library on the computer in the den, Lady Gaga poolside), all controllable from your Droid, iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad. Josh feels that the Sonos Controller is oft overlooked in favor of these devices, but a big advantage it's got over them is that it works within the Sonos mesh network rather than the house wifi system, so it can have greater range in many cases because of the layout of the Sonos system. |
