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Make the Best Motorized Shading Decisions for Your Home

Hand cranks were the standard for operating car windows until we upgraded to automatic buttons. We used to wash dishes by hand until the time-and-water-saving dishwasher was invented. Would you go back to cranks and hand washing now? Probably not. And after you experience powered window treatments, you won’t want to go back to manual blinds and shades either.

If you’re considering making the upgrade to motorized shades, this blog can serve as a quick guide to help you make the best decisions for your home. Our motorized shading experts have answered the most common questions about this smart home solution below. Keep reading to learn more!

Bring Out All the Emotion and Nuance in Music with McIntosh Amplifiers

This is the third of a series of blogs on one of our favorite solutions, high-end audio. In the first two, we’ve gone from discussing the endpoint – the speakers that create the sound – to the sources, like streaming, vinyl, and CDs. In this final installment, we’re going to go into the middle – the amplifier, the piece of equipment that creates the current to drive the speaker.

Power amplifiers are what make speakers come alive. Speakers are not all the same, and some amplifiers make far better partners for some speakers than others. Some speakers are relatively efficient, requiring smaller amounts of current to achieve high sound levels and clarity, and some only sound their best with copious quantities of undistorted power. 

One of our favorite amplifier brands is McIntosh. The company’s amplifiers are legendary, having powered the famous Woodstock concert of the late 1960s. Their build quality and longevity let them be passed down from one generation to the next, like a classic vintage automobile. Let’s dive a little deeper into McIntosh amplifiers and how they can amp up the sound system in your listening room.

There’s No Need to Choose Between Spinning and Streaming

At a very basic level, a sound system comprises three parts: speakers, sources, and amplification. Our last blog focused on speakers and why we love 2-channel for music enjoyment at home. We also recommended our favorite high-end audio brands! In this blog, we’re getting into the music itself.

Whether you love the tactile experience of vinyl or the convenience of internet streaming, you can enjoy both music formats and many more through your high-performance speakers. All you need are the right components. Below, explore four popular music sources you can connect to your system for versatile music listening at home in Bountiful and the greater Utah area.

Plus, Explore Some of Our Favorite High-End Audio Brands

Thanks to the internet, we need never be without music. Millions of songs live in our pockets, waiting to be played. In fact, music enthusiasts today might hail the internet for making quality music so easy to access, especially as more streaming services offer lossless high-fidelity audio formats.

Even so, no musical experience compares to that of a live concert. Whether you’re head-banging to the Foo Fighters or being serenaded by the Utah Symphony, live music truly immerses you in the moment. It elicits an emotional response that you can’t get from listening to music through a phone or earbuds.

If you crave the concert experience but enjoy the accessibility of music, then consider a 2-channel home sound system. Keep reading to learn what sets 2-channel audio apart and explore a few of our most cherished audio brands.

Using Smart Lighting to Enhance Every Activity at Home

This post is the final chapter of this month’s blog series on lighting control and automation. So far, we’ve covered system choices in automated lighting and the many versatile (and fun) ways to control your lights. In this post, we’ll take lighting automation to the next level – how to customize your lighting to enhance just about everything you do at home.  

A good lighting control system is much more than turning lights on and off with a smartphone or voice control. While all that's convenient, it's when your lights can set just the right scene for what you want to do that you start leveraging the power of home lighting automation. And beyond the light, it’s how your lighting works with the rest of your smart home to keep you comfortable and safe.

Ready to learn more? Let Show & Tell AV, your local Control4 dealer and home technology expert in Salt Lake City, be your guide to the benefits of smart lighting control.