Electronics for music, TV, home control
C
By Paul Weideman
onstellation Home Electronics is deep into the latest compact, wireless systems available to control lighting, heating, cooling and security systems in the home. But the company’s showroom on Guadalupe Street also is a destination for all lovers of film, television and music. When you enter the shop, you’re going to be dazzled by the clarity of the pictures on numerous flat-panel TVs. And check out the gorgeous 802 Diamond speakers by Bowers & Wilkins. At about $15,000, they’re pretty near the top of the field, but Constellation offers a great selection of moderately priced speakers as well. “There still is a vibrant industry of high-end two-speaker connoisseurs,” said company president Jason Suttle. “It’s a hobby, and others just want a stereo. You’d be surprised how many people come in and spend $300 or so for a pair of speakers and a Sonos [wireless hi-fi] device.” In one corner of the showroom, fans of vinyl will be rewarded with a splendid selection of LPs courtesy of Dick Rosemont, about whom Suttle said, “I’ve never met anybody who knows as much about music and the history of music.” For 33 1/3 years, Rosemont owned the record store Flat, Black & Circular in East Lansing, Michigan. He is now a Santa Fe resident who keeps Constellation stocked with hundreds of 12-inch licorice gems. (This writer couldn’t resist a couple of 1960s jazz discs by Herbie Mann and Ornette Coleman.) A fancier annex of the showroom is the home-theater model featuring the new, ultra-high-resolution Sony 4K projector. “If you wanted to do a luxury dedicated media room like this with a 7.1-channel Bowers & Wilkins surround-sound speaker package, the five subwoofers, the 4K projector and the motorized screen, you’re into six figures,” Suttle said. “But you can have a wonderful home theater for $10,000 or so.” Constellation does equal parts basic service and system upgrades, such as the flat-panel televisions, wiring for high definition and wiring for networking. “The custom electronics guys, entertainment systems providers, have been around for decades, but now the role is morphing from entertainment into computer networking. In order to do what we do and make it work well, the client needs a robust and reliable home network. “We’ve always had a strong service/install component that’s based around retrofit wiring,” he said. “I had a lot of experience in that as an installer more than 20 years ago in Austin. When I came to Santa Fe it became more challenging, because of a lot of solid walls — not just adobe but ICF [insulated concrete forms] — and the lack of attic and basement spaces, but it can be done. Yes, it requires patching and painting in many cases, but in the end you can’t tell the wall was touched.” Suttle said Constellation’s networks offer uninterrupted streaming video even if you’re walking through the house. Again, this technology is a bit more challenging in the
The showroom at Constellation Home Electronics
Right, a Crestron-equipped iPad permits the homeowner to control electric window shades and other automatic functions in the home
“Santa Fe Style” house because of the thick, solid walls and the metal lath used in wall plastering. Half of the company’s business is pushing the tech envelope with things such as motorized window treatments, energy management and control, centralized dimming and lighting control, and property-monitoring technology. Internet control is a necessary element of such systems. It allows the homeowner, from anywhere in the world, to open and close doors for people, to arm and disarm the security system, and to turn on climate controls to prepare the house for the owner’s arrival. Temperature sensors around the house, tied into a hightech thermostat, permit fine control of the environment, and energy management. The owner equipped with an iPad with Crestron software has the house controls in hand. “Efficient control of your lighting, heating and cooling is now expected in high-end properties,” Suttle said. “There can be more than a hundred light circuits in even a medium-size home and when you’re going to retire you
have to make this tour to turn things off. With a system like this, you can press a ‘Good Night’ button at your bedside and it turns the lights and TV or speakers off, maybe lowers the blinds, and sets the security system for nighttime mode. “When you’re leaving, you set the control to the ‘away’ state and it shuts down unnecessary things, lowers the heating and cooling requirement, and programs the lights to mimic the way you typically use the lights, randomizing your use over a few weeks.” “Today people are getting closer to wanting to watch television, check their e-mail, do Facebook, research a recipe, and shop on Amazon, all from their couch and using one device. Productivity and entertainment are blurring.” The Constellation Home Electronics design showroom is located at 215 N. Guadalupe Street; the company’s service building is right across the street. The website is www. constellationsantafe.com, or call 983-9988.
H OME
Ma r c h 2 0 1 3
17