IN THEORY!

Our Install Pioneer Series returns as EI talks with AV industry veteran Marc Bertrand, who has been involved with brands such as Tannoy, helped shape a major distribution company and has recently been appointed COO for Pro Audio Technology and Theory Audio Design.

Tell us about your time at Tannoy (1994-2008)

Tannoy is where I cut my teeth, it was fun to be involved with a transformation of that magnitude in the Americas. Vegas was a significant milestone for me. First, we secured the audio at the Hard Rock, and then the biggest turning point was winning over the Bellagio, Venetian, and Paris resorts and casinos when they were built. From our success with those projects, we secured the Wynn properties (and several more following).

With Tannoy, I was lucky enough to be part of a team that moulded, shaped, and built a very special brand, so I look back at my time there very fondly.

TC Group Americas was formed a few years after Tannoy was purchased by TC Group A/S out of Denmark. The TC Group of companies was comprised of TC Electronic, TC Helicon, TC Applied Technologies, Tannoy, Lab Gruppen and was the global distributor for Dynaudio Professional products at the time.

You could think of TC Group Americas as the wholly-owned master distributor of all brands for the Americas. The key was the market segment approach, we broke out our teams into commercial, residential and musical instruments (MI) segments. Very strong performance resulted from that strategy.

Theory is truly different. Don’t let the style and elegance fool you, Theory products have professional grade, high performance transducers under the hood as well as serious amplification and DSP. They also benefit from mechanical and industrial design that are second to none, along with well thought out and extremely practical accessories.

With Theory, we have the solutions and an equally well-defined roadmap; the exciting part now (especially for me!) is having a sharp focus on building the partner relationships globally in addition to an organisation that is as strong or stronger than the products themselves. Theory makes a simple promise: to deliver the best performance available in any product category we enter. A bold claim, and we stand behind it.

Pro Audio Technology (or PRO as we call it for short) takes performance to the next level with a product range developed specifically for high-end private cinemas and we are a very strong and well-respected player in that space. What excites me about PRO is we are seeing major potential for the brand in high-end commercial spaces. The more industry folks that are being exposed to it, the more have noted they could use the brand in those types of applications.

Both the UK and Europe are extremely important and key geographic markets. I have a particular affinity for both and have very high expectations for our performance in each market. It is and will be a big focus for us. Stay tuned!

For those who are not aware of or haven’t used the PRO and Theory, what are the main things dealers should be aware of?

Both brands offer performance that is second to none. I challenge anyone to prove me otherwise. What you get with PRO and Theory is a level of sonic clarity, nuance and detail from background to foreground audio at ANY SPL.

The elegant simplicity of the Theory product range is also a breath of fresh air. Theory packs a wide, versatile application range into very few models, which is very attractive for CI and commercial integrators and consultants.

PRO is intended to be installed in high-end private cinemas primarily behind acoustically transparent fabric and projection screens. So, the focus is on performance and installability. Also, PRO speakers do not break. That’s right, I said they do not break. The amps will clip long before the drivers or any of the speaker components will.

Both brands are very strong across the board. We don’t introduce new models just to introduce new models. They are all purpose and application driven. However, for fun if you are asking me to call out a strong model from each brand, I would say the Theory sb25 and the PRO SR-28212ai.

The residential AV and smart home markets did very well throughout the pandemic because more people invested in their homes and ways to enjoy the various spaces they live in. Most would argue that as the world opened up, spending (or at least the number of transactions) reduced in these areas as people shifted their disposable income to travel and entertainment experiences outside of the home.

However, our experience is the integrators that get it right regardless of the economy, continued to be successful. These are the integrators that have strong relationships with their clientele and builders, architects and designers. There is still plenty of disposable income to be spent out there, people just want to work with people they have positive experiences with. If you’re a good and reliable partner, person and company to do business with, chances are your business will thrive.

In terms of what the industry could do better (beyond being a good partner)? Stop selling gear. It’s not about the gear. It’s about an improved experience. Technology is supposed to improve our lives and life experiences, not complicate things and get in the way. With smart home technology that means reducing the number of disparate apps end users are forced to use and integrating a seamless system with the technology, interactions and commands that matter to each client (and each person within the client’s household – because it’s very unlikely it’s the same for a teenager than it is for grandma).

To be successful at selling audio, we say stop talking about the gear and focus on why the client wants a system in the first place. Maybe it’s to have distributed audio throughout the house so that by a simple command an end user can listen to their favourite music in any room. For others it’s wanting to feel immersed in movies or a favourite sport. Finding out what the client wants, rather than trying to sell them gear will win them over every time.

If you have the opportunity to provide a high-quality demo that replicates that desired experience – do it. For us, bringing clients to the PRO and Theory Experience Centre sells a system - every single time. Once the client signs the dotted line, it’s now your job to make the gear disappear.

The residential integrators that are most successful know not to focus on selling gear. They are selling an experience. They are selling a feeling. They are selling thrill.

If someone has never watched a game of ice hockey, why should they start now?

I’m very biased on this question, because it’s the best sport on the planet (in my opinion of course!) very fast, very tough, very fun to watch.

You are a keen golfer, do you a favourite player or course?

Playing golf with my two boys – well, men now. They’re my two favourite golfers, and you can’t just choose one course, there’s too many great ones! A personal favourite of mine is Kingsbarns near St. Andrews, Scotland. There was an epic Tannoy/Lab golf event there that was Ryder Cup style. Your readers will be ecstatic to learn the Europeans took that crown.

What is the best thing about being involved in the AV and smart home market?

Being back in this space is like coming home. There’s a huge sense of community, even amongst competitors. It’s a place where interesting and cool technologies keep spurring us all on to be more innovative and adaptive to the market needs and evolving technology trends. Plain and simple, the best thing about this industry is its good fun.