Symetrix Scene E-zine Dec 2022

Are you a fan of Symetrix products with a project that would make for an interesting case study? Do you have an idea for an article or industry related news story? We look forward to working with you on an article or news story in our magazine.

Email Vin Keane vkeane@symetrix.co to learn more.

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Michael Austin, storyteller, Symetrix rep, and dog lover.

Michael Austin, Music, and Stories from AV

One of the best things about this industry is the cool people you meet. And while it’s true that everyone has a story, well, let’s just say that some people have stories that are a bit more interesting than others. I was lucky enough to spend some time with Native Media’s Michael Austin while in Texas recently and to hear first-hand some of his effervescent stories. A lot of them were off the record <wink>, but a few made it here into the Symetrix Scene for our enjoyment.

Austin’s history is interesting, and though he claims he was stolen by gypsies and sold into the audio business, the true tale is slightly less exotic. If you’ve ever traveled with him, you quickly learn that he seems to know everyone, which is saying something in a state that’s as big as Texas. (It’s a whole other country). He is constantly running into people he knows – friends, neighbors, relatives. He’s from a little town in deep East Texas called Lufkin, where his professional story begins on a Sunday evening in a church choir.

“I was in the youth choir and I couldn’t, and can’t, carry a note.

I saw that the guys who were actually in charge were the sound guys. I was 13 or 14 when that happened. I got my first paying job in the audio industry when I was 15 or 16 and been doing it ever since,” Austin recalls.

Interestingly enough, when it came time to choose a formal education, Austin got his

bachelor’s degree in Finance, although he’s never worked a day in that industry. He muses, “I just couldn’t see myself sitting in a bank every day handing out loans. I had a beard and they told me I had to shave it and I said ‘Gahhhhh!’ My friend called me and said, ‘You should come over here and work with me. Cold calling financial institutions for jumbo blocks of mortgages.’ I said ‘Nahhh. I’m not a salesman. I want to solve problems and fix things.’ A week after graduating college I was on the road as house engineer for Michael Martin Murphey. The owners of that company parted ways. The two remaining owners put me in charge of the company. We sold off the touring stuff and kept the rental equipment and turned it around in six months. They were great business people.”

At that point in his career, Austin starting developing relationships with some strong reps, which would turn out to be his own professional path, eventually founding his own firm Native Media. He explains, “The reps that called on me were my lifeline. They fixed problems and helped me. I wanted to be one of those guys. I started interviewing for rep positions. Finally, I was going to Jamaica with a bunch of friends and got offered a job. I thought about it and when I got back I said, ‘OK, I’ll do it.’ That was August of ’85. I’ve been repping in this territory ever since.”

A long-time fan of Symetrix, Austin started repping the brand in the 90’s, before digital products, before DSP. The product line at that time was mostly production and broadcast equipment. Austin recalls, “I had met Dane (Symetrix’s founder) earlier, in the late 80’s, at a contractor show in New Orleans. One of my factory guys and I were sitting by the river having a grand old time. We introduced ourselves and he ended up joining us. I’ve known him ever since then. It’s a great product line and it always has been.”

Austin continues, “The company has always punched

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by Rachelle Graham

above its weight. Symetrix always made great products. No matter what part of the market, they’re always fighting it out with the big guys. I love being the premium brand. I like companies that have good stories. I don’t consider myself a salesman. It’s more about the story. I weave that into everything. The Symetrix product is great. I want to be ‘The Guy’ for my dealers. You can’t be that without good product. You can’t fix the problem with bad product. You want to say, ‘try this,’ and then they come back and say, ‘wow that was awesome!’ ”

“The (Symetrix) stuff always sounds great. That’s a pet peeve of mine now with a lot of the equipment around. It does all this stuff. But how does it sound? If people use Symetrix once, they generally come back. Symetrix has always delivered that for me.”

Cool and laid-back, Austin looks like he could be a musician. Longish hair, day-old beard and eyes that have seen a few things. Like many people in the industry, he has a deep connection to music. “I love music. I couldn’t sing, but I could tell you what sounded good and I could make you sound good. My mom played piano. She made

me take piano lessons and after three lessons, the piano teacher called her and said, ‘Save your money!’ But I love music.”

Austin definitely has some classic musical favorites. His favorite album is Sinatra’s Greatest Hits and he is smitten with La Vie En Rose, the Louie Armstrong version. Favorite band? The Eagles. And his favorite song of all time is Sister Golden Hair by America. “Some of the live versions, they

Michael Austin, President and CEO of Native Media, LLC

“I love music. I couldn’t sing, but I could tell you what sounded good and I could make you sound good.”

Mark Graham and Michael Austin enjoy cigars in the great state of Texas.

speed it up and break out a 12 string. Inspired by George Harrison’s, one of the chords in ‘My Sweet Lord,’” he explains.

When it comes to his favorite projects, Austin hesitates. “I don’t always get to see things through to completion. My favorite is the one that works well. There have been so many of them. Probably my favorite is one I can’t discuss to this day due to signing an NDA. But the State of Texas project was kind of a favorite, because I’m a Texas kid. My Great, Great Grandfather is buried in the Texas State Cemetery.”

Austin enthuses, “The guys at Fulcrum use Symetrix to create all their filters and everything. A high-end brand saying, ‘When I plug in a value, it’s there.’ One of my

other favorites is Mi Cocina, the one in Highland Park in Dallas. Danny (Salinas of AlleyCat AV) was going to use a Jupiter. Then realized that it wasn’t going to do all he wanted to do. Moved him to Prisms. Won an award.” (MONDO-DR Award for Best Bar & Restaurant, 2020, the Americas. Click here to read this case study.). “I turned Danny onto the product line. He’s a big Symetrix fan. Symetrix was my mom’s favorite line. She said, ‘They took a chance on you, you’ve got to do good for them.’ ”

After spending time with Austin and meeting some of his friends, you wonder what is the key to his success and why do so many people love the guy? Austin laughs, “I honestly hate talking about myself. I’m a very lucky and fortunate person. I’ve got great factories that I get to represent. I’ve got a buddy who’s a guitarist in a country band who has sold 25 million albums. We were going to lunch one day and I was talking about another buddy who’s an artist and he said, ‘you collect cool friends.’ Maybe so. But, I’m a dog person which is all you really need to know about me.”

Award-winning Mi Cocina restaurant in Dallas, Texas. Click here to read this case study.

Ayia Napa Marina Event Centre, Cyprus.

Stelios Petrides MegaSound Director

Symetrix for us builds the ultimate control system.”

“

Symetrix Control Solutions Elevate Events in Ayia Napa

by James Ling

Ayia Napa is known the world over as Cyprus’ main party hotspot, but as its recently opened marina demonstrates, there is much more to the town than its nightclubs. Situated on the island’s south-eastern coast, Ayia Napa Marina has been created to be a luxury destination with beachfront villas, fine dining, high-end shopping, and world-class yachting facilities. A focal point of this new development is an elliptical and conical glass building that houses the Event Centre, a one-of-a-kind architectural marvel designed for open-air and indoor events. Its eye-catching exterior vertical sunshades create a layered and visually elaborate experience during the day and transform the building into a glowing icon at night. This state-of-the-art venue utilizes the latest technology throughout to ensure the ultimate event experience, making Symetrix the obvious choice for its AV control.

Ayia Napa Marina was the dream and vision of the project’s partners – Cypriot Gerasimos Caramondanis and Egyptian investor Naguib Sawiris. The aim for the Ayia Napa Marina Event Centre was to create a flexible events space for up to 500 guests with an indoor hall that could be used in multiple different configurations, while the outdoor plaza required a stage that could support relaxed and refined events into the evening.

Following a competitive tender process, the responsibility for creating the AV infrastructure at the Event Centre fell to AV integrator and Symetrix’s exclusive distributor for Cyprus, MegaSound.

“A major part of winning the tender was our experience in the field for such complicated projects and of course the high-quality systems and after-sales support we offer,” explained, Stelios Petrides, MegaSound Director. “The client’s request for the Event Centre was very clear. They needed a system that could host live concerts, DJ events, large and small conferences, exhibitions, and weddings.”

For MegaSound, the obvious answer for controlling a solution that could handle this variety of uses was a Symetrix Prism 12x12 DSP with 12 analog inputs and 12 outputs combined with ARC-3 wall control panels and a T-5 Glass 5-inch touchscreen for intuitive front-end control. “Symetrix for us builds the ultimate control system,” said Stelios. “They offer user-friendly control, the robust build-quality provides insurance to the client, and they have unparalleled technical support in case something does go wrong. The Symetrix equipment has the main role of delivering the building’s audio control depending on the daily event. The AV system has been programmed in

such a way that gives the Event Centre’s managers simple, intuitive control, and the panels can be used to select the different configuration scenarios for the system.”

While the Prism 12x12 was selected primarily as control for the audio system, it actually plays a much broader and more critical role at the Ayia Napa Marina Event Centre. “The Prism 12x12 is utilized not only as a DSP controller but also as the backbone for audio, video, and lighting control,” said Stelios. “There were complex requirements for the project, such as advanced routing from several floor boxes and wall inputs that needed to route to two main audio systems based on each event setup. We knew that we could trust Symetrix for this due to the flexibility of the Composer ® site design software. This allowed us to create a custom program for complex routing, equalization, and balancing that could handle everything in the room. The hall can be set up in several configurations and the Prism 12x12 with Dante-enabled I/O expanders was the perfect choice, providing a future-proof solution for further expansion of the system if the requirement arises.”

A great example of this flexibility-in-action is the way the Prism has been connected to various other systems at the venue.

“Besides acting as the main audio hub and DSP for the system, the Symetrix DSP has been connected on the IT network along with the NEC 4K projectors and is the interface for the Zero88 lighting control system,” said Stelios. “It is being utilized to send automated commands via Ethernet to various devices making it a seamless experience for the end user. With so much flexibility in the Prism 12x12, the only limit is the imagination of the programmer!”

While having a powerful system to control the AV was important, it also needed to be accessible and simple to use for the Event Centre staff. This was where the T-5 Glass provided the perfect solution. “We wanted to provide the end user with an extremely user-friendly graphical interface that removed all the issues people have with button keypads,” stated Stelios. “The T-5 Glass was the perfect choice as it discretely handles a lot of parameter changes in the program of the DSP with the simple tap of the touchscreen. Even better, this can be done without requiring the end user to have technical knowledge of what is happening behind the scenes. This means that the client can easily select a source, such as the Trantec wireless microphones, and then which of the two main RCF speaker systems they want to route the audio to.”

In addition to the audio solution, the T-5 Glass also provides an easy-to-use control interface for other parts of the AV setup, such as the lighting and projection. This means elements like the 196-inch and 236-inch motorized screens can be individually controlled from the touchscreen to meet the specific needs of the event taking place.

The end result is one that MegaSound believes more than meets the requirements of the technologically advanced venue.

“We are very happy and proud,” said Stelios. “It was a challenging project but when you receive the best possible comments, this can only mean one thing, it is a job well done!” This view is echoed by the client. “They are super excited, the end result was beyond their expectations,” Stelios said.

Having handled everything from the AV system design to its eventual installation, the MegaSound team can now celebrate the work they have done to create an important addition to Ayia Napa’s international appeal.

External links: MegaSound

Ayia Napa Marina Event Centre

Stelios Petrides

MegaSound Director

Interior of the Ayia Napa Marina Event Centre.

by Vin Keane

Newhouse

What have you been listening to lately?

My most recent music obsession is Saint Jhn, and Sofi Tukker for music. I have also been enjoying some motivational meditation and Ted Talks as well.

I know you have worked in a wide range of roles throughout your career can you tell me a bit about how you got started?

I went to talk to my BIL about his company and if they were hiring. (I thought he had a really cool office.) He said yes come in Monday morning and you can get started. I was so excited to start and see what my office would look like. I showed up Monday morning and asked him where my office was, and he walked me to the warehouse and handed me a broom. I have been in the industry for 30 years and still have never had that cool of an office... and I’m good with that. 

“

What have you seen change in the international pro AV market in the last 10 years? 20 Years?

I think the thing that stands out to me the most is seeing the APAC market mature and grow into not only a serious manufacturing hub but more importantly a consumer market as well. Customers everywhere are becoming more and more sophisticated. As this continues it will continue to drive the need for high quality great sounding DSP and control devices.

The great manufacturers will find ways to deliver exceptional cutting-edge products with the ability to improve the customer experience.”

Jim Newhouse Director for International Sales

What made you decide to start your own integration company?

Insanity

for the most part…

Since I had done all the jobs in an integration company from installer, designer, sales, etc. I thought how hard could it really be to just do it for myself. Although I don’t regret anything I did have to quickly learn how to create business processes and figure out corporate accounting and quarterly taxes, etc. Oh, and I had to convince my customers to hire me with a 75% deposit because they needed to fund my new business venture. It sounds crazy and impossible now, but it grew quickly, and I found myself doing projects from Chicago to Houston. After a few years I sold the company to a friend who was trying to grow his company from primarily video to be stronger in live audio for his big house of worship customers.

What does the future hold for those of us in the manufacturing realm in the years to come? What might be some challenges and strategies for integrations, consultants, distributors, etc?

In manufacturing we will continue to need to provide added value. Many manufacturers can provide a useable product. The great manufacturers will find ways to deliver exceptional cutting-edge products with the ability to improve the customer experience. That may be via training, support, or simply very accurate delivery information. We have had no choice but to be creative during the supply shortage. This exercise has made us smarter faster and stronger.

I see the value add as being the biggest thing in each of these areas. To win we will all need to supply our services better, faster and in a way that solved issues that our customer was not even aware they had. But they will be grateful.

Interviewed

chocolate and popcorn, singing along with all the songs and saying all important lines out loud with the actors (“Vermont must be beautiful this time of year...all that snow!”)

you in the warmth of family, peace, love and joy. May our hearts overflow in these treasures as we share them with everyone around us.

Graham Symetrix Owner & CEO

Mark