Lights, music, action—there’s magic to entertaining, whether it is your own family or a long guest list, and enjoyable times depend on the proper functioning of the home. Like so many things, the perfect backdrop of a home is never noticed as long as things function correctly. Lighting, heating, cooling, blinds, security, audio, television, home theater, power back up, and snowmelt are all part of the long list of things we rely upon operating perfectly as we enjoy our homes.
The man behind the successful performance of many of the Valley’s finest homes is Jess Goitiandia, owner of Audio Innovations in Hailey, who flies under the radar since most of his clients want anonymity. According to Jess, they rely on client recommendations for referrals to them. “When combining these personal references at the beginning of the project with a qualified talented team, things seem to work out best for new clients or contractors. It’s an important decision for the homeowner because the relationship with the selected integrator extends for years to come, as he will be servicing the homeowners’ changing needs,” Jess pointed out, and added that clients have the best results if they start early at the design stage and allow time in the schedule for the integrator to coordinate the installation, and program and debug the system prior to move-in. “When you move in, you want to turn on the football game and have everything work, not struggle with operation.” “We have a new breed of client where technology is a way of life,” observed Jess. “We take complete responsibility in our design and installation to deliver the client the technology they desire. Many are second homes, and they want to remotely monitor who is in their home or driving their cars. When it is time to come home to the house, they want to adjust temperatures, turn on lights and be certain all the systems work. This can be done over a laptop, phone or iPad.” He commented that as we want more and more a world of convenience, we will also want ease of control over the changing technology. Advantages of Detailed Schematics Once the homeowner has decided upon the technology they want in the home and the type of controls for interfacing the technology, they approve a budget and Audio Innovations begins to design the system. The outputs of the design process are highly detailed schematic sheets. These diagrams are designed systematically, and range from phone/Skype systems to fiber optic feeds to remote locations, lights, cameras, drapes, audio/visual, pool temperatures, heat and AC. All these systems are controlled from a phone, whether the homeowner is away or in the home office. All aspects of equipment and installation are drawn in exacting detail. One important feature to the system design process is incorporating access to the control panel over the Internet. That way Audio Innovations can access systems at any time through a secure password, allowing system checkout or modifications remotely. For homeowners, detailed plans and remote access mean quick service and repairs. “Nine times out of ten, we can fix a service request over the Internet immediately when the client notifies us of the problem. In most cases, we notify them prior to their even knowing of a problem. The other cases are equipment failures that can be as simple as a burned out light bulb. These issues can be diagnosed through the control panel and the readily available system schematics, so that when we make the service call, we are well prepared with parts and replacements,” explained Jess. Also, to lessen the chances that it is an equipment failure, Audio Innovations carry only the very best products. “Reliability results from quality components.” Schematics may not be something clients consider at the project’s onset, but they are especially key to homes in remote locations. “We have one Client who travels to his property by air because it is so far from main roads. Consequently, our ability to run diagnostics and make repairs from our ofice without delays from travel was a key consideration,” recounted Jess. In all their systems, Audio Innovations includes a reboot feature. Either the homeowner or Audio Innovations can reboot the system if needed. “These systems are not that different from your home computer, where rebooting can solve the majority of problems,” Jess explained, noting the importance. lts the nature of technology to move forward, and technological innovations move at lightening speed these days. The detailed schematics drawn by Audio Innovations make replacements, additions and expansions a simple task. “We may get a call five or ten years later to upgrade a system, and it may not even be from the same homeowner. Because of the detailed documentation, we know exactly what we installed and how. Upgrades are not a big deal, and a smooth upgrade is something people really appreciate.” Breadth Of Projects When asked if there is a project too large or too small for Audio Innovations to undertake with its detailed precision, Jess Goitiandia indicated that he enjoys the full spectrum of challenges. “We are proud of each and every project we do, since each one is as individual as the person we are creating it for. If I had to pick a favorite project, it would be a tossup between three: one strictly sound; another designed to do it all; and a third designed for strict green specifications.” The first was a fabulous McIntosh audio system featured in a past issue of Western Home Journal with a 5.4 Surround-Sound system with over 15-thousand watts of power, and room treatments as well as building treatments. “We installed fiber optic between a dedicated music raid server and computer two-stories down to “The second home is in Palm Springs,” Jess continued. “It has a Crestron automated system, 16 zones of whole-house audio with the ability to hear the piano piped throughout, and I-pod and Internet radio interfaces. The amazing home theater had stadium seating for 20, motorized drapes, and automated lights and projector. In fact, all the drapes were motorized, and the heating and AC were automated for efficiency, as were the pool controls. We installed a whole- house lighting system and a phone system with integrated cameras with a touch panel for monitoring the gate so the homeowner could see who was there and open the door. The game room featured some fun computerized race-car games that linked together,” recalled Jess. The third recent favorite is on a Caribbean island. “It is designed as a green, earth friendly home intended to save energy, kept simple by automation, and allow operation during long power outages. The house has natural breezeways for cooling limiting the amount of AC units required, and LED lighting reduces the heat given off by standard incandescent light bulbs and saves energy. A Crestron controller for lighting limited the number of switches and wall clutter. Automation extends to bug screens, security, cameras, pool, pump controls for fountains and lights, cistern pumps for filling the pool from natural rainwater, chlorination systems, and audio-visual systems. Our system schematics, structure design, and running conduits to specified locations were key in allowed for future-proofing the home. This allows us to be able to provide any new widget the future has in store for us and know where it needs to be connected without relying on memory, which allows for mistakes.” For comprehensive design, detailed schematics, future proofing, installation, remote access, reliable quality product selections, and a full spectrum of services including traveling to remote locations, call Audio Innovations. They welcome any challenge, entry level to high-end.
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the McIntosh Digital and analog converter in the system. The sound quality is impeccable. It is as if you were in a professional recording studio!”