Home electronics continue to grow in quality and sophistication, and Audio Innovations has grown with the industry to ensure that local homeowners have the best products and services that are easy to operate.
By Ann Zimmerman
Just as home integration is growing in importance and its scope of home services, Audio Innovations in Hailey is similarly expanding to become a full-service provider of the most elite electronic products with local expert service. Fortunately for the people of the Wood River Valley, Audio Innovations takes particular pride in easy operation of electronic systems through careful integration and programming and a control that is operated with ease.
Jess Goitiandia opened the doors to Audio Innovations and its companion business, TJ Electric, in 1992. A native of Wood River Valley, Goitiandia had finished his university studies in robotics, and he was seeking a career within the region where he grew up that involved doing what he loved. “I have always had an interest in home electronics. I am in this business because I really love it,” he acknowledges. His business has grown and expanded, but he still focuses just on the Wood River Valley and relies on the assistance of his wife Terri to make it a family enterprise.
New Faces and New Services
This summer Audio Innovations opened a new showroom in Alturas Plaza in Hailey. There customers may appreciate some of the exclusive and premiere brands of audio equipment that Audio Innovations represents for home and autos like McIntosh, Pioneer, Panasonic, and JVC, and it is a place to buy hard-to-find cables and connectors. However, while audio and visual equipment were the starting point for Audio Innovations, now they are just one of many of the company’s products and services.
“There isn’t another aspect of our lifestyle that has changes as much as home electronics in the last 20 years,” observes Goitiandia. “This is especially true in the cutting-edge luxury homes here in the Wood River Valley.”
To stay on top of these changes, there are four new faces at Audio Innovations. “We recently added an electrical contractor’s license to our qualifications. Eric Jones, a master electrician, and Matt Robirds, a journeyman electrician, joined us, and we now wire our own jobs to our standards. It’s a logical extension to fully integrating a home’s operation,” he explains. “We also welcomed Eric Wingard, an IT specialist, and Jason Black, a schematics specialist.”
In contrast to the early days when Audio Innovations was called upon to install the home entertainment systems when a new home was being furnished, now the firm is on the job in the design stage. “Our designs are in place before framing. Electronics only look and work simply if they are well planned, designed, and integrated.”
When Goitiandia speaks of electronics, the realm of systems covered by this term has substantially broadened. “In addition to flat screen televisions, home audio, home theaters, and telephones, home electronics include lighting, controls for shades and draperies, network wiring, IT, and security in many forms.” As Goitiandia explains it, security is a generalized term for alarms, cameras, leak detection, back-up generators, and fire protection. “Also, our systems manage a home’s efficient performance like heating and cooling, snow melt, and sensors to drive efficiency. A smart home is essentially a carefully electronically-integrated home.”
One Umbrella
Since its founding in 1992, Audio Innovations has more services, more products, and its trademark innovation under one umbrella. “A good symbol for all we do is the iPad or single controller that a homeowner uses to monitor and operate the house. To make a system like this work, consider that Audio Innovations has designed it, wired it, installed the equipment, and programmed the device. We are here to program for any additions or changes to the system, and we come for service calls when needed.”
“What always intrigues me is innovating new systems,” Goitiandia admits. “I am always alert for new and better ways to do things and new products. An example is a reset button we have introduced for homeowners: it self-heals the system without having to call for service. I am really concerned about the damage leaks can cause, especially when the home is occupied part-time. We can integrate monitoring the roof in case it leaks. We also install the Water Cop, an automated water shut-off system with flood sensors and a turn-off on the main water line. With a broken pipe, hundreds of gallons of water can run over the home damaging floors, furnishings, and custom sheet rock within hours. Many insurance providers offer a discount to people with the Water Cop.”
Terri Goitiandia has been with Audio Innovations since early days. How does Terri sum up Audio Innovations? “It’s a firm that works with anything electrical where craftsmanship, pride of ownership, and installation matters. We design and engineer systems, install them, do the wiring ourselves, and integrate the operations with a single controller that’s easy to use and reliable. Audio Innovations backs up the products’ warranty, makes service calls, and when a homeowner is ready to add another great piece of the latest equipment, Audio Innovations will be there to smoothly incorporate it into the system.”
Over the past twenty years, home automation has grown, expanded, and extended its reach, and Audio Innovations has been there to meet the changes and provide the services that people want. It is a local business committed to meet the needs of the people in the Wood River Valley and beyond.
For more information call Audio Innovations at 208.788.3400 or visit www.audioi.org