Core Brands Strengthens EMEA Sales and Support Team with Industry Pros Marc Waple and Iain Cameron

Furthering its commitment to provide Distributors with the industry’s best sales and support team, leading control, audio and power solutions provider Core Brands, today announced the reorganization of its EMEA sales and technical support team, with the appointments of Marc Waple and Iain Cameron as Core Brands International Sales and Tech Support Managers, concentrating on the ELAN, Furman CI*, Niles, SpeakerCraft, Proficient, Sunfire and Xantech brands.

Marc Waple

“Both Waple and Cameron have produced impressive results, helping Core Brands to grow its business in the CI and Pro channels,” Core Brands Director of International Sales Simon Spears said today. “Their industry expertise will greatly benefit Core Brands’ Distributors, as they continue to drive sales, and provide technical support in the EMEA market. We’re excited to welcome them both as full-time members of the Core Brands international team.”

Marc Waple has worked with Core Brands products since 2006 when he began working as a Niles Audio UK Sales Manager for BMB Electronics UK. Since then, he has held multiple sales and brand development positions at well known organizations within the UK, such as Sales Manager at Midwich Homes, Business Development Manager at Invision UK, and International Sales Manager EMEA at World Marketing Associates. 

Iain Cameron

Prior to joining Core Brands full time, Iain Cameron served as the Managing Director of ICSound, where he utilized his extensive audio engineering background. Cameron first joined the industry in 2001 as the Head Sound and Lighting Engineer at Woodend Arts Center in Aberdeenshire. Throughout the next 15 years, he held positions such as Audio Engineer at Great Big Resources; Audio Systems Design, Integration and Commissioner at the Anglican Center Qatar; and Freelance Applications Engineer for CUK-Audio.

“Marc and Iain bring a wealth of experience to their new positions at Core Brands,” Spears concluded. “Their knowledge of the markets, coupled with their understanding of our product offering, is going to help our Distributors throughout the region build their business volume and profits. We’re thrilled to have them on board.”

*Furman Pro products will remain with Julian Young at WMA.​

ELAN g! and Niles Speakers Provide the Foundation for an Easy-To-Use Full Home Automation System

Building a home always starts with laying a strong foundation. The same can be said for any home control system, and that’s exactly what the ELAN g! System and more than 50 Niles speakers have done for one Pennsylvania homeowner.

“This client came to me asking for a simple way to control everything in their home from the TVs to the pool, but they didn’t know how to accomplish that,” said Keith Foltz, owner of Harrisburg, Penn.-based Momentum Sound and Media. “I told them that I could take care of everything, and that it would all tie together seamlessly through the ELAN g! system. All of the other components are intentionally behind the scenes, so the most important thing for them is an enjoyable user experience and reliability, which ELAN delivers in spades.”

Like most homeowners today, this family didn’t want to see wires hanging from TVs or clunky black boxes in every room. Foltz was able to eliminate all of that clutter by combining all the ELAN equipment plus every cable box, audio receiver and subsystem control unit into two equipment racks located in the basement utility room. Then he designed a whole-home audio system using Niles legendary in-ceiling speakers so every room has crystal clear audio and no visible speakers. These considerations keep the house free of mess and also make it easier to troubleshoot any issues that may arise.

“Putting all the electronics in one stack is the only way I would organize a system this large,” Foltz said. “That way if anything needs to be changed, replaced or fixed, I don’t have to trace wires or open walls. It also makes the system cheaper, because all equipment like this should be connected to high quality surge protectors, so I can install just a few of them for the whole rack instead of putting one in every room.”

Even the backyard has its own music zones with two wall-mounted speakers, two planter speakers, two rock speakers and a hidden in-ground subwoofer, all from Niles. So what is it like to control nine TVs, 52 speakers in 21 zones, five zones of HVAC, the home’s lights, security, garage doors, irrigation and pool from one device?

“The ease of operation and convenience of the iPhone/iPad app is best part of the system,” the homeowners said. “Control of the entire house is literally at our fingertips at home as well as when we’re away. With four children, it is amazing convenience to be able to turn off lights, TVs, and music from our phones rather than running through the house each time we leave.”

With a centrally-located 7-inch ELAN touchscreen, five 2-inch wall-mounted touchscreens throughout the house and eight ELAN HR2 handheld remotes for the TVs, the family is always just a few buttons taps away from putting their favorite music or TV on in whichever rooms they choose. It’s just as easy to check that the security system is armed, the garage doors are closed and the lights are off, making it easy to come and go without walking around to make sure everything is set appropriately. And whether they are home or halfway around the world, the family can check in on the home’s surveillance cameras from their iPhones, iPads or any computer. In the near future Foltz will install and integrate electronic locks on several of the home’s exterior doors and ELAN control for the driveway gate.

The crown jewel of the home’s entertainment offerings is the luxury home theater. Combining a backlit 122-inch Screen Innovation Black Diamond screen, a JVC 4K projector, three Sunfire CRM3 ribbon speakers in the front, six Niles HD8 speakers for surround and a Sunfire in-wall SubRosa subwoofer with nine Salamander Designs theater seats, the theater takes viewers away from the home and places them right in the movie.

“I love that the ELAN system is compatible with so many products from other top-name brands like ELK Security, Aprilaire, Pentair, Lutron, Access surveillance cameras and more,” Foltz said. “It gives me a lot of flexibility when designing a control system, both in terms of functionality and price.”

To download hi-res images of this installation, click here.

SpeakerCraft Now Shipping Highly Anticipated AIM Series 2

SpeakerCraft, the premier audio brand from Core Brands, today announced that its latest architectural speaker series, AIM Series 2, is now shipping to dealers. The award-winning SpeakerCraft AIM Series 2 incorporates new technologies to deliver a superior home audio listening experience.

“SpeakerCraft AIM Series 2 has been 100% re-crafted to support sophisticated installations and advanced object-based surround audio platforms,” Core Brands Audio Marketing Manager Matt Dever explained. “The re-crafting effort addresses every aspect of the speaker, from front to back, resulting in a sound solution you’ll have to hear to believe.”

The most notable of these technologies is the new patent-pending ARC Tweeter Array™. Inspired by large sound reinforcement installations, the pivoting array is nothing short of groundbreaking. By incorporating multiple tweeters in the line array, AIM Series 2 delivers focused high frequencies farther into the listening area than standard tweeter configurations. The ARC Tweeter Array also enables the crossover point to be lowered, thus increasing the sound pressure level at the critical mid-range frequencies. “The result is that, acoustically, listeners enjoy a much larger sweet spot,” said Dever.  

Available with 5-inch, 7-inch and 8-inch woofer sizes, all AIM Series 2 speakers feature an updated WavePlane™ to further focus the high frequency energy into the listening environment for a cleaner, warmer and richer sound. The entirely new speaker housing design allows the woofer to pivot 30 degrees in all directions, while enabling 359 degrees of rotation for the WavePlane and ARC Tweeter Array.  In addition, the ARC Tweeter Array can be adjusted +/- 15 degrees toe-in/toe-out. The result is virtually limitless directional capability.  

While the front of the speaker gets most of the deserved attention, the back of this speaker delivers game-changing technologies as well. The all-new Acoustic Isolation Technology™ decouples the speaker housing from the surrounding materials, providing a more acoustically repeatable installation and improving sound transference to the listening area by minimizing structural resonance created by the surrounding wall or ceiling. The minimized resonance transfer is achieved using co-molded, lower density compounds, setting AIM Series 2 apart from any speaker in the industry. The speaker can be enjoyed as it was meant to be enjoyed – not colored by the resonance of the material on which it is mounted.

Fully re-crafted, all AIM Series 2 speakers feature a U.S. engineered transducer, motor and crossover. The new curvilinear cone design creates greater bass response, and the non-conductive Kapton formers, copper caps and extended poles reduce distortion. With increased power handling and sensitivity, the speakers deliver an overall cleaner and louder sound.

“The enhanced aim-ability of the AIM Series 2 presents new options for sound design – from home theatre to whole home audio,” Dever continued. “More than ever, sound can be redirected to a specific section of a room, angled toward a seating area or where an audio impact is desired. In addition, integrators can now offer their clients the most uniform coverage ever in any room, along with increased power and frequency response. We’re proud to make installation easier and more flexible for integrators while providing consumers with a superior home audio experience.” 

All models of the AIM Series 2 speakers are available for immediate delivery to dealers. For more information about the AIM Series 2, visit: www.speakercraft.com. 

SpeakerCraft Now Shipping All-New Amplifier Series

SpeakerCraft, from leading home entertainment and control technology solutions provider Core Brands, today announced its newest series of amplifiers is now shipping. The new line is available from 50, 100 and 150 watt stereo amps to 12 and 16 channel amps with 30 and 50 watts per channel respectively. 

“SpeakerCraft’s new amps are designed to make installation easier and more straightforward than ever before,” Core Brands Audio Marketing Manager, Matt Dever said. “This new series gives our dealers the product they require for any size installation, and enables them to place power where it’s needed for any system, large or small.”

The 2-channel digital, high-current, bridgeable stereo amplifiers—the SC2-50, SC2-100 and SC2-150—offer classic SpeakerCraft power and stability, bringing extremely high current power to custom installed A/V systems. With independent level controls, each amplifier channel enables precise volume matching to the rest of the system. These level controls can also limit volume to prevent abuse of the system.   

The 12-channel fully configurable SC12-30 power amplifier delivers a solid 30 watts per channel RMS into 8 ohms and 40 watts per channel RMS into 4 ohms. This provides the energy necessary to efficiently deliver solid, deep, controlled bass response to a house full of speakers. The SC12-30 comes equipped with a unique BusMatrix™ selector, enabling users to assign each channel to a common Left, Right, or Mono signal bus, or to a dedicated signal input. The BusMatrix™ incorporates advanced PCB construction ensuring extremely high channel-to-channel isolation, providing signal to noise ratios and cross-talk equivalent to a professional mixing board found in a recording studio.

The SC16-50 is a 16-channel TCP/IP fully configurable power amplifier with a web-based IP configuration utility that provides independent EQ adjustments and volume level for each amplifier channel, enabling the user to EQ and set volume levels for 16 different speakers individually. Each of the SC16-50’s eight adjacent speaker output pairs are configurable into a single high power output, enabling the user to create up to eight 100-watt channels using a web-based IP configuration utility. This enables greater power allocation to specific locations, such as large rooms or outdoor applications.

“These new amps share the same industrial design with the new MRA-664 multi-room audio controller,” Dever added. “Together they deliver a branded audio distribution solution that is perfect for any size installation.”

All of the new amps feature three turn-on modes: music sense, external voltage trigger, and manual turn-on via the front panel switch. Additionally, each model in the series has a total harmonic distortion of 0.2% THD from 20Hz to 20kHz, and a 12-volt control out. The audio circuitry is constructed with the finest parts available, including 1% metal film resistors, high quality capacitors and oversized hear sinks for clear and uncolored sound.

Every amplifier in the new series comes with rack mount ears, a removable line chord and a two year limited warranty. SpeakerCraft’s new amps have been tested and certified in the US, Canada, EU and Australia safety and EMC standards. 

Integrator Combines ELAN g! with Brand New Display Technology to Help Hoboken's Hottest New Nightclub Compete with NYC's Best

Hoboken, New Jersey is the newest unofficial borough of New York City, drawing Manhattan workers to its upscale downtown neighborhood full of trendy restaurants, bars and nightclubs. The owners of Hoboken’s newest nightclub, Reign, knew they needed to crate a unique experience to stand out among the area’s stiff competition. This meant designing an immense AV system using an ELAN g! system for control, Sound Tube Pendant speakers and subwoofers for put-it-anywhere audio and the first North American installation of a new 10-foot by 20-foot PrimeView Smart Film double-sided glass projection surface. 

Integration firm Serious Audio Video knew that their bid would likely be the highest, at nearly $350,000, well above the $200,000 budget requested by the owners, but they also knew that no one else would match their vision and unique style for the club’s AV systems. The core of the lounge’s AV installation is a powerful ELAN g! system that automates the lighting, audio and video, giving the owners fast and easy control of the entire establishment from their smartphones. With more than 90 speakers and subwoofers producing 30,000 watts and a plethora of specialized lighting, tying everything together into a single easy-to-use interface was a crucial factor in the success of this installation.

“The ELAN g! platform allows us to focus on our clients’ needs and without worrying about overwhelming them with complicated interfaces,” said Casey S. Johnston, owner of integration firm Serious Audio Video. “It’s simple to use and can be run entirely from a smartphone or tablet if they choose, so they never have to leave the club floor to make adjustments to volume, lighting intensity or video content. It also gives them the easiest start-up and shut-down procedure for the club’s systems, since they can use a single “Open” or “Close” button that we programmed to turn entire systems on or off.”

According to Johnston, an installation of this caliber also requires special design. In this case, the integration firm created a unique vortex chandelier of Sound Tube pendant speakers that hang just out of guests’ reach on the second floor, and right above guests head on the first floor in an open overhang. “This specialized design took a lot of tinkering to perfect the installation, but the finished product is more than a simple AV system. An eye-catching arrangement of premium quality speakers and subwoofers reflects the lounge’s chic and trendy atmosphere, and when combined with the amazing PrimeView Smart Film projection display it projects an air of exclusivity that guests can’t find anywhere else in Hoboken or Manhattan.” 

In fact, this was the very first installation of the see-through PrimeView Smart Film display in North America. It is so new that the instructions were only available in Cantonese, so they flew in one of PrimeView’s technicians from Hong Kong to help with the installation. The resulting screen sits just above the speaker chandelier on the third floor and can play any manner of digital video effects. With the ability to change the appearance of the glass from clear to frosted with the push of a button, the possibilities are nearly limitless and certainly push the club’s atmosphere to new heights.

“Night club installations regularly involve millions of dollars of equipment and this was our first night club project,” Johnston said. “We hit it out of the park so we are hoping to grow that aspect of our business and bring other owners the same level of functionality and unique design in the future.”