Custom cabinet build for electronics, turntable and record collection

Salamander Designs audio video credenza

Pro-Ject S-Shape turntable sounds awesome and looks like art!

Martin Logan ESL-C center channel speaker on custom cut shelf

Big, bad speakers sound amazing...Martin Logan Motion 60XTi tower speaker pair

Today’s Project of the Day is one of the jobs that we love that consisted of good audio, custom cabinets, proper design and higher-end audio video components.

Many of our clients love TV…I love TV. However, some people don’t like the look of a TV on the wall and would rather have a picture in its place. Samsung has created a solution that fills BOTH roles (cue anticipatory music). For today’s “Project of the Day”, we helped our client add television to 2 areas along with sound solutions for both music and movies/TV.

Wattbox IP power piece to provide easy system resets and network monitoring

Luxul WiFi access point, wireless controller and router providing GREAT WiFi

We get calls frequently from clients that haven’t dealt with us before that go something like this:

“Our WiFi only works in certain portions of the house.”

“We seem to have problems all the time with WiFI not working.”

“Our Internet keeps dropping out.”

“Our Netflix keeps pausing.”

We LOVE these calls as it lets us provide these new customers with reliable WiFi and Internet connectivity that just works. Here’s a story from one our recent Projects Of The Day.

A client was referred to us and their long story-short was:

A friend technician had put in a high-end wired/WiFi network for them

The WiFi dropped out constantly and there were areas throughout the property where WiFi just wouldn’t connect.

These issues were a work hindrance when they tried to accomplish tasks from the home and were a nuisance for the family when they all tried to use their gaming systems, iPads and entertainment devices.

We looked at their set-up and recommended and installed 3 components.

• Single WiFi network with tech support and remote compatibility:
• Remote visibility tools:
• IP piece with triggered on-off:

The benefits to these specific components for them and for MANY of our clients are:

Single WiFi network with tech support and remote compatibility: A network that acts as a SINGLE entity is important so you don’t have to change networks on your device as you walk around your house and property. Network product with tech support is important so we can call someone if odd issues come up. Many of today’s solar devices and DIY equipment can act in a strange manner and having a tech department that you can talk to is important in solving many issues that arise from this gear. One of the most popular networking brands out there has literally NO support. This client previously had this brand which is one of the reasons they were never able to uncover some of their issues before they met us.

Remote visibility tools: We see this as the most important element for us and for you in order to ensure reliability and satisfaction. These tools let us “see” in real time if your network is up, down, slow or if certain devices are attached to the network. Ex: With this client, we were able to see remotely that their network had 79 drops in service within 2 days AFTER we put the equipment in. Normally we see 0-10 drops in a 30 day period. This let us know that the issues were from the cable company and we then facilitated getting this handled. This client had dealt with years of bad Internet and we were able to get to the bottom of it right away. Our devices also let us see your connectivity at any given time. Netflix not working? We can let you know if it is a problem with the modem, the router, the switch or the device providing Netflix and take you fixing this quickly and easily. We offer these tools from Domotz and OVRC.

IP piece with triggered on/off: It’s great when you don’t have to deal with problems at all and this piece fixes many issues automatically. Many of today’s devices need to be power-cycled from time-to-time to get them to behave. However, unless you know which electronic gadget to unplug and the order and timing that is needed for this, it can be frustrating to get your Internet working again. Our 3 and 5 port IP piece AUTOMATICALLY resets your modem, router and associated pieces in the correct order any time it can’t get out to the Internet. This gets your Internet working again and in most cases, you wouldn’t even know this happened! We get a notification on our side that lets us know this happened and this ensures that you know there were potentially issues. When Internet pieces are starting to go defective, we see lots of disconnects and this helps us head off any catastrophic drops that might come at inopportune times (Ex: Big presentation due that you need to work on, work meeting on Skype, Friday Movie Night, etc.).

To recap, if you want the best network available that is reliable, covers your property with WiFi and that makes troubleshooting easy or non-existent, you need:

• US!
• WiFi solution from Eero, Araknis or Luxul
• Remote visibility tools
• IP piece with triggered on/off

We supply all of the equipment, provide the design and make it all work so you don’t have to worry about the mumbo-jumbo above. Want the best WiFi available for you and your family? Start with San Diego WiFi experts at Aire Theater Designs!

Luxul Wi-Fi System Covers The Entire Property!

Pro-Ject Yellow Submarine Turntable Actually Works! This Ain't No Toy!

Outdoor Television Installations Are One Of Our Specialties!

Sonos Speakers and Connect Pre-Amps Are In Every Room Of the House!

Martin Logan Tower Speakers and Electromotion Speakers Are All Throughout the House!

Our recently completed whole-house La Jolla Smart Home project consists of:

• 85" Sony XBR TV with Dolby Atmos Surround Sound from Yamaha, Martin Logan, Oppo and Episode
• Sonos music streaming in all rooms, areas and outside
• Trouble-free managed Wi-Fi by Luxul and Wattbox
• EASY-to-use universal remotes and iPad universal remote control by RTI
• Nest Thermostats to keep you COOL
• Lutron lighting
• Turntable featuring the Beatles Yellow Submarine by Pro-ject

Time to take a breath, rejoice and then to get to the next whole-house project. Looking for help with audio, video or smart home technology? You're in the right place. Give us a call and let our home automation experts get you started.

La Jolla Smart Home specialists are here! Aire Theater Designs proudly serves all of San Diego County, CA including Del Cerro, Allied Gardens, Talmadge, Kensington, Hillcrest, Mission Valley, Fashion Valley, La Mesa, El Cajon, Blossom Valley, Lake Murray, North Park, Balboa Park, Clairemont, Kearny Mesa, Mission Bay, Mission Beach, Pacific Beach, Ocean Beach, Point Loma and Downtown San Diego. We also gladly serve those in North San Diego County which includes Carlsbad, San Marcos, Vista, CA, Elfin Forest, Oceanside, Escondido, Encinitas, Cardiff by the Sea, Torrey Pines, Carmel Mountain, Coronado, Solana Beach, Alta Del Mar, Del Mar, Olivenhain, Fairbanks Ranch, Rancho Santa Fe, 4S Ranch, Santaluz, La Jolla, Poway, and Rancho Bernardo. Blossom Valley, Alpine, La Mesa and El Cajon...we're here too.

Today’s project took our home theater installation team to downtown San Diego. Right around the corner from the San Diego Padres’ Petco Park, our customer lives in a 7 story building. Working downtown has its challenges in itself, but even more so when you are working on the 7^th floor of a building. We have to deal with things such as 2-hour parking meters, gaining entry into secured locked lobby doors, running up 7 flights of stairs with a fiberglass 10’ ladder because it doesn’t fit in the elevators, etc. The biggest challenge that we faced on this job in particular though is the fact that all the walls and ceiling are made of super-dense concrete and that the ceiling was 15’ high. Extra care needs to be taken when mounting anything to concrete to ensure the safety of our customers and the integrity of the install. There are different obstacles and challenges we face on every job and that is what makes our job so gratifying and just plain cool when all is said and done. We gladly and enthusiastically face these challenges because that is what we do and what separates us from the rest of the San Diego smart home companies out there (we think).

Let’s dive in to some of the particulars of this project. My scope of work was to: mount a projector that would hang down from a 6 ft. pole which would be mounted to the concrete ceiling, install wire molding that would run from the projector pole, across the ceiling, across the top of the wall and ceiling, then down the corner of the wall and over the gear location, run the appropriate cables from gear to projector through the wire mold, set up the audio/video receiver/tower speakers/subwoofer, and program a universal remote to control everything.

Here is all the great audio/video equipment we rounded up for this install:

• Sony VPL-CH370 projector
• Monitor Audio Radius 270 tower speakers
• Definitive Technology SuperCube 2000 subwoofer
• Yamaha RX-V383 Audio/Video receiver
• Chief projector mount w/ pole
• Optical HDMI cables
• URC MX990 universal remote w/ URC MRF350 RF base station

The primary challenge of this project was going to be mounting the 6 ft. pole to the 15 ft. high concrete ceiling securely and safely, all the while keeping the aesthetics in mind and in line with the customer’s wants. This was a little tricky and to be honest, a little nerve-racking atop a 10’ ladder drilling into concrete above my head. Once this was done we were able to use secure concrete anchors and get the pole mounted along with the projector. It turned out great and looked incredibly clean and precise. After the mount and running the cables in the wire mold, the rest of the audio/video project was a piece of cake. The audio/video system with just 2 speakers and a subwoofer (normally we add at least 5 speakers in a surround sound set-up but this room didn’t allow for this) sounded FANTASTIC! We were able to finish in the one day and didn’t need to use the 2^nd day that we allocated for this install, saving our customer some money in labor (always a good thing!). In the end I was very glad with how clean it all turned out but more importantly, our client was thrilled and extremely happy.

San Diego Home Theater specialists are here! Aire Theater Designs proudly serves all of San Diego County, CA including Del Cerro, Allied Gardens, Talmadge, Kensington, Hillcrest, Mission Valley, Fashion Valley, La Mesa, El Cajon, Blossom Valley, Lake Murray, North Park, Balboa Park, Clairemont, Kearny Mesa, Mission Bay, Mission Beach, Pacific Beach, Ocean Beach, Point Loma and Downtown San Diego. We also gladly serve those in North San Diego County which includes Carlsbad, San Marcos, Vista, CA, Elfin Forest, Oceanside, Escondido, Encinitas, Cardiff by the Sea, Torrey Pines, Carmel Mountain, Coronado, Solana Beach, Alta Del Mar, Del Mar, Olivenhain, Rancho Santa Fe, 4S Ranch, Santaluz, La Jolla, Poway, and Rancho Bernardo. Blossom Valley, Alpine, La Mesa and El Cajon...we're here too.

 RTI universal remote app controlling smart home functions

 Media room installation w/3 X 70" TVs, 144" drop-down screen and more!

Martin Logan EFX on-wall speakers with ESL center channel

On-wall iPads all throughout the house. Onyx wall with Launchport iPad dock.

If you happen to be a hiking or trail biking enthusiast or simply a lover of nature and wildlife, you may have heard of the Santa Rosa Plateau, an extension of the Santa Ana Mountains in Riverside County.  Just down the hill from the Plateau is the city of Murrieta, and nestled along the base and climbing up the mountain side is the upscale gated community of Bear Creek and the site of this Project of the Day.  We were called in for a walk-thru of the home formerly owned by the MLB’s very own Barry Bonds.  This 12,000+ sq. ft. house was completely gutted, every wall resurfaced, entire ground level flooring ripped up and replaced, and creative ideas and system designs drawn up to create quite the spectacular Audio/Video/Smart Home Extravaganza. Obviously with a home of this size and the level of construction/remodeling, our job there was not completed in a day, or two, or fourteen, or sixty, or even three hundred.  All in all, it took about a year and a half total to get this home finished entirely.  There is a joke between the owner and all of us at ATD that all his Audio/Video/Home Theater/Smart Home System only took 27 phases to complete.  LOL!  Let it suffice to say that by the time we finished we were looked at like part of the family, Holiday cards each year and all!  I want to now take you into the smart home installation of just one room.

In this Phase we were to design, install, and finish what was being called the Grand Family Rm.  This task involved working with a carpenter who was building a custom stage for music and plays to be performed on so that we could correctly incorporate the three 70” TVs, a motorized 144” projection screen, three in-wall front speakers, three Blu-Ray players, three AppleTVs, and color changing LEDs to give the stage a super cool look.  Besides all the work on the stage we were to install a motorized projector lift in the attic above the Grand Room so that a projector would drop down from the 12’ ceiling, install two large in-ceiling subwoofers, incorporate four existing in-ceiling speakers into the 7.2 Surround Sound System, program the decorative blackout curtains that were installed at each window and the back patio French doors to open and close with the touch of a button on this room’s iPad which I was to program up using an RTI processor and RTI iPad App.  This room was definitely fitting to its name….it is truly a GRAND Family Room.  Here is the gear we used for this portion of the whole-house audio video installation:

• JVC DLA 4K projector                      
• (3) 70” Sharp TVs                              
• Draper drop-down projector scissor lift
• Draper motorized 144” Screen                        
• (3) Definitive Technology LCR in-wall speakers                          
• (2) In-ceiling Subwoofers
• Martin Logan EFX on-wall electrostatic speakers
• Martin Logan ESL-C on-wall electrostatic center channel
• Integra audio/video receiver                                            
• (2) Polk Audio subwoofer amps
• Strong 42U audio/video equipment rack                       
• RTI XP8s control processor
• RTI iPad universal remote
• Binary 4x4 HDMI matrix switcher                 
• (4) Samsung Blu-Ray players          
• (4) AppleTVs
• (30’) Multi-color LED strip               
• On-wall iPad Launchport
• Motorized curtains and associated parts
• Motorized blinds and associated parts

As you can imagine with a project of this caliber, some things take longer than others to accomplish.  That being said, mounting the scissor lift in the attic/ceiling was the most involved task for sure.  It took a team of 4 of us to accomplish this in a safe and professional manner.  I was scrunched up in the tight attic space in the semi-vaulted ceiling, squatting over the square cutout for the lift staring at the tile floor 12’ below, we had 2 men on 10’ ladders, and finally one man who helped hoist and hold the lift in place using a rope and pulley system we rigged together.  There is no such thing as over-kill when it comes to the safety of our employees and the security of our customers and their families.

The finished product was truly amazing.  Our customer had the ability to watch 3 individual sporting events on the 3 TVs, or watch the same program or movie on all 3 TVs at the same time or drop the projector down and enjoy a movie on the 144” projection screen.  When it came time for his grandchildren to perform a play on the stage, he could close all the curtains in the room, turn up the stage overhead lights, and turn on the stage color LED effect lights with a few button presses on the iPad I programmed.  When he is finished using the Grand Family Room he simply pushed the Power Down button on the iPad and all 3 TVs turn off, the screen rolls up into the overhead stage cabinet, the projector scissor lift raises up and into the attic and the surround sound system turns off.  This was definitely one of our most exciting projects to date and the customer loved it.  Phase 1 completed…26 more to go.

Need smart home installation in Murrieta or almost anywhere in Southern California? Let us help with your 27 phases of smart home technology.

Right in the middle of Temecula Valley’s renowned Wine Country lies the residence of this Project of the Day.  I am extra proud of this job as it definitely had its challenges and had, what I like to call, a Big Cool Factor to it.  We were presented with an idea… a vision the customer had of transforming the Living Room in his house into a Theater Room for the whole family to enjoy.  This is the thing movie fanatic’s dream of, a theater built into your home!  How great is that?!  Being that the customer enjoyed crystal clear picture and great sound when watching movies, we had to design a killer system that looked and sounded the part of an actual movie theater. We nailed it right on the head, as well as throwing in a couple extras we surprised our customer with!  Let me take you into this spectacular project now so you can get a feel for what it took to get it done, and how it all turned out upon completion.

Our scope of work: Mount the projector, mount the fixed projector screen on-wall, build audio/video gear furniture piece, install all gear into furniture piece and setup, install (6) in-ceiling speakers for Dolby Atmos setup, setup tower speaker and center channel speaker, program a control system, mount (14) acoustic panels, and finally, and also the surprise, install and setup an Alexa for voice system automation.  Here is the list of all the great products we provided for this Custom Home Theater System:

• Sony 4K Projector
• Dragonfly projector Screen
• Yamaha RX-A2060 audio/video receiver
• Oppo BDP203 Blu-Ray player
• Monitor Audio Silver center channel speaker
• Monitor Audio in-ceiling speakers
• URC Total Control processor
• URC Total Control universal remote w/iPad universal remote
• Wattbox line conditioner
• Salamander Synergy audio/visual furniture
• Paradigm tower speakers
• GoldenEar 12” powered subwoofer

As you can see, we had excellent gear to make this dream project happen.  Projects like this always have their obstacles to overcome though.  The biggest obstacle we had to deal with was how and where we wanted to mount the acoustic panels for the best acoustic results.  You see, the room was pretty live, meaning sound bounced around pretty bad, which is very bad for quality sound.  By carefully designing a layout for the 3’x4’ panels, we were able to improve the acoustics of the room DRASTICALLY.  It was awesome.  The 6 panels that we hung from the ceiling were the most tedious for sure.  I wanted to create a really cool look and feel to the room and still deliver the sound dampening performance that we needed.  So I hung them from the ceiling at a slight angle, using thick piano/mirror wire and hooks.  It turned out looking spectacular.  Once everything was said and done, the customer couldn’t have been more thrilled.  The crystal clear picture of the Sony 4K projector along with the Dolby Atmos Surround Sound setup made this living room turned movie theater look and feel like the real thing!  Yet another successful custom project completed for ATD.

~P.S.~ Do you see the cool looking beam that the projector is mounted to?  At the beginning of the project, none of that was there.  It was just a huge vaulted ceiling.  We worked hand-in-hand to complete the needed home theater design with the customer and the contractor so that the media room would deliver the look and feel the customer was looking for, yet also give us the functionality we needed for the home theater system.  Fun stuff!  

Just seven or so miles inland from the beautiful beaches of Oceanside, CA lies the pleasantly rural city of Vista, CA and the location of this Project of the Day. This project was one that we see on a semi-regular basis. It involves a newly purchased house that is going to go through some remodeling, new appliances and fixtures are going to be purchased, new texture and paint is going to be applied to every wall, new cabinets and flooring and carpet throughout, and most importantly……all new Audio/Video and Smart Home Automation gear to be installed. Once completed, this newly remodeled house transforms into a forever home, one that our customer can enjoy with her kids and her grandchildren for many years to come.

Let me take you into this project now. Our part in it started with collaboration with the contractor hired to get the house completed. A custom wall was being built which was to be the home for a new 82” Samsung TV along with custom shelving and lighting for decorations, and cabinets for all the surround sound gear and audio/video devices. Everything had to be precise as the customer wanted this front wall in the Family Room to look excellent and really stand out. As you will see below, that mission was accomplished. Once the construction was finished it was time for our team to make the magic happen and pump audio/video/smart automation life into the home! Here was my scope of work: Install (5) in-ceiling speakers and (1) subwoofer for surround sound capabilities, mount 82” TV on-wall perfectly centered in allocated TV niche, install/setup all audio/video gear in new cabinets, program universal remotes to control systems throughout the house, install/setup a Smart Lighting System, install surveillance cameras and setup the customers phone/iPad for camera viewing, install on-wall iPad docking/charging station centrally in the home for security camera viewing and smart lighting control, install multiple other TVs throughout rooms in home, and install/setup music steaming devices in multiple rooms for seamless crystal clear music throughout. Sound like a lot? Like I said earlier, we handle projects like this pretty regularly and they always turn out great. Here is the gear we provided for this fantastic project:

• Samsung TV UN82MU8000            
• Yamaha RX-A770
• Episode Signature in-ceiling speakers
• Sunfire HRS8 Subwoofer
• RTI RP-4 processors 
• RTI T1-B+ Universal Remotes
• Lutron RA2 Select Lighting
• iPad Launchports
• Samsung TV UN65MU8000
• Samsung TV UN55NU8000
• Ring Cameras w/ Solar
• Ring Doorbell Camera
• SONOS Playbar                             
• SONOS Play5                                   
• SONOS Play3

I would say the most important element of this project that I want to highlight is the level of precision carried out by our highly qualified home theater installation team. It was extremely important to our customer that everything look very clean and precise. She didn’t want one single wire showing or for anything to look like it was out of place. Basically, she wanted everything to look as if it custom-built into the house and not an add-on that was thrown together after the house was completed. After a few long days of measuring twice-cutting once, so to speak...we finished. The result was perfect, at least those are the words that our customer used. Using the RTI Universal remotes, she is able to easily control the TV and surround sound system with a single button press, she can look at all her Ring Security Cams from her phone or the iPad we installed on the hallway wall, she can turn on/off her Lutron lights from her phone/iPad so she doesn’t have to wander around in the dark trying to find the light switch in the middle of the night, pre-selected lights turn on automatically when she pulls into her driveway if it happens to be after sunset, she can stream crystal clear music from all her music streaming accounts (Pandora, Amazon, Apple Music, etc) in multiple areas of her home. I was very happy we could deliver exactly what our customer had envisioned. One more thrilled customer and one more awesome project completed by Aire Theater Designs.

Vista, CA home theater installation is here! Aire Theater Designs proudly serves all of San Diego County, CA including Del Cerro, Allied Gardens, Talmadge, Kensington, Hillcrest, Mission Valley, Fashion Valley, La Mesa, El Cajon, Blossom Valley, Lake Murray, North Park, Balboa Park, Clairemont, Kearny Mesa, Mission Bay, Mission Beach, Pacific Beach, Ocean Beach, Point Loma and Downtown San Diego. We also gladly serve those in North San Diego County which includes Carlsbad, San Marcos, Vista, CA, Elfin Forest, Oceanside, Escondido, Encinitas, Cardiff CA, Torrey Pines, Carmel Mountain, Coronado, Solana Beach, Alta Del Mar, Del Mar, Olivenhain, Fairbanks Ranch, Rancho Santa Fe, 4S Ranch, Santaluz, La Jolla, Poway, and Rancho Bernardo. Blossom Valley, Alpine, La Mesa and El Cajon...we're here too.

 One speaker of MANY in a recent whole-house audio project

I just finished a really cool whole-house audio system for one lucky customer down in La Jolla and I felt the need to share a little piece of it with all of you.  You may be wondering what these awesome sleek looking boxes are. Allow me to help a little, they are not…….paper weights. LOL! They are, in fact, RTI’s AD-8 and AD-4 whole-house audio amplifiers.  What does that even mean, you may ask? Let me fill you in.  With these 2 amps, my customer has the ability to play music in 12 different areas of his house.  Not only that, he has the ability to individually turn an area on and off and individually control the volume in each of these areas.  Pretty cool huh!?! I even have it all programmed into his iPad.  All he has to do is go to the RTI home automation app on his iPad and select the “House Music” page I programmed and WHAM!, he has full control of each area with individual power on/off buttons on the screen for each area and volume slider bars for volume in each area.  It truly is easy to use and, quite frankly, just plain cool.

For example, the client could be out on his deck thinking "I'd like to listen to the Eagles right now." He could then grab his iPad, push "House Music", "Deck" and then listen to his favorite Eagles music from his computer. Phone rings? Press "Pause" on the iPad and the music stops. Want to really crank the volume! Turning the volume to level 500 and any other system command can all be done from anywhere (even outside while sipping a margarita) with the iPad!

So that is the install I was on today.  Very fun easy-to-use stuff that the customer absolutely loved.  Have any of you been wanting to get music throughout your house? If you already have a system, would you like one that is EASY to use? If so, please give us a call! Why can’t you be the next lucky customer that gets an RTI whole-house audio system?

Projects like this are fun and it's what we do every day. If you're interested in enhancing your life with music, movies or home automation, give us a call and let San Diego's whole house experts show you what's available today.

San Diego Whole House Audio and Surround Sound Installers Aire Theater Designs proudly serves all of San Diego County including Del Cerro, Allied Gardens, Talmadge, Kensington, Hillcrest, Mission Valley, Fashion Valley, La Mesa, El Cajon, Blossom Valley, Lake Murray, Friars, North Park, Balboa Park, Clairemont, Kearny Mesa, Mission Bay, Mission Beach, Pacific Beach, Ocean Beach, Imperial Beach, Pt Loma and Downtown San Diego. We also gladly serve those in North San Diego County which includes Carlsbad, San Marcos, Vista, Elfin Forest, Oceanside, Escondido, Encinitas, Cardiff by the Sea, Solana Beach, Del Mar, Olivenhain, Rancho Santa Fe, 4S Ranch, Santaluz, La Jolla, Poway, and Rancho Bernardo. Need help in Murrieta, Wildomar, Temecula, Fallbrook or Bonsall...we're there too.