House of Audio Makes Home Theater Simple

The latest store to open in the heart of Summit is The House of Audio.  The business is one-stop shopping for anything you might need to build a customized home-theater system.  Projects range from simple installation and set-up to complex in-home theaters, but House of Audio's essential mission is to get their customers what they need.

"We basically want to integrate all the day-to-day electronics more from a user-friendly perspective, rather than overwhelming you with all the technologies," said owner Vicktor  Parker.  "Although there are very cool technologies available they are really not very applicable for your day-to-day."

Previously located in downtown Westfield, The House of Audio moved to Summit this summer.

"We ran the store there for three years, and when the lease came up for renewal, we opted to move into Summit after doing a demographic search and talking to a few builders and architects," said Parker.  "We found there's a lot of construction and a lot of expansion of homes, and people who are extending their living rooms and so on so we decided that this would be the right market for us to be in."

Upon walking into the store, you are greeted with several wall-mounted flat screen televisions and a theater-style sofa.  The front room exhibits some of the latest upgrades such as 3D televisions, top-of-the-line surround sound, and even televisions that calibrate themselves for the optimal viewer experience.  A second show room is currently being set-up and should be ready soon.

"In the next room we are setting up your very basic 5.1 home theater configuration which is just two speakers for the front, one for the center, and one for the rear with a sub-woofer," Parker said.  "So when you are watching any movie that has been recorded with a lot of effects and soundtracks and so on, you can actually experience it as the director intended without breaking the bank."

Setting up home systems has been a natural progression.  Parker has worked in the electronics business since 1991, and previously owned stores in Manhattan.  During the Internet boom, his business evolved into an Internet company and moved into a warehouse in Carteret.

"Once the technologies developed again and where it wasn't as simple as buying an electronic item but actually installing it and concealing all the wires, integrating it and so on, we came back to having a storefront," said Parker. "We then recruited professionals who would then be integration experts, who would be installation experts, woodcrafters, people who had some sort of engineering background so that they could accomplish what was required without destroying the house."

Keeping houses aesthetically pleasing is another part to House of Audio's mission.  In fact, homes do not have to have even one component of their home theater system showing.  Televisions can be hidden by a mirror which can be made transparent with the touch of a button.  Speakers can be camouflaged to match the walls of the room.  Cable boxes and transmitters can be placed in closets or basements and controlled with a remote using a radio signal.  The House of Audio technicians are trained to make whatever the homeowner can dream up a possibility.

The Internet background has helped immensely with the home consultations. The House of Audio provides easy solutions to integrate homeowner's Internet with their existing systems, and put it together in an easy-to-use way.

"The Internet has opened up such a wide range of applications and if it can be integrated into their large screen TVs with wireless keyboards and a wireless mouse, that makes it that much more interesting for homeowners," said Parker.  "A lot of times people want music throughout the house because when they entertain they have the children in another area of the house and they would like to possibly play some soft music in the background, off of their iPods invariably, so we facilitate that with the touch of a button."

Though customized systems are the primary function of the business, admits they are a luxury.  Homeowners who are not quite ready to completely re-vamp their entire home theater can employ House of Audio technicians to simply make sure everything is set-up correctly.

"We don't turn away anything," said Parker.  "If you already have a TV and you just want to upgrade or integrate the internet or you want to swap out your cable box for an HD cable box so that you can have the HD channels, we take on any and all kinds of jobs.  We're not restricted to a huge expense that you need to allocate in order to accomplish."

The House of Audio has spent the summer quietly settling into their new space, but they expect for business to pick up soon.

"We don't really expect a lot during the summer months," said Parker.  "As we come closer to fall and winter is when your home entertainment seems to become a priority because your outdoor activities are limited and so we expect from September or October and beyond to be better situated."