Orange County Living Just Got a Little More Convenient with Motorized Window Treatments

California living is easy, but did you know that the expert team of technology professionals at Launch Systems can help you make it even easier? We strive to bring innovative smart home solutions to our Newport Beach clients, from outdoor audio/video to smart lighting and beyond. With a voice command or a gentle tap of your finger, your home will respond to meet your needs in mere seconds.

We've realized that there's one smart solution many of our clients in Orange County overlook, and that is motorized window treatments. At first, shades and blinds aren’t thought to be as “techy” as other smart solutions, but by automating them, you’d be surprised at how forward-thinking and nearly futuristic these stylish window coverings can be. You can save time, save money, and make your home look better, too.

Keep scrolling below to learn more!

SEE ALSO: Why Make the Switch from Manual to Motorized Window Treatments?

Convenience

If you have a large expanse of windows, multiple floors, or hard-to-reach windows, then you know how long it takes to simply open every window treatment in your home to let natural sunlight into your spaces. Sure, you could leave blinds or drapes open at all times, but then you lose valuable privacy from nosy neighbors and potential thieves.

It’s More than Music! A Multi-Room Audio System Brings Your Favorite Media Everywhere

So, you aren’t much of a music buff, and your friends would never consider calling you an audiophile. Don’t let that stop you from considering an audio system that spans your entire Newport Beach or nearby Orange County property!

A whole-house audio system can bring your favorite media – podcasts, audiobooks, sports, TV, movies, even YouTube – to every corner of your home, even outside. Plus, it will add a fun soundtrack to your next get-together, something you may not have even fathomed since you don’t consider yourself much of a music fan. Keep scrolling below to learn three areas of your California home that you can transform.

SEE ALSO: Enjoy Music Everywhere with New Products from Sonos

Listening Room

You don’t need to blast classic rock festivals in order to enjoy the bold and room-encompassing experience of a dedicated listening area. With floorstanding loudspeakers at the front of the room and bookshelf and surround speakers strategically placed amongst your space, you’ll be able to listen to a riveting true crime podcast with the host’s voice all around you, adding to the experience.

The best part of a whole-house audio system is the ability to take your audio to any room of the house. Simply pause your podcast episode using voice control, a universal remote, or your smartphone, then go wherever you need to go. You can pick up where you left off once you reach another area of your home – just press play!

Smart Control, Motorized Shading, and Whole-Home Audio Solutions Make Life Easier

Home automation is no longer a futuristic luxury afforded to the characters of a science fiction flick. Smart home automation is a proven trend that is here to stay. When you’re working with the professionals at Launch Systems, you can change the way you experience your Portland, OR home and incorporate all of your technologies into one intuitive and simple-to-use home control system.

Some technologies can make your home more comfortable, such as lighting and climate control; others can elevate your entertainment experience to another level! To learn about two of our favorite smart home solutions, keep reading below.

SEE ALSO: Don’t Let Social Distancing Get You Down – Socialize in Your Home Theater

Automated Window Treatments

Motorized blinds and shades can do more than cover your windows to provide privacy from peering eyes. Different fabric and style selections can offer various features depending on how you want to use them. For example, curtains made of tightly-woven fabric can block out ambient light, perfect for using in your bedroom and in home theater spaces.

With the tap of a button on your smart home control system, you can draw open the curtains to let warming, natural light into your bedroom in the mornings so you can more naturally ease yourself into the day ahead. In your living spaces, roller shades or sheer drapes with a looser fabric weave can allow softer light to filter into areas. Any annoying glare is reduced, but your family can still see the beautiful outdoor views through the fabrics.

The Age-Old Question: Do You Need High-Quality Speakers to Listen to Records? We Answer Below.

Maybe you’ve been collecting vinyl for decades. Or perhaps you’re just getting started filling a crate or shelf of albums. No matter your experience with vinyl, your music deserves to be heard with crystal-clear sound quality. There are many cheap turntables on the market, but if you’re looking for the best solution, it’s wise to avoid the all-in-one suitcase players. Your best bet is to use a receiver connected to high-end speakers by reputable brands like James Loudspeaker, Triad, or Sonos. From there, you can even expand to whole-home audio that brings your tunes to every room of your home. Let’s go through the basics of high-end audio and vinyl. As an AV design and installation company servicing Irvine, CA, and Orange County, we’ll help you find the best solution below.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           SEE ALSO: 3 Aspects of Home Audio You Don’t Want to Overlook  

Why Quality Speakers Are Essential for Vinyl

There’s something ritualistic about taking a record out the sleeve, placing it on the turntable, and setting the needle for the first song to start. But vinyl brings even more than novelty to music. Vinyl records offer a wide range of sound, enhanced recording fidelity, and an audible warmth that MP3s and CDs don’t quite deliver. Audiophiles appreciate the crackles and hisses in the medium and might find that their records provide a greater range of sound frequencies. You need quality speakers to hear this difference, and if you’re investing in a record collection, it’s worth it to scale up your speaker selection.  

High-End Speakers vs. Low-End

When you first hear records on high-end speakers, it will be like you’ve never experienced recorded music before. ‘High-end’ is a subjective term, but we usually classify it was speakers with quality materials and balanced sound frequencies. The best speakers should deliver low, deep bass notes just as well as mid-range frequencies for clear voices. Can you hear all the instruments? Are the treble notes smooth or irritating? We ask these questions when testing our speakers in our Irvine showroom. Low-quality speakers deliver off-balanced sound. Maybe you can only hear voices while hardly hearing the bass or piano melodies.  

Speaker Brands You Can Trust 

Sonos manufactures arguably some of the best wireless speakers available. You’ll still need to plug the speakers into an outlet, but by ‘wireless,’ we mean you won’t need to connect the speakers to a receiver. Instead, Sonos speakers connect over their own mesh network. Wireless setups are convenient, but we still believe that wired speakers are more reliable and can spread across greater distances. Brands like James Loudspeaker and Triad use durable materials in their speakers with more powerful drivers than lower-end devices. Their bookshelf or floor-standing speakers will connect to your record player via an amplifier or receiver.