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Homeowner research places Russound and STARDOT at the top of the list
Tom Wentworth knew what he wanted when he called Mike Lockett of STARDOT Home Automation. Integrators will tell you that their customers are nothing like Wentworth. Most consumers know what they want their systems to do—not the brands and components that will give them the result they seek.
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STARDOT’s
proprietary
patch panel |
Wentworth was not a typical customer. He spent months researching home automation, audio, video and security systems. After comparing many companies, Russound emerged as the best audio-video system. “I was impressed with the product’s reliability, keypad design and how it’s so easy to use,” he said. “I found numerous local dealers on Russound’s website and then researched the integrators, visiting their websites and showrooms. That’s when I selected STARDOT. It was by far the best choice,” added Wentworth.
Lockett, president of STARDOT, was impressed that Russound works with Crestron and HAI. “I like to use products I can trust and products that integrate well with others, that’s why I use Russound on many of my installations,” said Lockett.
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Master bathroom |
The installation ran smoothly, especially for a 5,600 square-foot retrofit. The home, built in 1983, did not include any updated wiring. STARDOT called in an electrician to pull the wires, while Lockett designed the system. This Apple Valley, Minnesota home included indoor and outdoor zones. From the gym, sauna and pool, to the kids’ rooms and home theater, the systems needed to work together and be easy to operate.
Using two CAV6.6 Controller Amplifiers, an ST2-XM2 Smart Tuner, an SMS3 Media Server and 12 UNO-S2 keypads, STARDOT combined the automation, security and entertainment systems to work seamlessly together. The Russound system could be controlled by any of the UNO keypads and by the Crestron touchpanel. HAI’s OMNI II was connected by serial port to the CAV6.6, and was also used as control for three HVAC zones, security and temperature controls.
For a system like this one, STARDOT uses a proprietary patch panel to organize the wires for the entire job. “We patch everything out from the patch bay to the rack. This enables the customer to change the configuration from the bay when they switch out components.” said Lockett. “It’s a longer wiring time, but creates a cleaner, more organized install that looks good.”
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Home theater screen
retracts into ceiling;
rack to left of screen |
Both Wentworth and Lockett remarked that it’s difficult to find an audio-video system that makes it easy for the installer. “The ease of the Russound installation was great, the sources were plug and play, and pass-through IR is a great gift. It’s really nice that Russound has built-in IR routing so you could control the system right away without having to do anything else.” Lockett said. “As soon as all the wires were pulled, we were listening to the Russound system during the rest of the automation installation. It was great.”
Wentworth’s family loves the work STARDOT did for them. “My 16 year-old is the star of the neighborhood now. He’s got 12 of his friends over listening to music or hanging out in the theater. That’s why I’m also glad there’s three streams on the media server—one for the adults and one for each of the kids,” he added with a laugh.
“I knew what I wanted from the beginning. We’ve always been music lovers and now music is always on. I didn’t know how much it would enhance our lives.
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